Welcome to JFCY’s Legal Wiki which provides information about the legal rights of children and youth in Ontario. Click here to download this information from our Publications page. Please contact us if you have any questions or trouble finding the information that you seek. You should speak to a lawyer for legal advice since laws often change.
Human Rights Protection
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What is discrimination?
Discrimination is when someone or a group of persons is treated unfairly or unequally. Harassment is a type of discrimination and involves someone saying or doing things to offend or humiliate someone else. The law does not protect from discrimination in all situations; for example, the law does not usually protect someone from discrimination in their personal relationships with friends or family.
When does the law protect someone from discrimination?
The Ontario Human Rights Code (“the Code”) is the law that sets out when someone is protected from discrimination in Ontario.
The Code protects against discrimination in the following “social areas”:
- Employment
- Housing (such as renting an apartment)
- Goods, services, and facilities (such as in stores, restaurants, hospitals, and police)
- Contracts (such as an agreement to buy a bicycle or a cell phone)
- Membership in a union or a professional association for your job
What kind of discrimination does the Code protect people from?
The Code protects people if they experience discrimination connected to of one of the below “grounds”:
- Place of origin (where you come from)
- Citizenship
- Ethnicity (race, biological and cultural background)
- Disability
- Creed (religion / beliefs)
- Sex, including sexual harassment and pregnancy
- Sexual orientation*
- Gender identity*
- Gender expression*
- Family status
- Marital status
- Age
- Receipt of public assistance, such as Ontario Works – this applies to housing only
- Record of offences – this only includes convictions where a pardon or record suspension has been granted; and this also only applies to employment
Is it discrimination if I am treated unfairly because of other people in my life?
Being treated unfairly or unequally because of other people in your life is discrimination if the other people are identified by one of the grounds in the Code. For example, a landlord cannot refuse to rent you an apartment because your parents are from a different country (“place of origin”) or because of the “gender identity” of your girl-/boy-friend/partner.
What is an “accommodation”?
“Accommodation” is the word used to describe the different or special arrangements that must be made by an employer, service provider or landlord to ensure that someone is not treated unfairly or unequally. For example, accommodating a student in a wheelchair by building a wheelchair access ramp at school, or accommodating a student with a learning disability by giving them more time to write tests or hand in their homework.
Do I always have to be accommodated?
Employers, service providers and landlords must always accommodate you unless they can show it would cause them “undue hardship”. Undue hardship means that it would be too difficult or expensive to accommodate you. Undue hardship is a complex legal principle. If someone is telling you that they cannot accommodate you for this reason, you should talk to a lawyer.
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Youth Criminal Justice
The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) provides unique rights and procedures for young people between the ages of 12 - 17 who are charged with a criminal offence in Canada.
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Education
Going to school is a legal requirement for young people between the ages of 6 and 17. The Education Act gives parents and children specific rights in the publicly funded school system.
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Leaving Home
In Ontario, you can choose where you live when you are 16 years old. The decision to leave is often not easy and can lead to difficulties in getting all your belongings, having enough money to support yourself and attending school.
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Health & Mental Health
Become informed about your legal rights when it comes to decisions about your healthcare and mental healthcare treatment. This includes any procedure carried out or prescribed by a health practitioner to diagnose or treat a physical or mental health condition.
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Discrimination and LGBTQI2S Rights
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you from discrimination on many grounds and in many social areas. Specific legal concerns raised by youth identifying in LGBTQI2S communities are about GSAs, Trans and Gender Inclusive Spaces and changing their ID.
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Human Rights Protection
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What is discrimination?
Discrimination is when someone or a group of persons is treated unfairly or unequally. Harassment is a type of discrimination and involves someone saying or doing things to offend or humiliate someone else. The law does not protect from discrimination in all situations; for example, the law does not usually protect someone from discrimination in their personal relationships with friends or family.
When does the law protect someone from discrimination?
The Ontario Human Rights Code (“the Code”) is the law that sets out when someone is protected from discrimination in Ontario.
The Code protects against discrimination in the following “social areas”:
- Employment
- Housing (such as renting an apartment)
- Goods, services, and facilities (such as in stores, restaurants, hospitals, and police)
- Contracts (such as an agreement to buy a bicycle or a cell phone)
- Membership in a union or a professional association for your job
What kind of discrimination does the Code protect people from?
The Code protects people if they experience discrimination connected to of one of the below “grounds”:
- Place of origin (where you come from)
- Citizenship
- Ethnicity (race, biological and cultural background)
- Disability
- Creed (religion / beliefs)
- Sex, including sexual harassment and pregnancy
- Sexual orientation*
- Gender identity*
- Gender expression*
- Family status
- Marital status
- Age
- Receipt of public assistance, such as Ontario Works – this applies to housing only
- Record of offences – this only includes convictions where a pardon or record suspension has been granted; and this also only applies to employment
Is it discrimination if I am treated unfairly because of other people in my life?
Being treated unfairly or unequally because of other people in your life is discrimination if the other people are identified by one of the grounds in the Code. For example, a landlord cannot refuse to rent you an apartment because your parents are from a different country (“place of origin”) or because of the “gender identity” of your girl-/boy-friend/partner.
What is an “accommodation”?
“Accommodation” is the word used to describe the different or special arrangements that must be made by an employer, service provider or landlord to ensure that someone is not treated unfairly or unequally. For example, accommodating a student in a wheelchair by building a wheelchair access ramp at school, or accommodating a student with a learning disability by giving them more time to write tests or hand in their homework.
Do I always have to be accommodated?
Employers, service providers and landlords must always accommodate you unless they can show it would cause them “undue hardship”. Undue hardship means that it would be too difficult or expensive to accommodate you. Undue hardship is a complex legal principle. If someone is telling you that they cannot accommodate you for this reason, you should talk to a lawyer.
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Making a Claim
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LGBTQI2S Legal Rights
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GSAs & LGBTQ-Specific School Groups
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Trans-Inclusion & Gender Segregated Spaces
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Government-Issued Identification
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Provincial Offences
You can be given a ticket for breaking a provincial law if you are over the age of 16. Some of the common laws that young people are given tickets for is covered in this section.
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Family: Discipline, Children's Aid Societies, Parenting and Contact Orders
In family law, the rights of children are unique. Become informed about going into and being in the care of a Children's Aid Society, when parents can assault you (corporal punishment / spanking exemption to assault), and your right to be heard when your parents are splitting up.
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Immigration & Refugee
JFCY's Childhood Arrivals and Support & Advocacy Program (CASA) provides services to young people who arrived in Canada as children and are living in Ontario without immigration status.
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Homeless Youth Over 18
Street Youth Legal Services (SYLS) is a program that provides information and services for homeless youth between the ages of 16 - 25. These are some of the common issues that the SYLS lawyer is asked about.