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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. Submission to the Ministry of Community and Social Services regarding the final proposed Accessible Transportation Standard

    March 2009 - The Ontario Human Rights Commission would like to congratulate the members of the Accessible Transportation Standards Development Committee for all their hard work in developing the most recent Proposed Accessible Transportation Standard. This Standard is a vast improvement over the initial standard proposed to government in 2007 and hopefully will become an important driver of change once passed into regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) 2005.
  2. Ontario Human Rights Commission Submission to the Accessible Built Environment Standards Development Committee Regarding The Initial Proposed Accessible Built Environment Standard

    October 2009 - The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has reviewed the initial proposed Accessible Built Environment Standard prepared by the Accessible Built Environment Standards Development Committee pursuant to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). The OHRC offers the following comment for consideration by the Committee and the Government as the Committee deliberates and prepares to submit to the Government a final proposed Standard following the public consultation period.
  3. Comment of the Ontario Human Rights Commission on Every Door is the Right Door: Towards a 10-Year Mental Health and Addictions Strategy - Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

    August 2009 - The Ontario Human Rights Commission, (the “Commission”) commends the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (“Ministry”) for its work on an improved strategy to meet the needs of Ontarians with mental illnesses and addictions. The Commission is pleased to provide its input on this discussion paper, particularly with respect to the sections on Stigma and Healthy Communities.
  4. Submission of the Ontario Human Rights Commission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy on an Act to regulate retirement homes

    May 2010 - Through its various consultations on age, disability, housing, and mental health, the OHRC has heard about the human rights concerns that have arisen with respect to retirement homes. For example, it has heard about retirement home providers not accommodating older residents' disabilities. It has heard about issues of heterosexism and homophobia, where gay, lesbian or bisexual people's lives were not recognized and their partners not acknowledged, or they were subjected to homophobic treatment by facility staff. Several groups expressed concern regarding the cultural, linguistic, and religious needs of older persons living in care facilities.
  5. Count me in! Collecting human rights based data - Summary (fact sheet)

    2010 - Many people think that collecting and analyzing data that identifies people on the basis of race, disability, sexual orientation and other Ontario Human Rights Code (Code) grounds is not allowed. But collecting data on Code grounds for a Code-consistent purpose is allowed and is supported by Canada’s human rights legislative framework. This summary is a brief overview of some of the key points raised in the guide.

  6. Sexual harassment in education (brochure)

    2011 - The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits sexual harassment in education. “Education” includes primary, secondary and post-secondary education, and school activities such as sports, arts and cultural activities, school functions, field trips and tutoring. Sexual harassment may also occur as part of school rituals, such as when initiating new students, new players in team sports, or new members of sororities and fraternities. More and more, students are being sexually harassed online. Technology, such as e-mail, blogs, social networking sites, chat rooms, dating websites, text messaging features, etc., provides new frontiers for the sexual harassment.

  7. Ontario Human Rights Commission submission regarding the Ministry of Community and Social Services Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2005

    October 2010 - The OHRC is again raising a number of concerns about the proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation, echoing those we’ve highlighted in past AODA submissions. Specifically, the proposed IAR fails to identify interpretive human rights principles upfront and apply them to many of its provisions.
  8. Spreading the message about human rights in housing: you can help!

    June 1, 2011 - At the Ontario Human Rights Commission, we have heard many stories of discrimination in rental housing. Some people face discrimination right at the beginning of their search – in rental housing advertisements. Tenants and advocates have brought a number of these ads to our attention. As a result, we are working with partners in housing and the media to increase awareness of human rights in housing, and find ways to prevent and address discriminatory ads.

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