The ''Human Rights Code'' is a provincial
law in the
province of
British Columbia,
Canada that gives all people
equal rights and opportunities without
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 ...
in specific areas such as jobs, housing and services. The code's goal is to prevent discrimination and harassment because of
race,
colour,
sex,
gender identity or expression,
sexual orientation,
disability,
creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
,
age and other grounds.
History
The Code was enacted in 1973.
Before that date, various laws dealt with different kinds of discrimination. The code brought them together into one law and added some new protections.
Administration
The
British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal is the administrative,
quasi-judicial tribunal tasked with hearing complaints that the Code has been violated. It has the power to grant
damages and
specific performance to remedy discriminatory acts. The BCHRT is subject to
judicial review by the
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Supreme may refer to:
Entertainment
* Supreme (character), a comic book superhero
* ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film
* Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer
* "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams
* The Supremes, Motown-e ...
.
Application
The Code does not apply to federally-regulated activities, such as aeronautics and telecommunications. They are subject to the ''
Canadian Human Rights Act''.
See also
*''
Canadian Human Rights Act''
*''
Ontario Human Rights Code''
*''
Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms''
*''
Saskatchewan Bill of Rights''
*
Human rights in Canada
References
{{reflist
External links
British Columbia Human Rights Code(full text)
British Columbia provincial legislation
Human rights legislation in Canada
1973 in Canadian law
1973 in British Columbia