Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) submitted Foundation of Freedom, its 2018 – 2019 annual report. This report highlights the OHRC’s work to provide strong, independent oversight over human rights across Ontario.
From: About the Commission
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) approved a Community Engagement Strategy, Communities for change, in 2018 and also committed to reviewing it on an annual basis. This Update summarizes the results of the 2019 review.
Dear Secretary Davidson:
Thank you for meeting with me on May 27, 2019 to discuss anti-Black racism in the Ontario Public Service (OPS). I am writing today to request further details on the government’s existing and planned initiatives to address systemic racism in the OPS.
As we discussed, a group of racialized employees has asked to meet with the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) to discuss their concerns about anti-Black racism in the OPS. This meeting has been scheduled for June 19, 2019.
This is further to the discussions you had recently with representatives from the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC).
Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is responding to the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Reclaiming Power and Place.
I am writing to commend the government on its recent announcements regarding investments in mental health services for frontline workers including correctional officers, and Ontario Provincial Police personnel and their families. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) welcomes the government’s acknowledgment that many correctional staff and police officers face mental health issues.
TORONTO – In April, 2019, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) and the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) renewed an agreement, originally signed in April 2017, to work together with the ultimate goal of ending discrimination against Indigenous peoples in Ontario. The renewed agreement reinforces our ongoing collaboration with urban Indigenous communities based on trust, dignity, respect and a shared commitment to reconciliation and substantive equality.
Thank you for providing the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) with the opportunity to tour Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC) in London, Ontario on March 21, 2019.
The OHRC wrote to 40 municipalities about the harmful impact of Indigenous-themed sports logos in city facilities.
We agree that accessibility is good for business and that employment is a fundamental issue for people with disabilities. In fact, Canada and Ontario recognize through its international treaty obligations that people with disabilities have the right to work like everyone else.
The OHRC generally supports the overall intent of the Ministry’s draft Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) for school board policies on service animals in schools.
I am writing on behalf of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) to support Bill 83, An Act to proclaim a Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia.
I am writing today to communicate the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) strong support for Bill 76, An Act to ensure that the laws of Ontario are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Today, the Court of Appeal for Ontario unanimously held that administrative segregation of any prisoner for more than 15 days is cruel and unusual treatment, contrary to s. 12 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The OHRC has released videotapes of a training session on our new Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities. OHRC Senior Policy Analyst Cherie Robertson leads you through key elements of the policy.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) offers the following submission on Bill 68, The Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, 2019.
Originally published by the Globe & Mail - The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was sounding the alarm on this inhumane practice well before I met Adam Capay in a segregation cell in the Thunder Bay Jail in October 2016.
I am writing today about the Superior Court of Justice’s decision in R. v Capay (2019 ONSC 535) dated January 28, 2019. Consistent with other recent court cases and the OHRC’s earlier calls to action, the factual findings in R. v Capay confirm that segregation is harmful to health, increases risk and undermines safety, rehabilitation and reintegration. As I am sure you will agree, Justice Fregeau’s findings are extremely troubling and call for decisive action.
January 25, 2019 - I am writing today to provide the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) perspective on the government’s consultation on increasing the housing supply in Ontario.
The OHRC makes the following deputation to the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) in response to its Anti-Racism Advisory Panel (ARAP) Quarterly Update.
Toronto – After the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario invited the OHRC to intervene in the case of Gallant v Mississauga, the OHRC reached a settlement with the City of Mississauga and the Applicant, Bradley Gallant. The settlement addresses the harmful impact of stereotypes on Indigenous youth by requiring Mississauga to remove from its sports facilities all Indigenous-themed mascots, symbols, names and imagery related to non-Indigenous sports organizations.
Toronto - Today, on International Human Rights Day, the OHRC released A collective impact, the interim report on its inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the Toronto Police Service.
Toronto - At the second annual OHRC Community Advisory Group Summit, on November 20 and 21, 2018, approximately 40 representatives serving diverse communities across Ontario offered their expertise, lived experience and insight on commitments made in the OHRC’s 2017-2022 Strategic Plan, Putting people and their rights at the centre.
Toronto – Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released To dream together: Indigenous peoples and human rights dialogue report.
Human Rights Commission across Canada - members of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies (CASHRA) - applaud the government of British Columbia's plans to establish an independent human rights commission.
Toronto – Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released a new policy statement on cannabis and Ontario’s Human Rights Code.
Toronto – Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) filed a notice of intervention with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) in the case of AB v Ministry of Education, involving recent changes to Ontario’s education curriculum.
OPINION - The first day of school is a time to reconnect and arrive recharged and ready to learn. But for students with disabilities and their families, it is often a day that is filled with anxiety.
Toronto – Today, the OHRC released its new Policy on accessible education for students with disabilities, along with recommendations on how to best meet legal obligations under Ontario’s Human Rights Code.
Toronto – Today, the OHRC released Impact today, investment for tomorrow, its 2017-2018 Annual Report.
Toronto – The OHRC intervened in Talos v Grand Erie District School Board to challenge the provision of Ontario’s Human Rights Code that allowed employers to cut or reduce benefits to workers aged 65 and over. The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario found that subsection 25(2.1) of the Code, as well as related provisions in the Employment Standards Act and its regulations, amount to age discrimination and violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
TIMMINS — In February, Joey Knapaysweet, 21, and Angnes Sutherland, 62, both from Fort Albany First Nation, died in separate incidents involving the Timmins Police Service. Both incidents are being examined by the Special Investigations Unit. The deaths galvanized a community where Mayor Steve Black said a police gun had not been fired in the line of duty in 34 years.
Toronto – Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released Call It Out. This new interactive eLearning program is a tool designed to raise awareness of the history and impact of racism and racial discrimination and to promote a culture of human rights in Ontario.
In advance of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21), the OHRC is inviting people to take part in its public interest inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the Toronto Police Service (TPS).
For me, the answer must start with understanding freedom from sexual harassment as a human right. Realizing the freedom from violence is essential to human dignity, equality, and hope.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) supports the proposed Correctional Services Transformation Act (CSTA), introduced on February 20, 2018, as an important step towards meeting Ontario’s ambitious commitments in relation to correctional reform.
One year ago today – January 29, 2017 – Canadians learned of the mass murder of six people, and the wounding of many others at a Centre culturel islamique de Québec in Quebec City. I was riveted by my tiny screen as the events were reported in real time on social media late into the night – a bystander watching from behind a glass window powerless to do anything.
Toronto – On January 16, 2018, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario issued a Consent Order requiring Ontario to end the use of segregation for people with mental health disabilities across its 26 correctional facilities, barring exceptional circumstances. The Order was obtained on the consent of the OHRC and the Ontario government.
Toronto – In advance of Human Rights Day (December 10), the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has released Taking the pulse: People’s opinions on human rights in Ontario. This report examined the results of a public opinion survey of 1,501 people aged 18 and older.
Toronto – Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) announced that it has launched a public interest inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination by the Toronto Police Service (TPS). Using its legislated inquiry powers under section 31 of Ontario’s Human Rights Code, the OHRC has called for the TPS, the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) and the Special Investigations Unit to provide a wide range of data to determine exactly how and where racial profiling operates in law enforcement.
Toronto - At the first-ever OHRC Community Advisory Group Summit, on November 8 and 9, 2017, approximately 50 representatives from various communities across Ontario offered their expertise, lived experience and creativity to help the OHRC create a sustainable and transparent approach to community engagement.
In conversations about criminal justice reform, it has become cliché for leaders to conclude that sustainable solutions lie in “rebuilding trust.” And for good reason. A September 2017 poll found that six in 10 Torontonians would “be scared” if they were “pulled over by a police officer for no apparent reason.” When speaking to the introduction of the Safer Ontario Act, Attorney General Yasir Naqvi said the legislation will rebuild trust. But will it?
I am writing to express the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) support for Bill 164, which was introduced on October 4, 2017 in the Legislature. We understand that the Second Reading will take place on October 26. As I expressed in our meeting on October 2, it is the OHRC’s position that Bill 164 improves the Human Rights Code by including new grounds of protection for people under social condition, police records, genetic characteristics, and immigration status.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) makes the following deputation in response to the Toronto Police Service’s (TPS) Discussion Paper in which it proposes to expand the deployment of Conducted Energy Weapons (CEWs) to on-duty primary response unit constables and on-duty constables from designated specialized units.
Toronto – Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released a new policy statement explaining the purpose and importance of the duty to accommodate under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code).
Just as students were headed back to school, a vigorous debate was unfolding on the pages of this paper (and others) about the accommodation of students with mental health disabilities. Unfortunately, this debate has been dominated by professors and columnists whose expertise lies outside human rights law and whose opinions do not adequately take into account the lived experience of discrimination.
Bill 164, Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2017, introduced yesterday in the Ontario Legislature, would amend the Human Rights Code (Code) to include social condition, police records, genetic characteristics and immigration status as prohibited grounds of discrimination.
Toronto – Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) announced new legal action to advance the human rights of prisoners with mental health disabilities in Ontario’s correctional facilities at a press conference at Queen’s Park.
Toronto – The OHRC will announce new legal action to advance the human rights of individuals with mental health disabilities in Ontario’s correctional facilities at a press conference on September 26, 2017.
