The ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' (french: Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne) is a

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

passed by the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure

equal opportunity Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...

to individuals who may be victims of discriminatory practices based on a set of prohibited grounds. The prohibited grounds currently are:

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex,

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

expression Expression may refer to: Linguistics * Expression (linguistics), a word, phrase, or sentence * Fixed expression, a form of words with a specific meaning * Idiom, a type of fixed expression * Metaphorical expression, a particular word, phrase, o ...

, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics,

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...

, and conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted or in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered.

Application

The act applies throughout Canada, but only to federally regulated activities; each province and territory has its own anti-discrimination law that applies to activities that are not federally regulated. The ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' created the

Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the government of Canada. It is empowered under the ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the pr ...

that investigates claims of

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

as well as the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to judge the cases. Before a case can be brought to the Tribunal it must go through several stages of investigation and remediation by the Commission. After this process has been completed, if the parties are not satisfied, the case will go to the tribunal. If a complainant can show a valid case of discrimination the defendant can rebuke it by showing that their practice was for a justified reason. The process is generally known as the " Meiorin test" which is similar to the

Oakes test Section 1 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is the section that confirms that the rights listed in the Charter are ''guaranteed''. The section is also known as the reasonable limits clause or limitations clause, as it legally all ...

justification in a Charter challenge. In June 2018, the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

found that the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's determination that the ''

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

'' did not violate the ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' was reasonable due to

judicial deference Judicial deference is the condition of a court yielding or submitting its judgment to that of another legitimate party, such as the executive branch in the case of national defense. It is most commonly found in countries, such as the United Kingdo ...

Specific provisions

Gender identity and expression

In 2016, the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

introduced ''

An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code ''An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code'' (french: Loi modifiant la Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne et le Code criminel) is a law passed by the Parliament of Canada. The law adds gender expression and ...

'' (C-16) in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

, to add and include " gender identity or expression" to the legislation. The bill passed the Commons on November 18, 2016, and the Senate on June 15, 2017. It received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

on June 19, 2017. The law went into effect immediately.

Hate messages

The ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' formerly had a provision, section 13, dealing with communication of hate messages. The provision was repealed by the Parliament of Canada in June 2013, with the repeal coming into force one year later.NP: "Hate speech no longer part of Canada’s Human Rights Act" 27 Jun 2013
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References

{{Reflist

External links

Canadian Human Rights Act
(full text)
Canadian Human Rights Commission

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal

Maple Leaf Web: The Canadian Human Rights Act: Introduction to Canada’s Federal Human Rights Legislation
Canadian federal legislation Labour relations in Canada Labour legislation of Canada National human rights instruments 1977 in Canadian law Human rights legislation in Canada Anti-discrimination law in Canada