OHRC Statement: No Room for Hate in Schools
As the school year begins, we must actively and intentionally work to end the scourges of hate and violence in our education systems and communities.
Gender identity is linked to a person’s sense of self, and the sense of being male or female. A person’s gender identity is different from their sexual orientation, which is also protected under the Code. People’s gender identity may be different from their birth-assigned sex.
As the school year begins, we must actively and intentionally work to end the scourges of hate and violence in our education systems and communities.
Recently, OHRC Director of Policy, Education, Monitoring and Outreach, Juliette Nicolet, joined Radio-Canada - Jonction 11-17 for an interview calling for a province-wide anti-hate strategy, to galvanize and support public action.
As this school year ends, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) takes this opportunity to reflect on what it heard concerning the challenges faced by students, parents, educators, and administrators in Ontario’s public education system.
As the world grapples with the ongoing “monkeypox” outbreak, several very concerning human rights issues have been exposed.
The OHRC is aware that the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) is considering amending its Code of Conduct to specifically include gender identity, gender expression, family status and marital status as grounds upon which members of the TCDSB community cannot be treated unfairly. Our understanding is that this issue is being specifically considered by the Catholic Education and Living our Catholic Values Sub-committee on September 25, 2019.
The OHRC is concerned that the Township of Brock’s Interim Control By-law 2994-2020 to "prohibit the establishment of Supportive Housing and Modular Construction, including Manufactured Dwelling Houses" creates barriers to establishing and accessing supportive housing, which may be discriminatory under the Human Rights Code. The OHRC calls on Council to remove any barriers that have a discriminatory effect as soon as possible, and to allow such supportive housing projects to proceed.
The OHRC is pleased that the City of Toronto’s proposed framework for multi-tenant houses implements human rights principles and “would establish city-wide permissions for multi-tenant houses.”
The OHRC urges the HCDSB to join other Catholic school boards in welcoming their LGBTQ2+ students, staff and community members by flying the Pride flag.
This opinion editorial by Interim Chief Commissioner Ena Chadha on human rights in Ontario appeared in the Toronto Star on Tuesday, August 18, 2020.
All students deserve to see themselves and their families reflected in Ontario’s mandatory education curriculum, and should receive information necessary to protect their health and well-being. Over the past year, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has taken many steps to make this vision a reality.