disability

COVID-19 and Ontario’s Human Rights Code – Questions and Answers

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.

OHRC policy statement on the COVID-19 pandemic

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.

OHRC files human rights application related to deaths of Joey Knapaysweet, Agnes Sutherland

On the second anniversary of the deaths of Joey Knapaysweet and Agnes Sutherland, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) announced it has filed an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) alleging discrimination based on Indigenous ancestry by public service providers in Timmins, Ontario.

OHRC announces locations for Right to Read public hearings

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has announced locations and participation details for its Right to Read public hearings in Brampton, London, Thunder Bay and Ottawa, where students, parents and other stakeholders can share their stories and lived experiences related to reading disabilities.

OHRC marks Human Rights Day with call for student art, poetry and media

To mark International Human Rights Day, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is calling on students to submit art, poetry and media on “what the right to read means to me” as part of its Right to Read inquiry.

Letter to Board Chair and Director of Education for eight selected school boards

I am writing to your school board to request documents, data and information that may be relevant to the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) Right to Read inquiry into human rights issues that affect students with reading disabilities in Ontario’s public education system.

Right to Read: public inquiry into human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities

The OHRC is conducting a public inquiry into potential human rights issues that affect students with reading disabilities in Ontario’s public education system.

OHRC launches Right to Read public inquiry

Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) launched Right to Read, a public inquiry into human rights issues that affect students with reading disabilities in Ontario’s public education system.

Voices from the community

[The] public school refused to acknowledge or accept the dyslexia diagnosis until she was seven. … Without timely remediation, my daughter is barely able to read and write in English as she enters Grade 3. … In the meantime, her mental health is strained because she is keenly aware of her learning differences and extremely frustrated by the fact that she struggles to read and write. … Last year she asked Santa Claus for “the power to read” – she’s still wondering if she’ll ever get her wish.

Parent of 8-year-old

Voices from community partners

The Learning Disabilities Associations (LDAs) across Canada started from the Toronto office in 1963 and today is overseen coast-to-coast by the LDA of Canada. The LDAC led the efforts involving the Geoffrey Moore case where the Supreme Court of Canada examined the rights to education and considered the “ramp” required for those with Learning Disabilities to have the access they deserve. Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (LDAO) is committed to students with Learning Disabilities being given the best possible opportunities to succeed in Ontario schools and therefore looks forward t

Ontario Human Rights Commission

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