Human Rights

Protecting housing and human rights without limiting options

September 28th, 2017 by Michael Hackl

This article was first published on rabble.ca

Canada has been facing a housing crisis for a number of years now, with rising costs affecting both homeowners and tenants. According to the Canadian Rental Housing Index, renters in Canada are spending an average of 22 per cent of their before-tax income on rent and utilities. Further, this index reported that 40 per cent of renter households were spending more than 30 per cent of their before-tax income on rent and utilities, and a staggering 19 per cent were spending over 50 per cent of their before-tax income on rent and utilities. Keep in mind that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) defines affordable housing as housing that costs less than 30 per cent of before-tax household income. This means that almost half of renter households in Canada are not in affordable housing, and one in five homes are spending over half of their before-tax income just to have a roof over their heads.

Imagine then, the relief that a family in Vancouver must have felt on being told that they had reached the top of a waiting list for a two-bedroom apartment that would have resulted in a significant reduction in their housing costs if they had been offered the unit. Unfortunately for them, the housing provider did not offer them the unit. At the time that the family was told that they were first on the waiting list, the family consisted of two parents and a two-year-old son, but the mother was seven months pregnant (and has since given birth to a baby girl). According to a voicemail left by a representative of the housing provider, they could not offer the family the unit because they did not know the sex of their then unborn child. For its part, the housing provider has said that the family was not being considered for the unit in any event, but the family feels they were passed over for this apartment because they have two young children of different sexes and the housing provider was unwilling to offer them a unit where those two children would share a bedroom.

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We’re on the road – again! Co-op managers: join us for a human rights workshop

September 12th, 2017 by Iler Campbell

On Friday, October 13, 2017, we will host our first IC Education event in Peel Region.  This event for co‑op managers is co‑sponsored by our friends at Peel‑Halton Co‑operative Housing Federation.

If you are grappling with human rights issues at the co‑op you manage, this may be the event for you. We’re going to talk about  how to distinguish a human right from a personal preference and how far the housing provider’s duty to accommodate extends and what the Rouge Valley decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario means for co‑ops.

And we’d love to see you there!  We have a few spaces left. To register, click here. 

B.C. is revamping its human rights system. How can it ensure justice is served?

September 7th, 2017 by Celia Chandler

This article was first published on rabble.ca

In August, the new B.C. government took an important step: it decided to reinstate the B.C. Human Rights Commission, dismantled by the long-governing Liberals 15 years ago. This was not the first time that B.C.’s governments have taken a run at the human rights system. This year’s NDP announcement mirrors its restoration of the Commission in the 1990s after it was previously abolished by the Liberals in the Social Credit Action of 1983.

And good on the NDP for their persistence! Human Rights Commissions across the country play an important public advocacy role. They keep a watchful eye on larger system-wide problems — the myriad ways in which groups of people who are protected under provincial human rights legislation can be discriminated against. In Ontario, the Commission has been responsible for engaging in public consultations and preparing policies that help guide our society towards a fairer, less discriminatory society for people who have faced marginalization historically and still do today.

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“Bill 114 – An Act to provide for Anti-Racism Measures” – A Starting Point to Address Systemic Racism in Ontario

May 16th, 2017 by Michael Hackl

Since 1962, the Ontario Human Rights Code has provided individuals who suffered discrimination or harassment because of a number of personal characteristics, including race or religion, with a way to assert their rights to equal treatment in certain sectors, such as housing and employment. Even prior to the passage of the Human Rights Code, there were laws such as the Fair Employment Practices Act, 1951 and the Fair Accommodation Practices Act, 1954, which provided some of the protections that were later incorporated into the Human Rights Code.

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Proposed class action challenges wait times for support services for adults with developmental disabilities

April 27th, 2017 by Michael Hackl

This article was first published on rabble.ca

Many Ontarians with developmental disabilities face a significant problem when they reach their 18th birthday. Specifically, while they have received services and support from the government during their childhood, upon turning 18 they are treated as adults under the law in Ontario and those services and support are typically discontinued immediately, even though their disabilities still exist, and even though that support is often necessary to meet their most basic human needs.

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Eight days and counting… Join us at our Human Rights for Co-ops event March 4th

February 24th, 2017 by Iler Campbell

On Saturday, March 4, 2017, we will host our first IC Education event in Durham Region.   And we’d love to see you there!    Our housing provider clients regularly inquire about human rights issues – how to distinguish a human right from a personal preference and how far the housing provider’s duty to accommodate extends.   If you’d like to join us for our Human Rights Refresher at Otter Creek Co‑op in Whitby on Saturday, March 4, 2017, please register.  We have a few spaces left.