The Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) provides for equal rights and opportunities, and freedom from discrimination. The Code recognizes the dignity and worth of every person in Ontario. It applies to the areas of employment, housing, facilities and services, contracts, and membership in unions, trade or professional associations.
Under the Code, every person has the right to be free from racial discrimination and harassment.You should not be treated differently because of your race or other related grounds, such as your ancestry, ethnicity, religion or place of origin, in areas covered by the Code such as while you are at work, at school, trying to rent an apartment, or eating a meal in a restaurant.
Racism and Racial Discrimination
Canada, its provinces and territories have strong human rights laws and systems in place to address discrimination. At the same time, we also have a legacy of racism – particularly towards Aboriginal persons, but to other groups as well including African, Chinese, Japanese, South Asian, Jewish and Muslim Canadians – a legacy that profoundly permeates our systems and structures to this day, affecting the lives of not only racialized persons, but also all people in Canada.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission describes communities facing racism as “racialized.” This is because society artificially constructs the idea of “race” based on geographic, historical, political, economic, social and cultural factors, as well as physical traits, that have no justification for notions of racial superiority or racial prejudice.
Racism is a broader experience and practice than racial discrimination. It is an ideology that either directly or indirectly asserts that one group is inherently superior to others. Racism can be openly displayed in racial jokes and slurs or hate crimes, but can also be more deeply rooted in attitudes, values and stereotypical beliefs. In some cases, these are unconsciously held and have evolved over time, becoming embedded in systems and institutions, and also associated with the dominant group’s power and privilege.
Racial discrimination is a legally prohibited expression of racism. It is any action based on a person’s race, intentional or not, that imposes burdens on a person or group and not on others, or that withholds or limits access to benefits available to other members of society in areas covered by the Code. Race only needs to be one factor in a situation for racial discrimination to have occurred.
Racial harassment is a form of discrimination. It includes comments, jokes, name-calling, display of pictures or behaviour that insults you, offends you or puts you down because of your race and other related grounds.
Racial discrimination can often be very subtle, such as being assigned to less desirable jobs, or being denied mentoring and development opportunities. It might also mean being subjected to different management standards than other workers, being denied an apartment because you appear to have Aboriginal ancestry, or facing unfair scrutiny by police while driving or by security staff at a shopping mall.