What is discrimination?

Discrimination means unequal or different treatment or harassment that causes harm. The Ontario Human Rights Code is a provincial anti-discrimination law that applies to workplaces, housing, services, facilities, and to contracts or agreements. In most cases the Code only applies to discrimination that happened in Ontario. If you want to take legal steps to address an incident of discrimination, the deadline to do so is generally one year from the last discriminatory event or conduct.

People have the right to equal treatment and opportunities, without discrimination or harassment, in the areas covered by the Code. Not all unfair treatment and not all harassment is covered by the Human Rights Code. The treatment or harassment must have been based on a ground and in an area covered by the Code.

The areas covered by the Code are:

• Employment
• Housing
• Contracts
• Services, goods and facilities
• Unions or occupational/professional associations

The grounds are:

Race Colour Ancestry Place of origin Citizenship Ethnic origin Creed (religion) Receipt of social assistance (housing only)

Sexual orientation Marital status Family status Record of offenses (employment only, must have been pardoned) Age Disability Sex (includes being pregnant, sexual harassment) Gender identity Gender expression

There are exceptions to some of the rules in the Code. For example the minimum ages for driving, working and voting.