Archive

Toronto - Beginning this October 1st, the Ontario Human Rights Commission will implement a new process for self-drafting of human rights complaints. Under the old process, complainants were required to fill out a 7-page questionnaire in order to file a complaint. Close to 50% of the intake questionnaires sent to complainants were never returned. In the new self drafting process, individuals will be asked to provide the particulars of their allegations directly onto a 4-page complaint form. This new approach will speed up the processing of complaints and give individuals more control over their complaint.

September 2004 - am writing pursuant to my mandate under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) to outline potential human rights concerns arising from the Toronto Police Services Board’s (the “Board”) recommendations related to the establishment of a new police complaints system as contained in a report entitled Changes to the Complaints System - Final Recommendations and in an Addendum to the July 20, 2004 Report: Changes to the Complaints System - Final Recommendations.

September 2004 - This submission is in response to the Ministry of Labour’s public consultation on ending mandatory retirement.The Ontario Human Rights Commission (“OHRC”) commends the Ministry for these steps towards ending mandatory retirement.

Toronto - This October, the Ontario Human Rights Commission will be implementing a new process for self-drafted human rights complaints. I am taking this opportunity to explain the background for this decision, why it is being implemented and what it entails.

Toronto - Chief Commissioner Keith Norton today released the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Year-End Results for the 2003-2004 fiscal period.

June 2004 - I am pleased to report on the work of the Ontario Human Rights Commission for the April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004 fiscal year.

Toronto - The Ontario Human Rights Commission has asked the Toronto District School Board and Ontario’s Ministry of Education to recognize that "zero tolerance" disciplinary legislation and related school board policies may be having a discriminatory effect on racialized students and students with disabilities.

April 2004 - The Commission is pleased to have the opportunity to make this public submission to the Toronto District School Board’s Safe and Compassionate Schools Task Force. The Commission makes this submission in accordance with its previously stated intent to examine the concern that the Safe Schools Act and related school board policies are having a discriminatory effect on racialized students and students with disabilities.

April 2004 - In the spring of 2001, the Commission began its efforts to engage the restaurant industry to promote the accessibility of its services and facilities for persons with disabilities in Ontario. The audit focused on the physical premises and services of seven select restaurant chains totaling 28 locations across the province.

Toronto - The Ontario Human Rights Commission today announced that seven chains, Country Style Donuts, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Subway, Swiss Chalet and Tim Hortons have made commitments to a process that will eliminate barriers for customers with disabilities. This result was obtained after the Commission shared the results of an independent accessibility audit with the chains.

March 2004 - This submission is in response to the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration’s public consultation on strengthening the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA).The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) commends the Ministry for this initiative to make the ODA stronger and more effective. We believe that a strong ODA can lead to significant improvements in the lives of Ontarians with disabilities.

Toronto - At its meeting on January 28, 2004, the Commission decided to refer an unprecedented 121 autism-related complaints to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. The complaints against various Government of Ontario ministries allege discrimination on the basis of disability in accessing services. The Commission has referred the complaints based on the restrictive eligibility criteria for funding support and long waiting lists for a government program.

Toronto - The Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario (HRPAO) and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) today announced that in partnership they have produced an all-new and updated version of the publication Human Rights at Work.

December 2003 - In order to bridge the divide between those who deny the existence of racial profiling on the one hand, and the communities who have long held that they are targets of racial profiling on the other, the Commission plans to

December 2003 - In reviewing the material received during its inquiry, the following eight themes emerged.

December 2003 - The Commission’s racial profiling inquiry initiative was undertaken in response to community concerns about the impact of profiling on members of their respective communities. The inquiry’s main objectives were to give individuals who had been subjected to profiling an opportunity to share those experiences and to show its effects on their families and communities. In doing so, the Commission hoped to raise public awareness of the harmful effects and the social costs of racial profiling.

December 2003 - The Report wraps up the Commission’s inquiry initiative by relating what the Commission heard and providing an analysis of the effects of profiling on more than just the individuals and communities most likely to experience it. The Report also analyzes the detrimental impact that profiling is having on societal institutions such as the education system, law enforcement agencies, service providers, etc., and providers, etc., and provides recommendations for bringing an end to this practice.

December 2003 - The Commission’s report on racial profiling puts forward a number of recommendations to address the issue of racial profiling.

Toronto - "Racial profiling has no place in our society. We have to stop debating the issue and start acting on it," was the key message delivered today by Chief Commissioner Keith Norton at the release of the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s report on the effects of racial profiling. Entitled, Paying the Price: The Human Cost of Racial Profiling, the Report is based on over 400 personal accounts of experiences with profiling that individuals shared with the Commission during the course of its Racial Profiling Inquiry held earlier this year. The Report looks at the human cost of racial profiling on individuals who have experienced it, their families and their communities and the detrimental impacts of this practice on society as a whole.

Toronto - The Ontario Human Rights Commission today announced that some accounts from the Commission's recent inquiry on racial profiling have been adapted for the national radio program, Sounds Like Canada and will be aired from December 1st to December 12th, 2003.

Toronto - Chief Commissioner Keith Norton challenged education providers today to remove barriers that prevent students with disabilities from receiving the full benefit of their education.

2003 - For the purposes of its inquiry, the Commission’s definition for "racial profiling" is any action undertaken for reasons of safety, security or public protection, that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin, or a combination of these, rather than on a reasonable suspicion, to single out an individual for greater scrutiny or different treatment.

October 2003 - The Report begins with a brief explanation and definition of racial profiling. In addition, the Report explains the human cost of racial profiling on the individuals, families and communities that experience it. It details the detrimental impact that profiling is having on societal institutions such as the education system, law enforcement agencies, service providers and so forth. It also outlines the business case against profiling – in essence the economic loss sustained as a result of racial profiling.

2003 - Under section 29 of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Ontario Human Rights Commission has a mandate to forward human rights policy through education, monitoring, communication, research, inquiries and initiating investigations.

2003 - Barriers to education can take a variety of forms. They can be physical, technological, systemic, financial, or attitudinal, or they can arise from an education provider’s failure to make available a needed accommodation in a timely manner.