Calling the Human Rights Legal Support Centre

Before you call the Human Rights Legal Support Centre…

You have the right to be free from discrimination and harassment in your job, facilities and services (shops, restaurants, transit, hospitals, schools and other public places), housing, contracts, and membership in unions or vocational associations. We are here to help. We hope this information makes it easier for you to decide if you need legal help from the Centre.

Ontario’s human rights system has three parts

There are three separate agencies that deal with human rights in Ontario. The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario – where all human rights applications are filed, the Ontario Human Rights Commission – where they do public education and inquiries, and our organization, the Human Rights Legal Support Centre – here we give free legal advice to people who have experienced discrimination under Ontario’s Human Rights Code.

The Human Rights Legal Support Centre only helps applicants

The Human Rights Legal Support Centre is an independent agency funded by the government of Ontario. We only help human rights applicants - people facing discrimination. We do not help employers, landlords, service providers or business operators. If you are an employer, please go to the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s web site at www.ohrc.on.ca to read the Human Rights at Work 2008 guide or call the Commission at 1-800-387-9080 to hear recorded information.

Your call must be related to a human rights issue

Please note that we do not deal with general employment issues – if you are calling about unpaid wages or improper firing that is not related to the Human Rights Code please go to Ministry of Labour's web site at www.labour.gov.on.ca or call them at 1-800-531-5551 to find out about your rights under the Employment Standards Act.

How do I know if what happened to me is discrimination?

There are specific kinds of discrimination and harassment that could lead you to file a human rights application under Ontario’s Human Rights Code. Treating someone unfairly may be discrimination if the unfair treatment is because of one of the characteristics (called grounds) listed below.

  • Race; colour
  • Ancestry
  • Place of origin
  • Citizenship
  • Ethnic origin
  • Creed (religion)
  • Getting 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
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario is where all human rights applications are filed. If you want to file an application on your own and do not need legal help, you can file directly at the Tribunal. Go to www.hrto.ca or call the Tribunal at 1-866-598-0322 (1-416-326-1312). The Tribunal has a guide to help you complete your application available to you on their web site.

If you think you might want to file a human rights application, it will help you to take a look at the application form to see what kinds of questions you will have to answer to complete the form. If you want advice or assistance from the Human Rights Legal Support Centre in completing a human rights application form, you should read the form before you phone the Centre. You can find a copy of the application form on the web site of the Human Rights Tribunal at: www.hrto.ca/NEW/application/newappforms.asp, or call the Tribunal at 1-866-598-0322 (1-416-326-1312).

Languages

We will arrange to speak with you in the language of your choice. If you do not speak English or French and will be calling the Centre about your human rights application, please have someone who speaks English or French call on your behalf so we can schedule a conversation with an interpreter. You can also provide your own interpreter. Select information sheets are on this web site in Chinese, Vietnamese, Urdu, Arabic, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Punjabi, and Tagalog.

Questions to consider

Is your call about one of the types of discrimination covered by the Human Rights Code? If your call is really about unfairness at work unconnected with the Human Rights Code, you should be contacting the Ministry of Labour’s Employment Standards Branch.

Do you just want general information? If you have access to the internet, you will find a lot of information on the Human Rights Commission web site at www.ohrc.on.ca or the Human Rights Legal Support Centre website www.hrlsc.on.ca. If you want to know more about the Tribunal’s process, go to www.hrto.ca.

The application form

On the Tribunal’s application form, you must describe what happened (who, when, what and where); how the events affected you; and what compensation or remedy you want. It will also ask you to clearly identify the name of the person or persons, company, service organization, or government program that you think is responsible for the discrimination. Once you file your application at the Tribunal, it will send a copy of your application form to every person or organization that you name and they will have to respond to your application. You will want to gather any documents that support your claim, and also think about if there are any witnesses to what happened.

Some human rights claims are federal

We do not deal with federal matters such as airline travel, chartered banks, television and radio stations, telephone companies, federal government departments and agencies. Those are dealt with by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. www.chrc-ccdp.ca or call 1-888-214-1090.

Documents

Please have a pen and paper handy and any relevant documents such as letters, e-mails, records of employment or leases.