Archive

NIMBYism – a human rights issue When affordable housing is being considered, there is almost always some opposition. Some of it may be legitimate (such as wanting to build a high-rise apartment building on a street with only single detached housing) – but other opposition has the potential to leave municipalities vulnerable to human rights complaints.

Every person has the right to be treated equally in the area of housing without discrimination because of any of the grounds set out in the Code. The purpose of anti-discrimination laws is to prevent the violation of human dignity and freedom by imposing disadvantage, stereotyping, or political or social prejudice.

March 2012 - The OHRC will focus its comments on the issues and barriers identified in the CRSAO’s reports that connect to the OHRC’s current priority initiatives dealing with racism experienced by Aboriginal people and other groups as well as disability, especially mental health discrimination.

For an electronic copy of this Consultation Report or for a copy of the Human Rights Issues in Insurance Discussion Paper, please visit the Commission’s Web site at www.ohrc.on.ca Alternative formats are also available upon request. The Commission would be pleased to receive further input on this Report or the Discussion Paper or on any other matter related to human rights and insurance. You can contact the Commission in several ways:

March 2012 - A story this week in the Toronto Star told of a candidate for a job with a police service who was asked, at an interview, to provide the password for his Facebook page. The story provoked a discussion on the blog of law professor David Doorey; is asking for such information contrary to Ontario’s Human Rights Code?

Glossary of Gender This glossary was compiled by Transgender Nation (San Francisco, California). The organization is a diverse group of transgendered and non-transgendered people united “in anger” and resolved to directly empower all transgendered people by direct political action. assigned gender at birth - the gender one is considered to be at birth, due to the presence of whatever external sex organs. Once this determination is made, it becomes a label used for raising the child in either one gender image or the other.

Toronto - A report on first year activities undertaken as part of joint Project Charter with the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was released today by the Windsor Police Service (WPS), the Windsor Police Services Board (WPSB) and the Ontario Police College (OPC).

Toronto – Two public interest inquiries by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) will explore if new rental housing licensing bylaws in North Bay and Waterloo create discriminatory barriers to rental housing. New bylaws in the two municipalities come into force in the next few months – Waterloo’s on April 1, 2012 and North Bay’s on May 1, 2012.

March 2012 - Ontario’s human rights system faces challenges unprecedented in our history. Across the province, our communities are changing. New groups are arriving in what were once homogeneous areas; the population is aging; there is a much greater awareness of the rights and needs of people with disabilities and a greater awareness of social justice issues in general, although much remains to be done.

Toronto - Ontario Human Rights Commission Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall today launched the Living Rights Project, a web-based living library that puts real people into the human rights discussion. The project was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ontario’s Human Rights Code, and to be an ongoing resource for all Ontarians. Hall made the announcement at Parkdale Collegiate Institute, which will serve as a program partner.

Your Worship, Chair Polhill, and Committee Members, I am writing to comment on proposed amendments to the City’s Official Plan and Zoning By-Law. As you consider these amendments, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) would like to outline some human rights principles that may affect your decision, and to ask some questions.

 

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Ontario’s Human Rights Code calls upon us all to work toward “the creation of a climate of understanding and mutual respect for the dignity and worth of each person so that each person feels a part of the community and able to contribute fully to the development and well-being of the community and the Province” (Preamble to the Code). At the OHRC, we describe that task as “building a culture of human rights”.

2012 - This guide offers an overview of the human rights responsibilities of municipalities in housing. It offers information about the various legislated tools municipalities have, and shows some examples of how municipal planners, councillors, Housing Service Managers, District Social Service Boards and others can use “best practices” to overcome discriminatory neighbourhood opposition and promote housing that is free from discrimination. The guide can also be a resource for organizations and advocates who are working with municipalities to advance human rights in housing.

Kingston - Attorney General John Gerretsen today joined Barbara Hall, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, to launch In the zone: Housing, human rights and municipal planning. The guide offers municipalities information about their legal obligations, and about the tools and best practices they can apply to connect human rights and housing when making zoning and planning decisions.

Ontario’s human rights system consists of three separate and independent parts: 1. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (the “OHRC”) works on the roots of discrimination in order to effect systemic change. It develops policies and provides targeted public education, monitors human rights, does research and analysis, and conducts human rights inquiries. In matters affecting the broad public interest, it may take its own cases to the Tribunal or intervene in human rights cases before the Tribunal.

Ontario's Human Rights Code, the first in Canada, was enacted in 1962.  The Code prohibits actions that discriminate against people based on a protected ground  in a protected social area.

1. The context for interpreting the Code a) Background and history In 1962, many laws dealing with discrimination were brought together, along with additional protections, to create the Code. The Code has been amended at various times since then. The most recent amendments were passed in December 2006. The Ontario Code only provides protection against discrimination in Ontario. There are other pieces of human rights legislation in each of the other provinces and territories and federally.

The Code does not define “employment,” but the Commission interprets this word in a broad way. Employment includes full-time and part-time work, contract work, work done by temporary staff from agencies, probationary periods and even includes volunteer work.

The right to “equal treatment with respect to employment” protects persons in all aspects of employment, including applying for a job, recruitment, training, transfers, promotions, terms of apprenticeship, dismissals, layoffs and terminations. It also covers rate of pay, codes of conduct, overtime, hours of work, holidays, benefits, shift work, performance evaluations and discipline. A fundamental starting point for complying with the Code in relation to all of these is to have a workplace setting where human rights are respected and applied.

Even without the legal requirement not to discriminate, providing a fair work environment that respects the dignity of all employees is in an organization’s best interests. Today's global economy, multicultural society and highly competitive corporate environment place greater demands on all organizations. Employers need to recruit and retain the best employees for their organizations, and part of that process involves selecting and keeping employees with diverse backgrounds and talents from the widest possible pool of candidates.

Appendix A – other OHRC publications The Commission website (www.ohrc.on.ca) is the most current and exhaustive source of information about the work of the Commission. All Commission publications are available on the website. This includes approved policies and guidelines, consultation documents, and plain language publications. Information can also be found on current Commission activities. Bound copies of Commission documents are available through Publications Ontario at 1-800-668-9938.

The Code has prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability for over 20 years. Persons with disabilities have the right to equal treatment in accessing services such as those provided by restaurants, shops, hotels, movie theatres and other public places. Businesses have an obligation to make their facilities accessible. A failure to provide persons with disabilities with equal access to a facility or equal treatment in a service would constitute discrimination under the Code and can be the subject of the human rights complaint to the OHRC.

With the recent passage of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act[1] (“the AODA”), accessibility issues in Ontario are now governed by three pieces of complementary legislation: the Code, the AODA, and the Ontario Building Code (“OBC”).