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The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), the City of Hamilton and McMaster University invite you to join us at:
TAKING IT LOCAL
An update on human rights
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
McMaster Innovation Park
175 Longwood Road S., Suite 105, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1
This FREE one-day event features plenary and concurrent sessions on what’s happening in human rights in Ontario. Featured speakers include guests from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the City of Hamilton and McMaster University.
Lunch and light refreshments will be provided.
All sessions will be delivered in English. Print materials will be available in both English and French.
Registration for this event is now CLOSED because we have reached capacity.
If you would like to be added to the waitlist, please email Alicia.Carr@ohrc.on.ca
Program
Opening remarks
Morning plenary: Identifying and overcoming racism and racial discrimination
Learn about the many ways racial discrimination and racial harassment can harm individuals and communities. This session will also equip you with some critical tools to identify and overcome this type of discrimination.
Morning concurrent sessions
Please choose one when you register
C1: Human rights essentials
This introductory session offers a primer on human rights, including an overview of Ontario’s Human Rights Code, the grounds and social areas the Code covers, forms of discrimination, the duty to accommodate, and how Ontario’s human rights system works.C2: Human rights, mental health disabilities and addictions
Learn about the OHRC’s Policy on preventing discrimination based on mental health disabilities and addictions and new report on mental health data. The session will provide information about the human rights of people with mental health disabilities and addictions, and the responsibilities of employers, housing and service providers to protect and promote these rights.C3: Updates on disability and the duty to accommodate
The OHRC is in the process of updating its Policy and Guidelines on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate. Learn about new developments in the law regarding disability accommodation in employment, housing and services (including education). Understand your rights and obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code; how to design your facilities, policies and procedures inclusively; how to respond appropriately to accommodation requests and how to address complaints related to disability. Note that this session is repeated in the afternoon.C4: Competing human rights and how to address them
When one right appears to conflict with another, what do we do? In this session, you will learn how to identify when rights are competing, and how to analyze and resolve this conflict. You’ll learn about the OHRC’s Policy on competing human rights, and how to apply its framework to your own scenario. Participants should already have a basic knowledge of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Afternoon concurrent sessions
Please choose one when you register
C5: Human rights, gender identity and gender expression
This session features an overview of the OHRC’s Policy on preventing discrimination because of gender identity and gender expression. Learn about the two newest grounds of the Human Rights Code, and what the law requires you to do to accommodate people with diverse gender identities and expressions.C6: Preventing sexual and gender-based harassment
What is sexual and gender-based harassment? Who is affected? How can employers, housing providers, service providers and others address it when it happens? This session is based on the OHRC’s Policy on preventing sexual and gender-based harassment. It will help you identify sexual and gender-based harassment and provide information on how organizations can prevent and respond to it.C7: Updates on disability and the duty to accommodate
The OHRC is in the process of updating its Policy and Guidelines on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate. Learn about new developments in the law regarding disability accommodation in employment, housing and services (including education). Understand your rights and obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code; how to design your facilities, policies and procedures inclusively; how to respond appropriately to accommodation requests and how to address complaints related to disability. Note that this is a repeat of the session delivered in the morning .C8: Systemic discrimination
Organizations often have rules or procedures that may not appear to discriminate or intend to discriminate, but that negatively affect or cause barriers for groups who identify with Human Rights Code grounds. Learn about ways to identify and rework these rules including the importance of collecting human rights-based data. Participants should already have a basic knowledge of the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Afternoon plenary: Preventing discrimination based on creed
Learn about the OHRC’s new Policy on preventing discrimination based on creed. Explore examples of creed-based discrimination as well as how to accommodate creed beliefs and practices in employment, housing and service contexts.