Ontario human rights
process being restructured
The Ontario legislature has passed Bill 107.
The Bill, now known as the Human Rights Code Amendment
Act, 2006 received Royal Assent on December 20, 2006.
Under this legislation, individuals will be
able to file human rights complaints directly with the Human
Rights Tribunal of Ontario. The Tribunal will make its new
processes open, accessible, fair, and timely, and will
ensure that parties have the opportunity to be heard before
a matter within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal is
concluded.
The changes which will permit claims to be
filed directly with the Tribunal have not yet come into
force. At this time, human rights complaints may only be
filed with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The
Government has proclaimed June 30, 2008 as the day on which
the new Tribunal will open. Therefore, as of June 30,
2008, individuals and organizations will be able to file
Applications directly with the Tribunal, in accordance with
its new Rules of Procedure.
As part of the Tribunal's expansion, the
Tribunal is designing new and fully-accessible premises.
See the
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario website for more
details.
Ontario Special Diet
Allowance to be Reviewed
for Human Rights Violations
March 2008: The Ontario Human
Rights Commission has just referred 77 individual complaints
against the ODSP and OW Special Diet Allowance Program to
the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. (Our clinic represents
20 of the 77 complainants.)
For the ODSP and OW recipients who lodged the
complaints, this is welcome news.
The Tribunal now has the authority to hold a
hearing to determine whether changes that limited the scope
of the Special Diet Allowance Program violate the
Ontario Human Rights Code,
by discriminating against the complainants on the basis of
disability. The referral is a major step toward reversing a
change that left hundreds of individuals without the extra
resources necessary to adequately support their health
needs.
View the Income Security and Advocacy
Centre's
Press Release and
backgrounder.
Ontario Human Rights
Commission
RENTAL
Housing Discrimination Survey
Adequate and affordable housing is a human
rights issue – we all need a decent place to live. The right
to housing is internationally recognized and the right to
housing free from discrimination is protected in Ontario’s
Human
Rights Code (“Code”).
Even though discrimination in housing
accommodation is not allowed under the Code, it is all too
common. Discrimination in rental housing is a widespread
problem with potentially significant consequences, including
homelessness. The
Ontario
Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is concerned about this and the
fact that many tenants and housing providers do not know
about their rights and obligations under the
Code.
In the summer and fall of 2007, the OHRC held
a public consultation on discrimination in rental housing.
OHRC staff are now reviewing the large amount of information
received from community groups, organizations and
individuals across Ontario. They released their
results their July 8, 2008 report, "Right
at home: Report on the consultation on rental housing and
human rights".
Visit the
OHRC website page on human rights and rental housing to
learn more. This site also provides
general information about discrimination in housing.
This site provides general information only,
specific to Ontario, Canada. It is
NOT legal advice. 
