Animals are an essential form of support for many living with disabilities.
Most people are familiar with service dogs who support people with physical disabilities — such as guide dogs assisting people with visual impairment. Animals can also provide psychiatric and cognitive support to people with mental disabilities, including anxiety and post‑traumatic stress disorder. Continue reading “Could Air Canada’s ban on emotional support animals be challenged?”
What do you do when human rights of one person compete with another’s? Employers, housing providers, and other public service providers have a duty to accommodate those with disabilities under the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code). Sometimes, however, these obligations lead to conflict between multiple people in need of accommodation. An example of this that has been felt by housing providers and employers is the tension between persons with service animals and other persons with allergies. Some people in need of accommodation rely on service animals to assist them. But people suffering from allergies to dogs can’t be expected to live and work in an environment that does not accommodate their needs. How does an employer or a housing provider address these competing obligations to accommodate these persons in a fair manner that complies with the Code? Continue reading “Striking a Balance: The Case of the Guide Dog and the Taxicab”
The Supreme Court of Canada has recently released a decision regarding workplace discrimination that has important implications for employers and employees alike. In British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal v. Schrenk, the 6‑3 majority of the court ruled that a co‑worker can be held liable under BC’s Human Rights Code for workplace discrimination against another co‑worker. While this case was about the jurisdiction of the BC Human Rights Tribunal and interpretation of BC’s Human Rights Code, it sends a message to other provincial tribunals about how to approach discrimination in the employment context differently – and leaves many questions for employers. Continue reading “The Supreme Court of Canada extends protections from employment discrimination by non‑employers”
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.
Workplace sexual harassment has been in the news, a lot. The legislature responded to calls for increased protections for workers by proposing amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) which expand the scope of harassment to include workplace sexual harassment and increase employer obligations to employees.
Those amendments come into force on September 8th. Employers and employees need familiarize themselves with those amendments if they have not already. We blogged about the amendments back in April, here.
So what are the essentials for September 8th? Continue reading “Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act come into force September 8th”
While sitting in the penalty box during the third period of the April 19 playoff game between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues, Andrew Shaw of the Blackhawks shouted what appeared to be a homophobic slur at somebody on the ice. After the game, Shaw was asked what he had said and answered “emotions are high … I don’t know what I said.” Twitter comments on the incident ranged from those that took issue with Shaw’s apparent acts to others that, unfortunately, suggested that what had happened was no big deal. Let’s be clear – it is a big deal, and should be treated as such. Continue reading “Homophobia in pro-sports is a big problem: we’ve got a long way to go”
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