In law, discrimination is defined as a “distinction, whether intentional or not, which is related to certain personal characteristics and which imposes a burden, disadvantage or limits access to opportunities in some way”. Ontario (Human Rights Commission) and O’Malley v. Simpson-Sears, [1985] 2 S.C.R. 536 at p. 329
You do not need to prove that a person intended to discriminate. Sometimes, it is the effect of unfair treatment which is most important. If the effect of the unfair treatment is to impose on one person or group of persons, obligations, penalties, or restrictive conditions not imposed on other members of the community, it is discriminatory.
Discrimination means treating someone unfairly because of one of their protected personal characteristics. The Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of personal characteristics. A person is either born with these personal characteristics or they acquire them later in life. These characteristics are called prohibited grounds:
Race: a socially constructed way of grouping people based on stereotypical physical or social characteristics.
Colour: your skin colour.
Nationality: you were born outside Canada and/or you are a citizen of a foreign country.
Ethnic Origin: you share an origin or background, culture and tradition or language with a group of people.
Religious creed: your religious or spiritual beliefs.
Religion: your belief in a particular faith or your genuinely held religious beliefs. It can also mean that you do not have religious beliefs. Religion differs from religious creed in that religion refers to the particular system of faith or worship that a person adopts (eg. Islam, Christianity, Judaism).
Age: stereotypes based on a person’s age of being too young or too old.
Disability: The Human Rights Act defines disability as:
- a degree of physical disability
- a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability
- a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or language, and
- a mental disorder
Perceived Disability: you have or have had a disability; are believed to have or have had a disability; or have or are believed to have a predisposition to developing a disability.
Disfigurement: you have burns, scars or other disfiguring conditions that are visible, but that do not cause any functional limitations. It is not meant to cover piercing or tattooing, unless for religious or cultural reasons.
Sex: your classification as male, female or intersex based on biological attributes, such as external genitalia, reproductive organs, chromosomes and hormones. Generally, individuals are assigned a sex at birth by a medical professional, often on the basis of their external genitalia. The prohibited ground of sex also includes those that are pregnant or breast-feeding.
Sexual orientation: your physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to another person.
Gender identity: your internal and individual experience of gender. It is their sense of being a woman, a man, both, neither, or anywhere along the gender spectrum.
Gender expression: how you publicly present or express your gender. This can include behaviour and outward appearance such as dress, hair, make-up, body language and voice. A person’s chosen name and pronoun are also common ways of expressing gender.
Marital status: your status of being single, engaged to be married, married, separated, divorced, widowed or in a common law relationship. The prohibited ground of marital status also protects you from discrimination because of the identity of the person you are in a relationship with.
Family status: The Human Rights Act defines family status as the status of being in a parent and child relationship. A “child” includes a stepchild and an adopted child and “parent” includes a step-parent and an adoptive parent. The prohibited ground of family status protects you from discrimination if you have special childcare or elder care responsibilities.
Source of income: The Human Rights Act defines source of income as being in receipt of income or employment support under the Income and Employment Support Act.
Political Opinion: your political belief or support of a political party. Also includes non-partisan or politically neutral beliefs.
Conviction for an offence: you were discriminated against because of the conviction for an offence that is unrelated to your employment. The prohibited ground of conviction for an offence only applies when you are looking for a job or at work.
Association with other individuals: because of your friendship, kinship or other relationship with an individual or a group of individuals identified by one of the prohibited grounds.
Retaliation: you were discriminated or harassed because you previously filed a human rights complaint.