(Please note: The views and opinions expressed by the author are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.)
The OHRC welcomes the K-12 Education Standards Development Committee’s 2021 initial recommendations report under the AODA, and provides additional recommendations.
The following types of information should only be requested if they are bona fide requirements because of the nature of the job. Due to the sensitive nature of this information, only request it after making an offer (preferably in writing) of employment:
(Please note: The views and opinions expressed by the author are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.)
by Bill Black
Bill Black is a professor at the U.B.C. Faculty of Law. He was a member of the Canadian Human Rights Act Review Panel and in 1994 wrote a Report on Human Rights in British Columbia. He is a former director of the University of Ottawa Human Rights Research and Education Centre.
As discussed above, the intersectional approach is the preferred one for complaints and cases that cite multiple grounds. Nevertheless, there are other ways in which multiple grounds matters are being handled by human rights bodies, courts and international bodies such as the United Nations (the “UN”). In some instances, the grounds are looked at sequentially to see whether discrimination can be made out on the basis of each one in turn.
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 Right to Read inquiry’s terms of reference[11] explain the scope of the inquiry. The inquiry looked into five requirements that are essential to meeting the right to read:
It is not possible to slot people’s experiences of racial discrimination into clear categories. Manifestations of discrimination blur together and overlap to a large degree. However, for the purposes of this policy, it is necessary to describe the different ways in which racial discrimination can take place. Therefore, what follows is a discussion of the main ways in which racial discrimination can occur that are helpful in understanding and addressing the experience of racial discrimination.
Every person has the right to equal treatment in employment without discrimination based on Code grounds. In Ontario, about three-quarters of all human rights claims come from the workplace.
Employment is used in a very general way in the Code. Employees, independent contractors[7] and volunteers are covered.
a) Make sure that job requirements are reasonable and made in good faith
All jobs include performing certain tasks that may be considered requirements. A requirement, qualification or factor that is neutral and non-discriminatory on its face, may nonetheless exclude, restrict or prefer some persons because of a ground set out in the Code. This is often called "adverse effect” or "constructive" discrimination and is prohibited under section 11 of the Code. See also Section III-2g) – “Workplace rules that are not bona fide”.