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1. COVID-19 and Ontario’s Human Rights Code – Questions and Answers

    

   Last updated October 20, 2022

   The OHRC has developed a series of questions and answers for understanding your human rights and obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. These questions and answers cover the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, tenants and landlords, as well as residential institutions.

   Disclaimer: The answers to the questions posed do not constitute legal advice. The OHRC continues to monitor the evolving situation and will update or add to these questions and answers on an ongoing basis as needed.

    

2. A Collective Impact: Interim report on the inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the Toronto Police Service

   From: Public interest inquiry into racial profiling and discrimination by the Toronto Police Service

   In November 2017, the OHRC launched its inquiry into racial profiling and racial discrimination of Black persons by the TPS to help build trust between the police and Black communities. The goal of the inquiry was to pinpoint problem areas and make recommendations. This Interim Report describes what the OHRC has done to date. It provides findings relating to SIU investigations of police use of force resulting in serious injury or death, describes the lived experiences of Black individuals, and offers highlights of legal decisions.

3. Letter to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services: An action plan to end segregation in Ontario

   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.

4. Applying housing legislation and programs to prevent discrimination

   From: In the zone: Housing, human rights and municipal planning

   Responsibility for housing, either as a Service Manager or as a landlord, also includes a responsibility for human rights. A human rights lens needs to be applied to all housing matters, including the use of tools enabled by legislation.

   Municipalities must follow a variety of provincial legislation regulating housing and housing-related issues. Examples are the Residential Tenancies Act and the Housing Services Act. Both of these contain provisions that can help prevent discrimination and encourage inclusiveness.

5. Every municipality is different

   From: In the zone: Housing, human rights and municipal planning

   Municipalities in Ontario come in all shapes and sizes. Each has different issues, different neighbourhoods and different community needs. And each has a different capacity to respond to these needs. This guide offers a variety of steps municipalities can tailor to meet their unique circumstances, while also meeting their human rights responsibilities.

   About the Human Rights Code

   The Ontario Human Rights Code offers protection from discrimination in five social areas:

6. Appendix C – Glossary

   From: In the zone: Housing, human rights and municipal planning

    

   Affordable housing: Under the Investment in Affordable Housing program, the federal/provincial governments define affordable housing as new rental housing that is rented at no more than 80% of the local average market rent as determined by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

   Arterial road: Major traffic and transit route, intended to carry large volumes of traffic.

   As of right use: Land uses that are automatically allowed by laws such as a municipality’s zoning bylaw.

7. Human rights and creed

   September 2013 - The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is updating its Policy on Creed and the Accommodation of Religious Observances. This page provides some general background information about the update, and what may be changing in the updated policy. It will be revised as the creed project evolves.

8. Policy on competing human rights

   April 2012 - The main goal of this policy is to provide clear, user-friendly guidance to organizations, policy makers, litigants, adjudicators and others on how to assess, handle and resolve competing rights claims. The policy will help various sectors, organizations and individuals deal with everyday situations of competing rights, and avoid the time and expense of bringing a legal challenge before a court or human rights decision-maker. It sets out a process, based in existing case law, to analyze and reconcile competing rights. This process is flexible and can apply to any competing rights claim under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, provincial or federal human rights legislation or another legislative scheme.

9. 1. Introduction

   From: Policy on competing human rights

   “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”^[5]

10. 4. What are competing rights?

    From: Policy on competing human rights

    In general, competing human rights involve situations where parties to a dispute claim that the enjoyment of an individual or group’s human rights and freedoms, as protected by law, would interfere with another’s rights and freedoms. This complicates the normal approach to resolving a human rights dispute where only one side claims a human rights violation. In some cases, only one party is making a human rights claim, but the claim conflicts with the legal entitlements of another party or parties.

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