Glossary
In Criminal Law, Human Rights, Wills and Powers of Attorney
These letters are a short form for the following words:
2S – Two-Spirit
L – Lesbian
G – Gay
B – Bisexual
T – Transgender
Q – Queer
+ – other terms not in this list
In Immigration Law, Refugee Law
The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) can decide that a refugee claimant has “abandoned” their claim if the claimant does not follow all the rules about making a claim. For example, they do not file their Basis of Claim (BOC) form on time, do not show up for a hearing, or do not contact the RPD when asked to do so. If the RPD decides a claim is abandoned, the claimant loses the right to make their claim.
The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board can decide, at a special hearing, that a refugee claimant has “abandoned” their claim. This means that the claimant loses the right to make their claim. This could happen if a claimant does not follow all the rules about making a refugee claim. For example, they don’t file their Basis of Claim Form on time, don’t show up for a hearing, or don’t reply when the RPD asks them to.
In Criminal Law
An absolute discharge is a type of sentence. Absolute discharge means that the court found you guilty, but decided not to punish you in any other way. You don’t get a criminal record. Absolute discharges are automatically removed from the Canadian Police Information Center computer system 1 year after the court’s decision.
In Criminal Law
A trial for an absolute jurisdiction offence is always held in the Ontario Court of Justice. You do not have an election. Absolute jurisdiction offences are listed in section 553 of the Criminal Code. Some examples include:
- theft of something valued $5000 or less
- fraud under $5000
- failure to comply with recognizance
- failure to comply with probation order
In Child abuse and neglect, Domestic violence, Family Law
Access used to mean the time a parent spends with a child they usually don’t live with. For most family law cases, the term “access” has changed to parenting time. Now, all parents usually have parenting time. If you have a child protection case, the term access may still be used.
Parenting time or access can be on a strict schedule, such as every other weekend, or on a flexible schedule. In some cases, it might be supervised, which means someone else, like a Children’s Aid Society worker or relative, watches the visit.
A person who has parenting time or access usually also has the right to information about the child’s well-being, such as information about their health and education.
In Employment and Work, Health and Disability, Housing Law, Human Rights, Income Assistance, Tribunals and Courts
Accommodate means making changes to how things are done so that a person is not treated differently based on their personal characteristics. These characteristics are called protected grounds.
There are 17 protected grounds in Ontario’s Human Rights Code. These include ethnic origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, family status, and disability.
The following groups must provide accommodation: employers, landlords, service providers, unions, and professional associations. But they may not have to if they can prove that the accommodation will cause them undue hardship.
Accommodation means the help that a school or school board has to give a student who has more than the usual amount of difficulty learning or taking part in school. Ontario’s Human Rights Code says that school boards must do what they can to help students with conditions or differences that affect their ability to learn. In human rights law, these conditions or differences are called “disabilities”. But in schools, these differences or conditions are called “exceptionalities”.
There are 4 types of exceptionalities:
- Behavioural, such as ADHD, depression, anxiety, or Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Communicational, such as autism, trouble hearing or speaking
- Intellectual, including moderate intellectual delays (MID), severe developmental disabilities (DD), and giftedness
- Physical, such as trouble seeing or moving around
In Employment and Work, Health and Disability, Housing Law, Human Rights, Income Assistance, Tribunals and Courts
Accommodate means making changes to how things are done so that a person is not treated differently based on their personal characteristics. These characteristics are called protected grounds.
There are 17 protected grounds in Ontario’s Human Rights Code. These include ethnic origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, family status, and disability.
The following groups must provide accommodation: employers, landlords, service providers, unions, and professional associations. But they may not have to if they can prove that the accommodation will cause them undue hardship.
In Criminal Law, Types of Offences, Bail, Probation, and Court Attendance, Assault, Driving, Drugs, Firearms, Gender-based violence, Harassment, Mischief, Theft, Threats, Victims and witnesses
A person charged with a criminal offence is the accused. An accused can also be called the defendant.