Papers and reports

The City of Waterloo’s rental housing licensing bylaw came into effect on April 1, 2012. The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was concerned that the licensing regime might discriminate against groups protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) and cause them to lose their current housing, or to have a harder time finding housing in future. As a result, the OHRC initiated an inquiry to learn more.

May 2013 - The City of North Bay’s rental housing licensing bylaw was enacted on January 1, 2012 and came into effect on May 1, 2012. Among other things, this bylaw imposed a bedroom cap, gross floor area requirements and a licensing fee on certain rental units. The OHRC was concerned that the bylaw might reduce the availability of low-cost rental housing and in turn disadvantage groups protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) who rely on that housing. As a result, the OHRC initiated an inquiry to learn more.

September 2012 - Minds that Matter reports the findings from the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) province-wide consultation on the human rights issues experienced by people with mental health disabilities or addictions. It provides a summary of what we heard from more than 1,500 individuals and organizations across Ontario and sets out a number of key recommendations and OHRC commitments.

May 2012 - What follows is a discussion of significant legal decisions dealing with religious and creed rights in Canada. The focus is on decisions made since the Commission issued its 1996 Policy on Creed and the Accommodation of religious observances. It does not review every decision, but those that may be important from a human rights perspective. In addition to a description of the case law, trends and areas where it is anticipated the case law will continue to evolve or be clarified are identified. The review will form the basis for further research and dialogue concerning the law in Canada as it relates to this significant area of human rights.

This document explains the legal backdrop for the Commission’s Policy Framework. It is divided into two main sections. The first provides an overview and summary of key legal principles from some significant legal decisions. This section aims to help readers understand the relevant legal background when seeking to conciliate or otherwise reconcile competing rights claims. The second part of the document surveys the leading cases that deal with competing rights. It also provides examples of situations where the leading cases, and the key principles from them, have been applied by courts and tribunals. It is divided by the types of rights conflicts that most commonly arise. The cases are discussed in some detail as the specific factual context of each case is so important to the rights reconciliation process.

January 2011 - We are developing a human rights and mental health policy that will focus on rights and responsibilities under the Code related to employment, rental housing and services. To guide us in these steps, we are holding public consultations across Ontario in the winter and spring of 2011. This Consultation paper focuses on the major areas we are asking for input on. We will release a report after the consultation to identify the themes and issues that emerge.

November 2009 - The OHRC is developing a human rights mental health strategy to guide its activity in addressing systemic areas of discrimination affecting people with mental health disabilities. In September 2009, the OHRC started meeting with individuals and organizations in the field regarding human rights concerns faced by people with mental health disabilities. This second stage of consultation is aimed at soliciting your views to identify key approaches, issues and projects in these areas.

April 2009 - The goal of this report is to identify the progress of the commitments made by 22 organizations across Ontario in response to the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (“Commission”) Inquiry into Assaults on Asian Canadian Anglers. From these commitments, best practices can be drawn. The Commission has also been monitoring any further incidents, and a description of these is provided.

2008 - This summary report is a short version of a longer, more comprehensive report. Both of these reports have been prepared based on a province-wide consultation on rental housing and human rights by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (the Commission). A key goal of these reports is to help people and organizations across Ontario better understand human rights in rental housing.

May 2008 - This report is the end result of a province-wide consultation on rental housing and human rights by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (the Commission). It documents what the Commission heard and aims to increase our collective understanding of human rights in rental housing. Individuals and organizations responsible for implementing and advancing housing rights protections need to feel “right at home” in understanding what obligations exist and how to fulfill them. Tenants also need to feel “right at home” in being able to access and live in rental housing that is free from discrimination.