Canadian Human Rights Act
The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability, and pardoned conviction. The Act applies to federally regulated activities, including federal government departments and agencies, Crown corporations, banks, telecommunications, airlines, railways, and interprovincial transportation. The Act establishes the Canadian Human Rights Commission to investigate and conciliate complaints, and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to adjudicate unresolved complaints. The CHRA was the first federal human rights statute in Canada, predating the Charter’s equality rights.
Legal area: Human rights law prohibits discrimination and establishes institutional mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights.
Year enacted: 1985
Full text: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/H-6/
Key Provisions
- Section 2: Purpose of Act (equal opportunity, dignity, individual worth)
- Section 3: Prohibited grounds of discrimination
- Section 7: Employment discrimination (denial of employment, adverse treatment)
- Section 12: Discrimination in goods, services, facilities, and accommodation
- Section 15: Bona fide occupational requirement (defence to discrimination)
- Section 17: Duty to accommodate (disability and other grounds)
- Part II: Canadian Human Rights Commission (complaint process and investigation)
- Part III: Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (adjudication and remedies)
Significance
The CHRA is a foundational Canadian human rights statute, establishing the model of human rights commission investigation and tribunal adjudication. The duty to accommodate doctrine, developed under the CHRA and the Charter, requires employers and service providers to accommodate protected characteristics up to the point of undue hardship. The Supreme Court’s decision in British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v BCGSEU (Meiorin, 1999) established a unified framework for assessing discrimination. The Act’s prohibition of gender identity and expression (added 2017, Bill C-16) addressed a long-standing gap.