Under s. 1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code, persons are protected from “discrimination in health services based on characteristics, including their race, sex, sexual orientation, place of origin, gender identity and gender expression, ethnic origin, disability, citizenship, creed, and ancestry.”
The OHRC said it has maintained that the collection of Code and non-Code based data is permissible under the Code and “necessary to comply with duty-holders’ legal obligations under the Code.” It released a guide about 15 years ago about collecting data to “address and mitigate Code-related discrimination,” assisting organizations across many sectors to develop strategies strengthening human rights and equality.
“The Wellesley Institute’s Consensus Statement is a call to action for duty-holders in health services to establish mechanisms that effectively identify and address Code-based discrimination and harassment,” the OHRC said.
“Under the Code, duty-holders are legally obligated to take proactive measures to prevent non-discriminatory practices, and to provide effective remedies when discrimination occurs. This responsibility extends to not only collecting data but also using the data to inform meaningful actions to reduce disparities, ensure accountability, and promote substantive equality in health outcomes.”
The Consensus Statement was also said to reinforce the OHRC’s Human Rights-Based Approach Framework (HRBA), providing guidance to apply a human rights approach to deliver discrimination-free services to all.
It also further aligned with the HRBA to “encourage governments, organizations, and healthcare providers [to] facilitate meaningful engagement with affected communities on how they wish to access their data, determine who can access it, and give assurance that the results will be used to benefit the communities.”
The OHRC said it remains committed to addressing inequalities in health care, which include racism and anti-Indigenous discrimination in the health-care system.
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