News Centre

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.

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.

Given the vital work ahead with the plan to reopen schools, the OHRC is calling on the government to convene a Return-to-School Partnership Table to provide advice, input and expertise on implementing plans for Ontario’s students, educators and school boards from the perspective of Code-protected groups. The OHRC also recommends that the Ministry advise school boards to convene similar local tables to ensure that board-specific plans meet the needs of all students.

The OHRC and MERC are encouraged by the government’s announcement that more than $500 million will be invested in Ontario’s correctional system over the next five years, and urge you to allocate this investment in a way that directly improves the on-the-ground conditions prisoners and front-line staff face every day in Ontario.

Given the vulnerability of tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic, the OHRC wants to remind the Greater Sudbury Landlord Association and the City of Greater Sudbury as a housing service manager and OW administrator, of their human rights obligations relating to rental housing.

Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) submitted People, power, progress, its 2019 – 2020 annual report. The report highlights the OHRC’s work to advance human rights on key issues in communities across Ontario.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is responding to the notice of proposed amendments to Ontario Regulation 329/04 made under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). Among other things, the proposed amendments prescribe elements for collecting, using and reporting personal health information collected through the electronic health record.

The OHRC welcomes the proposed amendment to Ontario Regulation 569 made under the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) that would require collecting information on race, income level, language and household size for people who test positive for a novel coronavirus, including COVID-19. The OHRC recommends the ministry consider expanding the required collection of information to include other vulnerable populations identified in Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

I am writing on behalf of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) to acknowledge the steps the Ministry of Education (Ministry) has taken on its review of the Peel District School Board (PDSB) in response to growing concerns about systemic discrimination, anti-Black racism, discord among senior leadership, and issues of governance. The OHRC is very troubled by the review’s findings, and the significant human rights issues raised in the way that the PDSB manages issues related to Black students. 

The OHRC welcomes the April 23 release of the government’s COVID-19 Action Plan for Vulnerable People (the Plan) as a first step toward addressing the disproportionate impact that the pandemic is having on Ontario’s most vulnerable people. However, to ensure that the human rights of vulnerable people are protected in a way that is consistent with Ontario’s Human Rights Code, the Plan requires expanded scope and detail, which must be done in consultation with vulnerable groups and human rights experts.

Over the last two months, the OHRC has met with a range of stakeholders representing racialized communities, people experiencing poverty, people with disabilities, older people and other Code-protected groups. These groups are concerned that certain aspects in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic are having a negative impact on their human rights, and have raised four immediate concerns

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) stands with Black communities in Ontario, in Canada and around the world in confronting and condemning anti-Black racism as it is experienced through racial profiling and other forms of systemic racial discrimination.

Today, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada appointed Renu Mandhane a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Brampton) effective immediately. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) congratulates the Honourable Madam Justice Mandhane on her appointment.

In a significant decision, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) found that Convention refugees should not face discriminatory barriers to accessing employment and contributing fully to Ontario society.

TORONTO – Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) launched a survey for educators and other professionals who have experience with reading disabilities, as part of its inquiry into human rights issues that affect students with reading disabilities in Ontario’s public education system.

I am writing today on behalf of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) about the government’s consultation on Ontario’s next Poverty Reduction Strategy (Strategy). The OHRC calls on Ontario to take a human rights-based approach to poverty reduction by entrenching the types of economic and social responses to COVID-19 into permanent solutions that will once and for all protect the well-being of everyone in our province.

The OHRC encourages the government to once again heed the advice of health and human rights experts who agree that Ontario needs demographic data to effectively fight COVID-19.

Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) notes the release of Justice David Cole’s Final Report, which finds that Ontario has not complied with a legal settlement and order requiring it to ensure that prisoners with mental health disabilities receive appropriate mental health services, and are not placed in segregation except as a last resort.

On behalf of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), thank you for your ongoing efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

TORONTO – Today the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released a policy statement to guide all levels of government to adopt a human rights-based approach to managing policy, legal, regulatory, public health and emergency-related responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report summarizes the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) findings and human rights concerns about the conditions of confinement at Toronto South Detention Centre (TSDC). Click below to see the full report. Report on conditions of confinement at Toronto South Detention Centre

  Last updated October 20, 2022 The OHRC has developed a series of questions and answers for understanding your human rights and obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. These questions and answers cover the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, tenants and landlords, as well as residential institutions. Disclaimer: The answers to the questions posed do not constitute legal advice. The OHRC continues to monitor the evolving situation and will update or add to these questions and answers on an ongoing basis as needed.

Following the lead of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) urges Ontarians to keep human rights principles under Ontario’s Human Rights Code (Code), the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) and relevant international human rights treaties at the centre of decision-making during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) received a copy of the determination of Integrity Commissioner, the Honourable J. David Wake about the appointment of Police Constable Randall Arsenault as a part-time Commissioner. The determination was also shared with the Attorney General.

Pursuant to the Agencies and Appointments Directive (AAD), please find attached a signed affirmation of the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the Ontario Human Rights Commission and Attorney General of Ontario (MOU). I request that you review and sign the affirmation at your earliest convenience.