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Every person having legal capacity has a right to contract on equal terms without discrimination because of any Code ground. A contract is a legal agreement. It can be a written or verbal agreement.

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

The Code protects people from discrimination in specific situations. Under the Code, you have the right to be free from discrimination in five parts of society – called social areas – based on one or more grounds. The five social areas are: employment, housing, services, unions and vocational associations and contracts.

Recent references to a transgender person in a column and in letters to the editor are of concern to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, because they advance some common misinformation that has caused serious harm to the transgender community.

Thank you for receiving the Commission’s deputation on racial profiling and carding on November 18, 2013. We understand that the Toronto Police Services Board (the TPSB”) has retained Frank Addario to provide an independent legal opinion on carding, and that he has a broad mandate to look at “the entire process of interactions between police officers and members of the public”.

Thank you for this opportunity to provide our comments to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s Land Use Planning and Appeal System Review. Please find attached the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s written submission.

December 2013 - The Guide to your rights and responsibilities under the Human Rights Code gives a basic overview of Parts I and II of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code), and offers explanations about these parts of the Code. The guide uses examples to show how the Code would apply in different situations. Many of these examples come from real cases or are based on facts from human rights claims that have been filed.

As part of a government program, Darlene, a grade 12 graduate, got a job with a local garden nursery. She was to help Mr. M., the owner, tend plants and shrubs, place orders and serve customers. Mr. M's first review of Darlene's work showed that she was performing all her job duties exceedingly well. It was obvious that Darlene liked the work.

The Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) provides protection from discrimination in five areas of our lives. It states that every person has a right to freedom from discrimination in the following areas, known as social areas:

Toronto - In recognition of the U.N. International Human Rights Day, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) today released a new and Improved edition of its popular school package entitled, Teaching Human Rights in Ontario (THRIO). This edition focuses on Ontario’s Human Rights Code, its human rights system, and most recent developments in human rights policy and case law.

Human rights quiz How well do you know your rights? Read the following situations and answer the questions by circling Yes, No or Maybe.

Introduction This activity is based on “Taking the Human Rights Temperature of Your School” which was adapted from the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[4] You can evaluate your school’s human rights climate using criteria derived from both the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the Declaration) and the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code). The questions here are adapted from both of these sources.

More often than not, disadvantage arises from the way in which society treats particular individuals, rather than from any characteristic inherent in those individuals.[1]

Human rights are everybody's responsibility In Ontario, we all have a responsibility to make sure that discrimination forbidden by the Code does not happen. Human rights legislation will only be effective when people take an active role in ensuring equality and preventing discrimination. All of us who live in Ontario must:

The federal government and all Canadian provinces and territories have human rights laws with agencies to enforce their legislation. However, not all offer the same human rights protections. For example, not all provinces protect people because of their political beliefs or social condition.

Much of Canada's human rights legislation was developed in the 20th century. The Constitution of the United States deals in large part with human rights; however, the British North America (BNA) Act did not address the issue at all. It focused instead on the division of powers between the federal government and the provinces and territories.

This section includes ideas for other curriculum areas, like role-play techniques in drama classes. Where appropriate, additional references have been provided, but many of the resources are already in this package. For example, to do role-plays during dramatic arts activities, use the case studies in the Students' handouts.

The case studies in the Students' handouts section can be approached in two ways. The first is a forum discussion of each of the case studies. The second has students role-play at a human rights tribunal hearing. Using both approaches will give students a more complete understanding of how the Code is applied.

If there’s time, students can re-do the human rights quiz and compare their answers with those from their first attempt. Discuss their answers to the quiz. Provide information as required to ensure that everyone understands the concepts shown in each situation. The story and discussion points for each situation appear below. You may wish to read or have students read from these discussion points. Make sure that the Preamble and the charts listing the social areas and prohibited grounds covered by the Code are posted prominently in the classroom.

For this activity, students may need to look up the meaning of some words. Give each group a set of Fact sheets 2 through 6 (Students' handouts) that describe types of discrimination: direct discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, poisoned environment, constructive discrimination and systemic discrimination. Tell them that the Code deals with all of these types of discrimination.

In this activity, students work in small groups in a cooperative learning process called a “jigsaw.” A jigsaw is a cooperative learning activity designed for use in the classroom. For more information about this teaching strategy, see Coelho, E., Jigsaw Plus, Unionville, 1991. If your class already has a “home group” structure, the following activity will flow naturally from these groupings.

Instructions: Tell students that they will now learn where and how the Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination. First, review the Preamble and ask them to keep in mind how the various parts of the Code you will be dealing with reflect its “intent” as expressed in the Preamble.

Instructions: Distribute the human rights quiz (Students' handouts) to your students. Tell them that the quiz looks at some situations where the Ontario Human Rights Code may have been violated. Have them work individually or in groups of two to three.