Human Rights Laws in Canada

Canada has 14 distinct legal jurisdictions that govern employment relationships, including management of human rights. Depending on the nature of the business you are in, the requirements as an employer may either be governed by federal or provincial/territorial human rights codes. Human rights laws identify employee rights and employer obligations throughout the employee lifecycle from recruitment to retirement and help you to build a diverse workforce in Canada.

Federal

In Canada, about 6% of employers are federally regulated and these businesses include international and interprovincial businesses such as trucking and shipping, banks, telecommunications and more. The laws relating to human rights apply to these federal businesses even if they are scattered throughout each province or territory in Canada.

Provincial

The human rights laws in each province and territory within Canada generally state that every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination or harassment because of various prohibited grounds, such as race, age or family status. The right to “equal treatment with respect to employment” covers every aspect of the workplace environment and employment relationship throughout the employee life cycle such as recruitment, training, promotions, rates pay, performance through to termination.

For more details regarding federal or provincial legislation please visit – following links

Human Rights Commission
Human Rights Act
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Employment Equity Act