Right to Read: Inquiry into Reading Disabilities Backgrounder
The Ontario Human Rights Commission is conducting a public inquiry into human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities in Ontario’s public education system.
The Code protects people from discrimination and harassment because of past, present and perceived disabilities. “Disability” covers a broad range and degree of conditions, some visible and some not visible. A disability may have been present from birth, caused by an accident, or developed over time.
There are physical, mental and learning disabilities, mental disorders, hearing or vision disabilities, epilepsy, mental health disabilities and addictions, environmental sensitivities, and other conditions.
Relevant policies:
The Ontario Human Rights Commission is conducting a public inquiry into human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities in Ontario’s public education system.
The community adds its voice to the Right to Read inquiry report.
The Right to Read: Public inquiry into human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities report calls for critical changes to Ontario’s approach to early reading, in areas such as curriculum and instruction, screening, reading interventions, accommodations and professional assessments.
The Right to Read report has garnered sustained and significant public interest and support from provincial, national and international audiences. The response has been overwhelmingly positive with leading reading experts and equality rights advocates from Canada and around the world acknowledging the report’s accuracy and significance.
Why an inquiry? On October 3, 2019, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) began a public inquiry into whether students with reading disabilities have meaningful access to education as required under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code).
The Right to Read executive summary is now available on audiobook. Listen to all the key findings and recommendations in 11 chapters. The full Right to Read report is also available online in an accessible pdf format for easy downloading.
Toronto - Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (the "Commission") was joined by representatives of the business, government, and disability communities today while releasing Moving Towards Barrier-Free Services, the Commission’s final report into restaurant accessibility. This report demonstrates the progress that can be achieved through cooperation between government and business, but also emphasizes the need for ongoing improvement.
The OHRC supports the recommendations of the report released yesterday by the Honourable Frank Iacobucci.
As we said in our report on Police use of Force and Mental Health, “the challenge will be to put recommendations into action – and the time to do that is now.”
February 2014 - People with mental health disabilities are often among the most vulnerable people in Ontario. Many face a unique set of challenges where they live, in workplaces, or in our communities. When people are in crisis they also present a unique set of challenges to police services when considering the use of force. This leads to many concerns from a human rights perspective. It is not the role of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) to comment on individual cases – we leave it to other experts to resolve these. But it is our role to look at common themes and concerns, and offer ways to move forward.
This report summarizes the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) observations and recommendations on the issues of homelessness and drug addiction in Kenora, Ontario. Under section 29 of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the OHRC can initiate reviews and inquiries and make recommendations related to incidents of tension or conflict in a community.