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Goods, services and facilities

 

You have the right to be free from discrimination when you receive goods or services, or use facilities. For example, this right applies to:

  • stores, restaurants and bars
  • hospitals and health services
  • schools, universities and colleges
  • public places, amenities and utilities such as recreation centres, public washrooms, malls and parks
  • services and programs provided by municipal and provincial governments, including social assistance and benefits, and public transit
  • services provided by insurance companies
  • classified advertisement space in a newspaper. 

Relevant policies and guides:

  1. Letter to the Minister of Education, school leaders on respecting the rights of students with disabilities

    July 14, 2020

    The unprecedented closure of schools has been difficult for all students. The OHRC has heard from stakeholders that students with special education needs and other vulnerabilities have experienced unique and compounded challenges, that their circumstances have not consistently been considered and addressed, and that as a result, they have fallen even further behind than their peers. It is imperative that the MOE and school boards establish plans and programs to systematically and consistently address the needs of students with disabilities for the 2020 – 2021 school year.

  2. Letter to the Minister of Health on Bioethics Table recommendations and proposed framework for a COVID-19 triage protocol

    October 30, 2020

    On October 16, 2020, the OHRC wrote to the Minister of Health raising concerns about the proposed framework for a COVID-19 triage protocol to allocate limited critical care services in a potential major surge in COVID-19 cases. Read the letter.

  3. Letter to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services re: Findings from Tour of Vanier Centre for Women

    January 7, 2019 - As part of the OHRC monitoring of the settlement in the Jahn matter, we visited the Vanier Centre for Women (“Vanier”) in Milton, Ontario. I am writing today to provide you with a summary of what we learned on our December 4, 2018 visit.

  4. Letter to the Ministry of Education regarding the provincial and demonstration schools consultation

    April 6, 2016 - Dear Minister, I write in regard to your Ministry’s current consultation involving certain provincial and demonstration schools for students with disabilities. Under Ontario’s Human Rights Code, students with disabilities have a right to be free from discrimination. This includes the duty to accommodate students’ disability related needs. That duty also covers the accommodation process and everyone involved.

  5. Letter to the special advisor of the Ontario Health Data Platform about data collection

    July 14, 2020

    While we are pleased to see the announcement on June 15, 2020, that Ontario is expanding data collection to include race, income, language and household size for individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, in our view, these categories do not go far enough. We reiterate the importance of meaningful consultation on data collection and involving Code-protected and other vulnerable groups who are at heightened risk.

  6. Letter to the Thunder Bay Police Service and Thunder Bay Police Services Board regarding systemic discrimination and racism

    October 27, 2016

    Thank you once again for your hospitality and candour. During the meeting, we discussed concerns that leaders and members of the Indigenous community brought to my attention earlier in the day; namely, alleged racism and systemic discrimination within the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS). We discussed more generally the relationship between the TBPS and Indigenous communities in light of recent events.

  7. Letter to the Toronto District School Board on its Collaborative Approach to School and Community Safety Report

    December 5, 2022

    The OHRC is aware the TDSB has taken a decision to end the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program. It recognizes your obligation as a duty-holder to protect the safety of students. However, to the extent that there are bona fide and legitimate reasons to seek external help, the OHRC reminds all parties that the discussion and decision should be informed by human rights principles as set out in the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code).

  8. Letter to the Toronto Police Services Board regarding the analysis of contact card data

    March 28, 2013

    Dear Dr. Mukherjee, I wish to commend the Toronto Police Services Board's (the "TPSB") approval of a project to collect and analyze data related to contact cards and the pattern of contact between the police and members of the community in general including young people from certain racialized communities. I also understand that the TPSB is seeking an opinion from the City Solicitor on the legality of the practice of carding and the issuance of receipts, which engages the issue of human rights-based data collection and analysis.

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