Practice Area: Human Rights

An “Uncomfortable” Workplace Interaction – or Harassment and Discrimination under the Human Rights Code?

· 4 min read

In dismissing this human rights application as having no reasonable prospect of success, Vice Chair Hart made helpful comments with respect to the Human Rights Code (Code) and the role of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) in dealing with “uncomfortable” workplace interactions. In short, the decision stands for the proposition that, depending on…

Federal Reforms to Prohibit Discrimination on Basis of Gender Identity or Gender Expression

· 2 min read

Editor’s Note: Bill C-16 received Royal Assent on June 19, 2017 and is now in force. Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, passed third reading, without amendment, in the Senate on June 15, 2017. As we previously reported, Bill C-16 was introduced in the House of…

Supreme Court of Canada Confirms Termination of Disabled Employee Not a Breach of Human Rights

· 7 min read

In Stewart v. Elk Valley Coal Corp., the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a decision of the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal (Tribunal) which concluded that an employee who had a cocaine addiction was not dismissed because of that addiction; rather, he was dismissed for breaching his employer’s Alcohol, Illegal Drugs & Medical Policy (Policy)…

Ontario Human Rights Commission Releases New Inquiry Report on Post-Secondary Student Mental Health Accommodations

· 3 min read

The Ontario Human Rights Commission (Commission) has released an Inquiry Report regarding its inquiry into the systemic barriers facing post-secondary students with mental health disabilities entitled “With Learning in Mind.” Find out more about the Commission’s initiative and its impact on Colleges and Universities in this FTR Now…

Anti-Racism Act, 2017 Now in Force

· 2 min read

On June 1, 2017, Bill 114, the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 received Royal Assent and came into force. Among other things, the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 (Act): requires the Ontario government to maintain an anti-racism strategy which includes: initiatives to eliminate systemic racism, including those that assist racialized groups that are most adversely impacted by systemic racism,…

Landlord Required to Give Additional Notice to Tenants as Religious Accommodation

· 3 min read

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (Tribunal) has recently found that a landlord’s statutory right to show an occupied rental unit with 24 hours’ notice may be limited by a tenant’s requests for accommodation. In Madkour v. Alabi, a Muslim married couple (the Applicants) rented an apartment in the home of the landlord (the Respondent)….

Court Renders Helpful Decision on Random Drug and Alcohol Testing

· 4 min read

In a helpful decision for employers, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 113 v Toronto Transit Commission, the Ontario Superior Court recently denied an application by the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 113 and others (Applicants) for an interlocutory injunction to restrain the implementation of the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) random drug and alcohol testing, pending completion of…

Reaching Out – Thirteenth Edition

· 24 min read

With the first official day of spring behind us, we are pleased to provide our Spring 2017 edition of Reaching Out. Chuck Hofley and Siobhan O’Brien, both from our Ottawa office, have set out some useful tips for those of you about to enter into collective bargaining…