Discrimination is an action or a decision that treats a person or a group badly for reasons such as their race, age or disability. These reasons, also called grounds, are protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Examples of Discrimination

There are several ways that a person can experience discrimination. Some examples are:

• A bank has lending rules that make it unreasonably difficult for new immigrants to get loans. This may be a case of discrimination based on two grounds — race and national or ethnic origin.
• A person is systematically referred to secondary screening at airports due to the colour of their skin. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of colour.
• An employer assigns her employees to weekend shifts without recognizing that some employees observe the Sabbath and cannot work on those days. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of religion.
• An employer’s physical fitness requirements are based on the capabilities of an average 25 year old instead of being based on the actual requirements of the job. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of age.
• A female employee with an excellent performance record announces that she is pregnant. Immediately, her employer begins to identify performance issues that lead to her dismissal. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of sex.
• A policy provides benefits to some married couples but not to others. This may be a case of discrimination based on two grounds — sexual orientation and marital status.
• After having a child, a woman cannot find childcare to continue working overnight shifts, and her employer does not allow flexibility by scheduling her on day shifts. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of family status.
• An employer requires all employees to have a valid driver’s licence. People who cannot drive due to a disability are not given an opportunity to show how they could still perform the job by, for example, using public transit. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of disability.
• A person is denied a job because of a previous conviction for which a pardon has been granted or a record has been suspended. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of pardoned conviction.
• Someone is denied a job because they shared the results of their genetic testing with a potential employer. This may be a case of discrimination based on the ground of genetic characteristics.
• A policy requires that a person identifies themselves as either male or female. This may be a case of discrimination based on gender identity or expression.