excerpt on family and marital status from HRTO Application, Nov 6, 2017.
Susan McPherson, Applicant
retrieved Dec 29, 2017
Question from Section C 22 Family or marital status
Explain why you believe you were
discriminated against on the basis of your family or marital status.
1. I believe I have been
discriminated against on the basis of family and marital status. I am divorced
and live alone, while my adult children – my family - live
in different cities. As noted in the OHRC Policy and Guidelines on
Discrimination because of Family Status, demographic shifts have changed our
understanding of the family, The Vanier Institute of the Family indicating that
“fewer than half of all Canadian families now consist of a married heterosexual
couple with one or more children” (2007, p 8).
The
Vanier Institute of the Family now defines “family” as:
2. Any combination of two
or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent,
birth and/or adoption or placement and who, together, assume responsibilities
for variant combinations of some of the following:
- Physical
maintenance and care of group members
- Addition
of new members through procreation or adoption
- Socialization
of children
- Social
control of members
- Production,
consumption, distribution of goods and services
- Affective
nurturance – love
(2017, Definition of the
family, http://vanierinstitute.ca/definition-family ).
3. Based on this updated view of the family,
and my own participation as a member of a family, I would like to draw
attention to this brief excerpt from the policies and guidelines:
“Negative attitudes and
stereotypes persist about the character and capabilities of persons based on
certain types of family status, such as, for example, lone parents.” In my
case, while not a lone parent, I have been subjected to discrimination based on
the fact I am alone, appearing to be lacking family support. I live alone, and
my children have been there for me when I needed them, eg, when I fractured my
leg and was hospitalized, they moved all my belongings from the apartment I was
living in to a different apartment.
“There are many different
kinds of families in today’s Ontario. Steps must be taken to ensure that all of
these families are included and treated with respect and dignity. • Each
person’s experience of his or her family status will be significantly affected
by their race, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, age, creed, and whether
that individual or a family member has a disability. • Negative attitudes and
stereotypes persist about the character and capabilities of persons based on
certain types of family status, such as, for example, lone parents” (p. 6.
Policy and Guidelines on Discrimination because of Family Status, on OHRC web
site, http://www.ohrc.on.ca or http://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Policy_and_guidelines_on_discrimination_because_of_family_status.pdf).
4. My focus is on a
specific kind of family that goes beyond the outdated definition offered in
this Policy and Guidlines publication, which states that “The ground of ‘family
status’ is more narrowly defined in section 10(1) as “the status of being in a
parent and child relationship” (p. 8) towards the wider definition offered by
the Vanier Institute. Meanwhile, according to the OHRC,
“In
addition to this Policy, the Commission will continue to engage in promotion
and advancement initiatives to address the broad systemic context of
discrimination based on family status”
(p 6).
5. Still within the
section on family, but focusing on marital status, the Policy and Guidelines on
Discrimination because of Family Status provides a definition of marital
status, saying,
“Section 10(1) of the Code broadly defines the ground of marital
status as follows: “marital status” means the status of being married, single,
widowed, divorced or separated and includes the status of living in a conjugal
relationship with a person outside of marriage. This definition includes both
same-sex and opposite-sex relationships” (p 8). This is the second aspect of
discrimination on the grounds of family and marital status.
6. Moving on to how the
concept of discrimination fits in with family and marital status, the
publication ‘Policy and Guidelines on Discrimination because of Family Status’
suggests the following tool, to determine whether discrimination has taken
place: “The third inquiry in the tool for determining discrimination,” it says,
is described as Discrimination in a Substantive Sense:
“Finally, does the differential treatment discriminate by imposing
a burden upon, or withholding a benefit from, an individual? The discrimination
might be based on stereotypes of a presumed group or personal characteristics,
or might perpetuate or promote the view that an individual is less capable or
worthy of recognition or value as a human being or as a member of Canadian
society who is equally deserving of concern, respect and consideration. Does
the differential treatment amount to discrimination because it makes
distinctions that are offensive to human dignity?” (March 2007, p 17) http://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Policy_and_guidelines_on_discrimination_because_of_family_status.pdf
7. The Code has defined discrimination, in
Discrimination Based on Family Status, in this way:
“The Code provides that every person has the right to be treated
equally without discrimination because of family status. The purpose of
anti-discrimination laws is to prevent the violation of human dignity and
freedom through the imposition of disadvantage, stereotyping, or political or
social prejudice” (p 16 section V http://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Policy_and_guidelines_on_discrimination_because_of_family_status.pdf
)
8. I have argued in my
application how family and marital status have been the grounds for
discrimination towards me. Together, the fact that I have been divorced,
without a husband, and am part of a family that does not reside close to me,
but which is my absent family much of the time, leaves me in a vulnerable
position of not having support or even a witness present at times when it would
be valuable for me. It is a problem many older women must experience, in this
society of increased employee mobility, that they live apart from their family.
Without husband and family nearby, they can be more vulnerable, particularly in
situations such as the discrimination I was subjected to at LHSC.
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