Glossary - Human Rights
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 Employment and Work, Health and Disability, Housing Law, Human Rights, Income Assistance, Tribunals and Courts
Ontario’s Human Rights Code says that employers, landlords, and service providers must do what they can to remove barriers that cause people to be treated differently because of personal differences that are listed in the Human Rights Code.
The legal word for this is accommodation. Examples of personal differences include a person’s ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability.
This could mean doing things differently for you so that you are treated equally. For example, you might need a wheelchair ramp to get inside a building. Or you might not be able to wear the same uniform as other workers because of your religion.
But an employer or landlord might not have to do something if they can prove that it will cause them undue hardship.
In Employment and Work, Health and Disability, Housing Law, Human Rights, Income Assistance, Tribunals and Courts
Ontario’s Human Rights Code says that employers, landlords, and service providers must do what they can to remove barriers that cause people to be treated differently because of personal differences that are listed in the Human Rights Code.
The legal word for this is accommodation. Examples of personal include a person’s ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability.
This could mean doing things differently for you so that you are treated equally. For example, you might need a wheelchair ramp to get inside a building. Or you might not be able to wear the same uniform as other workers because of your religion.
But an employer or landlord might not have to do something if they can prove that it will cause them undue hardship.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Elder abuse, Human Rights, Types of discrimination, Age
Ageism refers to negative attitudes and stereotypes of people who are older, and discrimination against people because of their age.
For example, it’s ageism if:
- an employer does not hire someone because the person is older and the employer thinks the person has less value than a younger worker
- a health-care practitioner talks to an older adult’s family member or caregiver when the person is mentally capable of deciding about their own treatment
A way to start a case at a court or tribunal, or to ask a court or tribunal to make a decision about a dispute. For example, if a landlord wants a tenant to move out and the tenant does not move, the landlord can make an application to the Landlord and Tenant Board. Or if a tenant can’t get their landlord to do needed repairs, the tenant can make an application to the Board. Application can also refer to the actual form or document used to start a case.
In Getting help in Housing law, Legal help and information, Working with your lawyer, Making a complaint, Housing Law, Housing Law, Evictions, Rent, Health and safety, Privacy, Renting a new place to live, Leases and agreements, Rent, fees and deposits, Discrimination, Paying rent, Rent deposits, Rates and increases, Behind or unable to pay rent, Lease ending, Repairs and maintenance, Landlord and tenant responsibilities, Heat and utilities, Repairs, Complaints, Privacy and harassment, Harassment, Locks, Guests, Cutting off services, Human rights in housing, Types of discrimination, Human rights complaints, Moving out, Getting out of a lease or rental agreement, Giving notice, Lease ending, Home sold, Retirement or care homes, Rent deposit, Your belongings after you move out, Eviction, No-fault eviction, Eviction for tenant conduct, Eviction because of rent, Lease ending, Home sold, Eviction process at the Landlord and Tenant Board, Eviction orders , Eviction hearings, Eviction notices, Tenant applications to the Landlord and Tenant Board, Settling your case, Hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board , How to apply to the LTB, Issues the LTB can deal with, Tenant organizing, Getting legal help in Housing Law, Legal help and information, Working with your lawyer, Making a complaint, Discrimination in housing, Human rights complaints, Rental Applications, Disability
A declaration is a written statement. The person making the statement must sign it. They must also promise that:
- the statement is true,
- there’s nothing misleading or false in it, and
- they have not deliberately forgotten to include any important information.
In Employment and Work, Housing Law, Human Rights
In Ontario’s human rights laws, the term disability includes many conditions. For example, a disability can be a physical condition, a mental condition, a learning disability, a developmental disability, or a mental illness. Disability also includes being addicted to or dependent on drugs or alcohol.
You could be born with a disability. Or, you could have a disability because you were sick or injured.
In Employment and Work, Housing Law, Human Rights, Income Assistance, Tribunals and Courts
Discrimination happens when an employer, landlord, service provider, or organization you are a member of harasses you, treats you differently or unfairly, or refuses to accommodate you because of personal differences that are listed in the Human Rights Code. Examples of personal differences include a person’s ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability.
Examples of discrimination include when an employer refuses to accommodate your disability in a way that would not cause them undue hardship. Or a landlord refuses to rent to you because of your ethnic origin. Or a travel agent refuses to serve you because of your sexual orientation. Or a trade union refuses to let you join because of your disability.
Tell or force a tenant to move out. A Notice of Termination from a landlord is often called an eviction notice, even though it does not force the tenant to move out. A Landlord and Tenant Board order forcing a tenant to move out is often called an eviction order.
In Human Rights
Gender expression is how someone outwardly expresses and presents their gender. For example, people can do this through their name, pronouns, behaviour, and clothes.
