Goods, services and facilities

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.

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.

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 - 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.