Human Rights in Ontario: Age

In Canada, both provincial and federal regulations are in place to ensure that everyone has the right to equal treatment and freedom from discrimination. The importance of freedom from discrimination has been recognized as essential to promoting human dignity.

What regulates the protection of human rights in Ontario?

While the Canadian Human Rights Act requires that federally regulated businesses, such as banks and post offices, ensure they do not discriminate, the protection and promotion of human rights provincially falls under Ontario’s Human Rights Code. The Code governs all interactions between individuals and ensures that no one is discriminated against on the basis of a protected ground.

What is age?

The code defines age as an individual who is 18 years or more. However, in respect to the right to equal treatment to contract or to receive housing, someone who is 16 or 17 years of age may be treated as though they were 18 years old if they have legally withdrawn from their parents.

How is age protected in Ontario?

Under the code, everyone should experience equal treatment and be free from discrimination that occurs as a result of their age. Everyone is entitled to receive goods, services and access to facilities regardless of their age.

Everyone is entitled to receive equal treatment and freedom from discrimination because of their age in their employment and housing. For example, a landlord cannot refuse to rent a unit to someone who is 21 years old because they would prefer someone older, nor can an employer pass an older employee up for a promotion for no other reason than his or her age. Employers and landlords have a duty to accommodate based on age to the point that it would cause undue hardship. For example, a landlord may be required to ensure that there are working elevators in an apartment building.

Are there exceptions to the right to equal treatment with respect to age?

There are circumstances in which the code allows for discrimination due to age. For example, a tobacco retailer can refuse to sell cigarettes to a person less than 19 years of age or a nightclub can refuse entry to someone less than 19 years of age.

Another example involves restaurants that serve alcohol. They may require that waiters be over the age of 19 because being of the age of majority is an essential part of the job.

For more information on human rights law in Ontario, visit the Ontario Human Rights Commission website at ohrc.on.ca and the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal website at hrto.ca.

This column is brought to you by Community Legal Services at Western University. It provides legal information only. The information is accurate as of the date of publication. If you need specific legal advice please contact a lawyer, your community legal clinic, Justice Net at 1-866-919-3219 or the Law Society Referral Service at 1-800-268- 8326.
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