Canadian Human Rights Act

Canadian Human Rights Act
An Act to extend the laws in Canada that proscribe discrimination
Citation	Canadian Human Rights Act
Enacted by	Parliament of Canada
Date assented to	1985

The Canadian Human Rights Act was a statute originally passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be victims of discriminatory practices based on a set prohibited grounds such as gender, disability, or religion. It applied throughout Canada, but only to federally regulated activities; each province and territory had its own anti-discrimination law that applies to activities that are not federally regulated.

The Canadian Human Rights Act outlined the creation of a Canadian Human Rights Commission that investigates claims of discrimination as well as the creation of a 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. 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 justification in a Charter challenge.

See also

• Human rights in Canada
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Canadian Bill of Rights
• Canadian Human Rights Commission
• Canadian Human Rights Commission free speech controversy
• Employment equity (Canada)
• Equal pay for women
• Veterans' Bill of Rights
• Ontario Human Rights Code
• Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms

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