Ontario Human Rights Code

Ontario Human Rights Code
Chris die Seele · Public domain · source
Title	Ontario Human Rights Code
Long title	An Act respecting equal rights and opportunity and freedom from discrimination
Citation	R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19
Enacted by	Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Royal assent	1962 (original Human Rights Code), consolidated 1990
Status	in force

Ontario Human Rights Code

The Ontario Human Rights Code is provincial legislation that prohibits discrimination and harassment in specified social and economic spheres and establishes a statutory scheme for remedies and enforcement. It sets out protected grounds and areas of protection, delegates administrative functions to statutory bodies, and has evolved through judicial interpretation and legislative amendment. The Code interacts with institutions such as the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and federal counterparts including the Canadian Human Rights Act and provincial statutes in Québec, British Columbia, and Alberta.

Overview

The Code provides statutory protection against differential treatment on enumerated grounds across enumerated social areas, balancing collective frameworks from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Charter litigation in the Supreme Court of Canada, and provincial human rights regimes like the Manitoba Human Rights Code and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. It establishes an administrative tribunal model similar to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and drew comparative influence from the Ontario Labour Relations Act, the Civil Rights movement in the United States, and international instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Code operates alongside provincial institutions including the Office of the Attorney General of Ontario, the Ministry of the Attorney General, and agencies like the Ontario Civilian Police Commission when matters intersect with policing and public safety.

Protected Grounds and Areas of Protection

Statutory grounds enumerated in the Code include age, ancestry, citizenship, colour, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, disability, family status, marital status, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sexual orientation, receipt of public assistance, record of offences, and sex-related pregnancy and breastfeeding. These grounds align with jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada and interpretive principles applied in other statutes such as the Employment Standards Act, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and the Pay Equity Act. Protected social areas in the Code encompass employment, housing, goods and services, vocational associations, and accommodation, drawing functional parallels with provisions in the Criminal Code when harassment escalates to criminal conduct and with administrative decisions under the Landlord and Tenant Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

Administration and Enforcement

Enforcement historically followed an administrative complaints model mediated by the Ontario Human Rights Commission and adjudicated by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario delegates investigatory and promotional duties to the Ontario Human Rights Commission while adjudicative powers rest with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, analogous to tribunals such as the Ontario Labour Relations Board and the Licence Appeal Tribunal. Judicial review of tribunal decisions occurs in the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal for Ontario, with potential leave applications to the Supreme Court of Canada. Remedies under the Code include cease-and-desist orders, monetary compensation for injury to dignity, declaratory relief, and binding settlement agreements; these remedial frameworks echo damages jurisprudence developed in decisions from the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Historical Development and Amendments

The statutory origins trace to early provincial human rights legislation in the mid-20th century, influenced by federal initiatives like the Canadian Human Rights Act and international trends from the United Nations. Key reform stages include the creation of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, consolidation in the 1990 Code, and the 2008-2010 administrative reforms that restructured investigatory and adjudicative functions, which were debated in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and scrutinized by civil society organizations such as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and advocacy groups representing Indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2S+ communities, and disability rights organizations. Amendments over time incorporated protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, and adjustments responding to case law from the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and statutory intersections with the Human Rights Act of Saskatchewan and statutes in Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

Notable Cases and Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence interpreting the Code includes leading decisions from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and references to landmark Supreme Court of Canada rulings that shape equality analysis and s. 15 Charter doctrine. Notable adjudicative outcomes involve disputes over accommodation for disabilities intersecting with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, workplace harassment litigated alongside decisions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and disputes implicating religious freedoms and creed rights similarly litigated in cases before the Federal Court when overlapping with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Decisions from tribunals and courts are frequently compared with precedent from Québec’s human rights framework, British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal rulings, and decisions emerging from jurisdictions such as Manitoba and Alberta, and they inform enforcement policy at agencies including the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Category:Ontario statutes Category:Human rights in Canada Category:Ontario law