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The Evolution of Human Rights Policy in Ontario*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2009

R. Brian Howe
R. Brian Howe
Affiliation:
Brock University
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Abstract

Since the Second World War, a public policy on human rights has been put into place in Canada to control discrimination through human rights legislation and human rights commissions. This policy has changed over time, incorporating elements both of expansion in human rights protections and of restraint in the enforcement of the legislation. This study seeks to explain this change by examining the evolution of the policy in the province of Ontario, home of the oldest and largest commission in Canada. The conclusion drawn is that the evolution has been shaped largely by conflicting pressures for reform and restraint, reflecting an underlying conflict between rival liberal ethics which comes into play as consciousness grows of gaps between the principles and practice of rights.

Résumé

Au Canada, depuis la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, une politique des droits de la personne a été mise en place pour combattre la discrimination au moyen de lois sur les droits et libertés et d'une Commission des droits de la personne. Cette politique a évolué depuis ses débuts, en intégrant des éléments qui, à la fois, élargissent la protection des droits mais limitent l'application de la loi. Cette étude a pour objet d'expliquer cette évolution de la politique des droits dans la province de l'Ontario, là où se trouve la plus ancienne et la plus grande Commission des droits de la personne au Canada. La conclusion montre que l'évolution s'explique largement en fonction de pressions contradictoires pour des réformes et des limitations, reflétant un conflit sous-jacent entre des éthiques libérales rivales, lequel conflit est devenu plus explicite à mesure que l'on prenait conscience de l'écart entre les principes et l'application des droits.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , December 1991 , pp. 783 - 802
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1991

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References

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39 S.O., 1965, c. 85; 1966, c. 3; 1967, c. 66; and 1968–1969, c. 83.

40 S.O., 1970, c. 501; 1971, c. 50; and 1972, c. 119. Sex was incorporated into the Code as a ground in 1972.

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60 For example, the Systemic Investigation Unit was created in early 1989 to investigate and remedy systemic barriers to equal opportunity, but the Commission had been given the mandate to act on this in 1981.

61 “Human Rights Legislation Still Plagued by Wrongs,” The Globe and Mail, August 1, 1985.

62 See Côté and Lemonde, Discrimination et Commission des droits de la personne.