Last week, I had the pleasure of facilitating an employment law workshop with a group of young people who are preparing to enter the workforce. I showed a PowerPoint presentation that provided a general overview of Nova Scotia’s Labour Standards Code and the Human Rights Act. I promised that I would follow up with a blog post if there were any questions raised that went beyond the content in my presentation.
Question: What does the ground “association with protected groups or individual” under the Human Rights Act protect?
Paragraph 5(1)(v) of the Human Rights Act is meant to protect people from discrimination based on their association (i.e. relationship) with a person or group of individuals who have a characteristic protected under the Act (e.g. sex, colour, religion, creed, gender expression[1]). Notably, discrimination on the basis of association with a protected group or individual may be raised by an individual who does not otherwise identify with any of the protected characteristics. The Ontario Human Rights Commission website provides excellent examples of discrimination based on this protected ground, including this:
A woman who was a member of a club confronted other members about racist comments they made. Having spoken out against racism, the woman clearly associated herself with First Nations and racialized people. The negative actions taken by the club because she stood up to racist comments amounted to a breach of the Code.
In this example, the woman was entitled to protection under human rights legislation because she associated herself with First Nations and racialized people even though she does not identify as a First Nations or a racialized person herself. For other great examples, please visit the Ontario Human Rights Commission website.[2]
Question: How is disability defined under the Human Rights Act, and does it cover cognitive impairments?
Nova Scotia’s Human Rights Act defines “physical and mental disability” under subsection 3(l):
“physical disability or mental disability” means an actual or perceived
- loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function,
- restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity,
- physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement, including, but not limited to, epilepsy and any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, deafness, hardness of hearing or hearing impediment, blindness or visual impediment, speech impairment or impediment or reliance on a hearing-ear dog, a guide dog, a wheelchair or a remedial appliance or device,
- learning disability or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language,
- condition of being mentally impaired,
- mental disorder, or
- dependency on drugs or alcohol;
This definition of disability includes cognitive impairments. Specifically, dyslexia and learning disabilities have been found to fall within the meaning of disability under the Act.[3]
Notably, the Act protects actual and perceived disability. In other words, even though you do not view yourself as disabled in any way, the Act protects you if you are being discriminated against on the basis that others (e.g. your employer or landlord) view you as such.
For more information about employment law or human rights matters, contact Balraj Dosanjh.
[1] For a full list of the protected grounds, see Subsection(1)(h)-(v) of the Human Rights Act.
[2] Please note each jurisdiction (i.e. province, territory, and federal) has separate human rights legislation, which may protect different grounds.
[3] See, e.g. Trask v Nova Scotia (Justice), 2010 NSHRC