On this page:
Privacy notice
The Canadian Human Rights Commission is committed to respecting the personal privacy of individuals who visit our website. This page summarizes the privacy policy and practices of our website.
The Commission does not automatically gather any personal information from you, such as your name, phone number, e-mail or street address during your visit to our website. This information is only obtained if you supply it voluntarily, usually through contacting us via e-mail, or registering in a secure portion of the site.
When you fill out a form, some of the information you provide is personal information. Personal information is data about an “identifiable individual.” It is information that on its own or combined with other pieces of data, can identify you as an individual. All personal information you do provide is protected under the federal Privacy Act. This means that, at the point of collection, you will be informed that your personal information is being collected, the purpose for which it is being collected and that you have a right of access to the information. The Commission securely stores collected information until it sends it to the Library and Archives of Canada or destroys it.
The Commission uses software that receives and records the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of computers that have connected with their website. In such instances, the Commission makes no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site, unless the intent to damage the site has been detected.
The Commission does not regularly use "cookies" to track how visitors use our website. Whenever we enable "cookies" to facilitate your transactions, we will first inform you. (Note: Cookies are files that a website can place on your hard drive, without your knowledge, to monitor your use of that site.)
Visitor information is not disclosed to anyone except Commission personnel who need the information (e.g., to respond to a request.)
You have the right to access and correct your personal information under the Privacy Act. Should you wish to find out how to do so or have any questions or comments regarding the administration of the Privacy Act at the Commission please find more information on the Commission's access to information and privacy page.
The Commission is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals. We protect all personal information you provide whether through our secure website or by mail, under the Privacy Act. To protect personal information, we take the security measures described in the Treasury Board Secretariat's Policy on Government Security.
Privacy notice for discrimination complaints
At the end of the discrimination complaint form, you will be asked to authorize the Commission to collect your personal information. This is necessary for the Commission to process your complaint. You may also choose to allow the Commission to use your complaint information for research and education purposes. The Privacy notice provides you the legal information on how your personal information will be protected, stored and used.
If you do not allow the Commission to collect your personal information, the Commission will not be able to process your complaint.
Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Commission is allowed to collect complaint information, such as the content of a person's Complaint Form, to process people's human rights complaints. Some of your complaint information is personal information. The Commission will ensure this information is protected under the Privacy Act and will only use and disclose it:
- to deal with the complaint (e.g. sharing it with the respondent for their comments)
- if there is a legal reason (e.g. if there is a need to disclose the information under the rules of a court or tribunal)
- if section 8(2) of the Privacy Act allows it (e.g. if it is in your best interests)
At various points in time in the process, various people may have access to your complaint and/or your personal information:
- Commission staff or contractors working on your complaint
- respondents (the person or organization you are making a complaint about)
- members of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal or other courts, as needed
The Commission, the Tribunal or another court may make the details of your complaint public during a hearing, in a ruling or during a judicial review of your complaint.
The Commission sometimes develops policies and guides, and prepares reports or other statistical information for policy, research and public education purposes in support of its mandate under section 27 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
To help the Commission promote and protect human rights in Canada, you may choose to allow the use of your personal complaint information for this type of work. Commission reports will never include your personal information or information that would identify you. Also, the Commission will continue to protect all your information according to the requirements of the Privacy Act.
Privacy notice for the Pay Equity Portal
The Pay Equity Act allows the Pay Equity Commissioner to receive requests from federally regulated workplace parties and stakeholders related to Pay Equity matters and applications. The Pay Equity Commissioner collects the information provided in the Pay Equity Portal so that it can consider the pay equity issues that your application raises.
The Pay Equity Commissioner will use and/or disclose this information for the purpose of processing this application, for a consistent purpose, or otherwise as required by law. For example, the personal information that you provide may be shared with:
- any person retained to provide advice and assistance in carrying out the Pay Equity Commissioner's mandate
- a party involved in the application, including during any review proceedings
- the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal or the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, if your case is referred or appealed to the Tribunal or to the Board
- the Federal Court if there is a judicial review of your case
- the Minister, as required under the Pay Equity Act
We will also use your anonymized information for the purposes of program management and to comply with the Pay Equity Act.
We will not otherwise disclose your information, except in limited situations described in subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act. In such a case, we will disclose the least amount of information required and will inform you if permitted by law.
If you do not allow the Pay Equity Commissioner to collect your personal information, we may not be able to assess your application.
Privacy notice for My Accessibility Portal
Regulated entities are required under the Accessible Canada Act to notify the Commissioner when they publish an initial accessibility plan or updated plan, a description of their feedback processes or amended description and their progress reports. The portal was developed to make this task easier for regulated entities, should they choose to use it. The Accessibility Commissioner accepts notifications and other information from regulated entities through the portal.
The Accessibility Commissioner will use and/or disclose this information for the purpose of verifying compliance, for a consistent purpose, or otherwise as required by law. For example, the personal information that you provide may be shared:
- with any person retained to provide advice and assistance in carrying out the Accessibility Commissioner's mandate
- if you request a review before the Accessibility Commissioner
- if you request a judicial review of the Accessibility Commissioner's decision related to your file
- with the Minister, as required under the Accessible Canada Act and the Accessible Canada Regulations
This portal has been developed to provide a convenient and secure means of sharing information. The portal is security protected to send and receive information that is sensitive (protected B under the Government of Canada Security Policy). The portal contributes to the Accessibility Commissioner's compliance and enforcement program, but does not replace it. The Accessibility Commissioner's inspectors will carry out compliance inspections, and they may contact you by telephone, email or mail if your organization is being inspected for compliance with the Accessible Canada Act and Accessible Canada Regulations.
Official languages notice
The Canadian Human Rights Commission respects the Official Languages Act and the relevant Treasury Board Secretariat policies, and is committed to ensuring all information on this site is available in both English and French. However, users should be aware that some information from external sources that are not subject to the Official Languages Act is only provided as a convenience and is available only in the language in which it was provided. Information that is provided on this site in language(s) other than English or French is only provided as a convenience to the user when available.
Official languages advisory for discrimination complaints
This official languages advisory provides information on the choice of official language in which to process a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
When submitting a complaint to the Commission, the complainant is asked to choose the official language (English or French) in which they wish to file their complaint. The Commission has the capacity to process complaints in both English and French.
Once the complainant chooses the official language of their complaint, all other parties must submit their materials in that same language. The Commission is not responsible for translating any of the parties' documents.
It is only under very rare circumstances that the Commission will allow the Complainant to switch their chosen official language for the complaint. Likewise, it is only under very rare circumstances that the Commission will allow any of the other parties to submit their materials in the other official language.
The Commission strives to process complaints as efficiently as possible to allow swift access to justice. Allowing a switch in official languages or any party to submit materials in the other official language during the processing of a complaint causes unnecessary delays in the process.
In fact, the Official Languages Act does not require the Commission to switch official languages. Nor does it require the Commission to allow any party to submit materials in the other official language during the processing of a complaint. See sections 22(a)(b), 24(2) and 28 of the Official Languages Act.
Exceptional circumstances under which the Commission may allow a Complainant to change their official language:
- a Complainant is no longer represented by counsel and wishes to represent themselves in the other official language
- a Complainant is vulnerableFootnote 1
- the original material is in the other official language (for example, a doctor's note)
- on a case-by-case basis, as requested, with the discretion of the Commission
How to make a request:
To request changing the official language of the complaint or to submit documents not in the language of the complaint, you must do so in writing by contacting the Commission at complaint@chrc-ccdp.gc.ca. The Commission will review each request on a case-by-case basis. Any party may make a request at any stage of the process.
Please note that, although a Complainant can ask for a change in language that might in some circumstances be accepted by the Commission, we cannot force the Respondent to change from the language originally chosen by the Complainant. This is especially true when legal counsel has been retained by the Respondent, and the file is advanced in the complaints process.
Hyperlinking notice
Links to websites not under the control of the Commission are provided solely for the convenience of users. The Commission is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The Commission does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their contents.
Users should be aware that information offered by non-Commission sites that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and to which the Commission links, may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question.
Ownership and usage of content provided on this site
Materials on this website were produced and/or compiled by the Commission for the purpose of providing people in Canada with access to information about the programs and services offered. You may use and reproduce the materials as follows:
Analytics
The Commission uses a software called SiteImprove for the collection, analysis, measurement and reporting of data about website traffic in order to understand and optimize website usage.
SiteImprove is a platform that offers the web analytics features such as visit data by page, cities, referring sites. It also allows the Commission to :
- filter data to look at it in different ways such as by user location or government and non-government visits
- track user behaviour using heat maps, user journeys and conversion funnels to see where users click on a page and how they get from one page to another
- track click behaviour (events) like clicks on phone numbers, "On this page" anchor links, or form buttons
- automate and track marketing campaigns by providing the number of clicks on a campaign URL and the user location
Thanks to the data compiled by the platform, we can better understand the habits of users who visit our site. SiteImprove not only helps us interpret the data provided and make decisions about site navigation, but it is also an essential tool for improving content quality and accessibility.
The platform allows us as an organization to ensure our website is consistently optimized content (no broken links or typos) as well as inclusive content, and functional.
Non-commercial reproduction
Unless otherwise specified you may reproduce the materials in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes, and in any format, without charge or further permission, provided you do the following:
- exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced
- indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced, as well as the author (where available)
- indicate that the reproduction is a copy of the version available at [URL where original document is available]
Unless otherwise specified, this authorization is also applicable to all published information regardless of its format.
Commercial reproduction
Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission from the Canadian Human Rights Commission. To obtain permission to reproduce materials on this site for commercial purposes please contact:
Canadian Human Rights Commission
Communications Division
344 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1E1
Canada
communications@chrc-ccdp.gc.ca
Some of the content on this site may be subject to the copyright of another party. Where information has been produced or copyright is not held by Government of Canada, the materials are protected under the Copyright Act, and international agreements. Details concerning copyright ownership are indicated on the relevant page(s). To obtain additional information concerning copyright ownership and restrictions, please contact:
Canadian Human Rights Commission
Communications Division
344 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1E1
Canada
communications@chrc-ccdp.gc.ca
Third-party materials
Some of the materials and graphical elements found on the Canadian Human Rights Commission website are subject to copyrights held by other organizations. In such cases, some restrictions on the reproduction of materials or graphical elements may apply and it may be necessary to seek permission from the rights holder prior to reproducing the material.
Web accessibility statement
The Canadian Human Rights Commission recognizes its responsibility to develop electronic information that is accessible and useable by all people. We will devote the time and resources necessary to ensure that all users enjoy access to our web site and online platforms. It is the responsibility of everyone at the Canadian Human Rights Commission to deliver on this commitment. This statement provides information on what has been done to ensure accessibility of our website and provides known issues with the My Accessibility Portal, as well as ways to contact us and give feedback.
Accessibility status
Here's what we've done to ensure the accessibility of the Commission website and online platforms.
Corporate initiatives:
- designated executive champion for accessibility
- integrated accessibility into our web services procurement practices
- trained our web development team in web accessibility practices
- included ongoing accessibility training for our web team as part of onboarding
Digital initiatives:
- included people with disabilities in our design process
- tested prototypes with people with disabilities
- included automated accessibility checks in our development process
- included assistive technology testing in our QA process
- tested the compatibility of our website with assistive technology by engaging people with disabilities
- My Accessibility Portal and Pay Equity Portal were designed to meet level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1). We also follow the:
Accessibility report for My Accessibility Portal
This report provides information on the conformance of the Accessibility Commissioner Portal with the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Evaluations and reviews on this Portal are based in the processes outlined in Accessibility Evaluation Resources.
The Portal's conformance is near meeting WCAG 2.1, Level AA.
Evaluation for conformance on this portal involved the following:
- semi-automated evaluation tools
- manual evaluation by experienced developers and accessibility testers
- consultation with people with disabilities and integration of their feedback
- research and consultation with an external firm that also tested with people with disabilities
WCAG 2.1 AA Conformance Evaluation
The My Accessibility Portal is 90% compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA. Some of the pages in the process do not meet the following success criteria:
- 1.4.10 Reflow (AA)
- 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable (A)
- 4.1.3 Status Messages (AA)
Attention to disability
We considered the following types of disabilities and conditions:
- vision: partial or complete blindness, colour blindness, vision loss, or other sight related disabilities
- hearing and audio processing: auditory disabilities including different degrees of deafness and hearing loss, and other hearing impairments
- physical: difficulty using a keyboard, mouse, or other physical tools commonly used on a computer or mobile device
- cognitive: learning, processing, or memory related disabilities
- literacy and language: reading or comprehension difficulties
Testing process and tools
We used these methods during the development and testing of the Portal:
- manual testing: across browsers, devices and keyboard-only
- testing with analysis tools: to identify areas of opportunity to improve accessibility
- testing with users: we tested with users with disabilities and other accessibility testers
We used the following tools to test the Portal:
- screen readers: NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack
- semi-automated tools: WAVE, Axe, browser accessibility inspectors, and Lighthouse
Outcomes
- 94 issues raised and fixed
- 2 Accessibility reviews
Known issues for My Accessibility Portal
The Canadian Human Rights Commission performed inclusive design reviews and consulted with people with disabilities in the creation of the My Accessibility Portal. We followed best practices for plain language, digital inclusion, and compatibility with adaptive technology. Please review our accessibility report for information about the activities we conducted, and updates on issues and resolutions.
Registering for the My Accessibility Portal
The verification code field has a 5 minute time limit before you will need to request for the code to be sent again.
The input fields for the email and password contain repeating information. Currently, we are not able to remove this information.
Input fields
Depending on your adaptive technology, you may need to use the dictation box to edit the contents of the input field. For example, when you delete or backspace a character or word in the field.
Page announcers
When actions are complete and a new page loads, NVDA does not consistently load alerts to users. For example, when a page loads with confirmation that an action was successful, users will need to arrow down to find the confirmation.
Zoom on smaller devices
Users with devices with screens around 10 inches may experience trouble reflowing the content at 175% to 200% magnification. If you encounter this problem please provide us with feedback and we will work to fix it.
Feedback
We also welcome your feedback on our accessibility efforts.
You can send feedback anonymously or you can include your name and contact information. You can provide feedback in the following ways:
- Send an email to info.com@chrc-ccdp.gc.ca
- Call by telephone at 1-888-214-1090 or by TTY at 1-888-643-3304
- Use Video Relay Service at Canada VRS
- Mail us at: 344 Slater Street, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0N7
We will confirm that we have received your feedback.
Social media terms of use
Our social media accounts
The Commission's social media accounts help share information and facilitate conversations about human rights and employment equity in a timely and informal manner.
We post content on various social media platforms including YouTube, X (formely Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Our social media accounts are open to the public, so anyone with Internet access can view their content.
Users should note that our accounts do not constitute authoritative sources of the Commission policies or guidance. Any change in the Commission's official position on legislation, investigations and audits is communicated through official statements and the Commission's website. A decision to retweet or share social media content does not represent an explicit endorsement nor announce a possible shift in the Commission's official position.
The Commission's social media accounts are managed by the Commission's Communications Division. We also invite you to visit our website for more detailed or substantive information. For your convenience, this document tells you what to expect from our social media accounts and how to engage with us and fellow users.
- Content
- Links to websites and ads
- Posting frequency
- Platform availability
- Followers and who we follow
- Liking and favourite pages
- Subscribing to our YouTube Channel
- Replies, comments and messages
- Comments code of conduct
- Social media accessibility
- Use of Official Languages
- Privacy
- Copyright
- Commission staff on social media
- Media enquiries
Content
In most cases, our posts, reposts will cover or deal with:
- important events, news or statements
- parliamentary appearances involving the Canadian Human Rights Commission or other stakeholders
- landmark tribunal and court decisions
- speeches, press articles or blog articles worth quoting
- reports and publications from the Commission and other relevant sources
- approaches to sustaining a human rights culture
- interesting facts and data pertaining to the situation of human rights in Canada
- topical questions meant to foster discussion
If you follow us or like our posts, you can expect to receive notifications of updates and any new information from the Commission or other relevant sources.
We cannot verify the accuracy of all user comments. The posting of any single comment does not imply the Commission's endorsement of the user's views.
Links to websites and ads
Our accounts may display links or ads for websites that are not under the control of the Commission or the Government of Canada. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or reliability of the corresponding sites or content. The appearance of a link or an ad does not imply endorsement on our part. Targeted advertisements on social media are visible only to individual users and based on their own preferences.
Posting frequency
The daily number of social media posts will vary depending on unfolding events, new information and users' interests and engagement. Generally, you should expect to see new posts during regular working hours, Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST/EDT. Any activity during holidays, after core hours and on weekends would likely be along the lines of urgent communications of significant value to our followers.
Platform availability
Our social media updates are subject to downtime that may be out of our control, because the servers are managed by a third party. We accept no responsibility for the networks becoming unresponsive or unavailable.
Followers and who we follow
Any social media user can choose to follow our account. The appearance of a user as a follower does not imply any endorsement on our part.
At this time, we will only follow a select number of social media accounts belonging to organizations and individuals whose work is relevant to our mandate and is of interest to our stakeholders. The fact that we follow certain accounts does not mean that we support them or the views of their users.
Liking and favourite pages
Anyone with a valid social media account may choose to « like » our posts. In doing so, the user will periodically receive notifications of new Commission posts and updates in their news feed. It does not imply that we will reciprocate and « like » the user's account in return.
At this time, we will only « like » a select number of social media posts by organizations and individuals whose work is relevant to our mandate and of interest to our stakeholders.
Subscribing to our YouTube channel
Anyone with a valid YouTube account may choose to subscribe to our channel. In doing so, the user will periodically receive notifications of new Commission videos. It does not imply that we will reciprocate by subscribing to the user's channel.
Replies, comments and messages
We monitor @replies, @mentions, wall comments and direct messages. Emerging themes or helpful suggestions will be passed to the relevant Commission staff.
As appropriate, we may choose to respond directly to individual messages. Or we may develop a formal response for wide dissemination through our website.
We will not engage in issues of party politics, discuss human rights complaints currently before the Commission or reply to comments that do not respect our comments policy below.
Please note that the Commission will not process human rights complaints submitted through our social media accounts. If you have questions about actual or potential complaints, you must call our toll-free number: 1-888-214-1090, TTY: 1-888-643-3304. Alternatively, you may send an email to complaint.plainte@chrc-ccdp.gc.ca, send a fax to 613-996-9661, or put your complaint in writing and mail to: Canadian Human Rights Commission, 344 Slater Street, 8th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1E1.
We ask that media representatives refrain from submitting questions through our social media accounts and contact our Media Relations unit directly.
Comments code of conduct
We welcome your comments and expect that conversations will follow the general rules of respectful discourse.
You are fully responsible for the content of your submission, and all posted comments are in the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, do not include personal information, as described in the Privacy section below.
We will not accept replies or comments that meet any of the following criteria:
- contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Employment Equity Act
- racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting, or threatening
- personal attacks and defamatory statements against individuals or organizations
- abusive, aggressive, coarse, explicit, vulgar, violent, obscene, or pornographic remarks
- encouraging or suggesting illegal activity
- soliciting or advertising for commercial purposes
- announcements from labour or political organizations
- written in a language other than English or French
- violating someone's privacy by providing personal information
- breaking copyright rules (no permission or attribution)
- posted by anonymous or robot accounts or pasted by multiple users
- unintelligible messages
We reserve the right to remove inappropriate comments that meet any of the criteria above. We will also block access to users who repeatedly violate these terms of use.
Social media accessibility
We post content on various social media platforms including YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. We provide text alternatives for images and make our content accessible, however, we can't control the overall accessibility of social platforms.
Accessibility limitations include:
- Not all videos have captions.
- Most videos do not have audio descriptions or transcripts.
As third-party service providers, social media platforms are not bound by official policies for Web accessibility.
The Government of Canada is committed to achieving a high standard of accessibility and is working to address issues with existing platforms. Also, Facebook's Help Centre offers information on Assistive Technology.
Use of official languages
In accordance with the Official Languages Act and related policies, the Commission is committed to providing information of equal quality in both French and English. Our posts are made available simultaneously in both official languages from the respective accounts.
However, because of the very nature of social media, content will vary between the English and French accounts, particularly where replies and comments are concerned. Users are encouraged to engage in the official language of their choice by selecting the appropriate account. We will respond to direct messages and @replies in the official language of origin. If we think a question or comment calls for a general, public reply, we will place the response on both our French and English accounts for the benefit of all users. To this end, we may summarize what a user writes in order to put our reply in context.
Users should be aware that our content may refer to some information from external sources that are not subject to the Official Languages Act. Links to these resources are provided for the convenience of users and are only available in the language used on the site in question. When a Web page is unilingual, we will make an effort to provide an equivalent link in the other official language. Links leading to unilingual content are labelled FR (French only) or EN (English only). Insofar as possible, we will try to give users an idea of any content that exists only in the other official language.
Our social media posts are available in French and English. The interface language depends on the preferences you have selected for your account. You can change the interface language at any time by changing the preferences.
Privacy
The Commission's social media accounts are not hosted on Government of Canada websites. They are offered through a third-party service provider. Users are encouraged to read the various privacy policies provided by those social media platforms.
To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, do not include personal information in your comments or other content you post. Personal information includes home addresses and telephone numbers, photographs containing images of identifiable individuals, and any other information as defined in paragraph 3 of the Privacy Act.
We capture social media conversations to facilitate responses, assess information needs or inform decision making. We do not retain any information (such as usernames or handles) that could serve to identify users.
For questions about your privacy rights, please contact the Commission's Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator.
Copyright
Information posted on the Commission's social media accounts is subject to the Copyright Act of Canada. For more information, the Commission's Communications Division at:
Canadian Human Rights Commission
Communications Division
344 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1E1
Canada
communications@chrc-ccdp.gc.ca
Commission staff on social media
A number of Commission employees have accounts on various social media. Despite their professional affiliation, their posts do not represent the official position of the Commission. They are to be considered as the personal product of private citizens.
Media enquiries
Media representatives should contact our Media Relations unit during regular working hours and on an emergency basis after regular working hours.
Thank you for taking the time to consult these Terms of use. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.