Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles - Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
VOLUNTARILY LEAVING EMPLOYMENT
6.3.4 Discrimination on a Prohibited Ground
The list of prohibited grounds of discrimination within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act includes discrimination on the grounds of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, marital status, family status, disability and conviction for which a pardon has been granted.
Another ground to be added to this list is sexual orientation, which is recognized by the government as a prohibited ground of discrimination but only for some purposes. It should also be noted that sexual harassment is a prohibited ground of discrimination within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
This section of the legislation confirms the right of all individuals, to the extent compatible with their rights and obligations within Canadian society, to equal opportunities to advance within the context of their work environment.
Discrimination is in many ways a social problem, and the intolerance that is a characteristic of discrimination is deeply rooted both in the workplace and in other sectors. Discrimination on any of the prohibited grounds listed above can never be tolerated because it deprives the victim of an inalienable right, namely the right to equal opportunities to advance in his or her work environment1.
Discrimination can be underhanded, lead to reprehensible behaviour or attacks from supervisors or co-workers, and in some cases have lasting physical and psychological effects on the person who is discriminated against.
As in the case of harassment, the officer has to adapt his or her search for the facts to the circumstances and accept at face value the allegations made by the person who claims to have been discriminated against in the workplace2.
The fact that a person did not take any recourse or did not await the outcome of any remedy before voluntarily leaving his or her employment must not be considered against the claimant when the situation indicates intolerable harassment that could not have been resolved immediately or within a few days of the incident. However, if the company that employed the claimant had a credible, coherent and structured policy that the claimant could have used to resolve the situation immediately, the officer must ask the claimant to explain why he or she did not use that alternative, which on the surface appeared to be reasonable.
Finally, it must be understood that systemic discrimination can be directed not toward a particular person, but toward a group of persons who are systematically refused promotion to a higher position or another type of employment because of their sexual orientation or because their physical abilities are deemed inadequate. A reasonable alternative in these cases would be to consider using the human rights legislation instead of leaving the employment.
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- Jurisprudence Index/voluntarily leaving employment/relations at work/discrimination/;
- see 6.2.4, "A Test Based on Fact Finding With All the Parties"; see 6.2.5, "Benefit of the Doubt"; see 6.3.2, "Sexual or Other Harassment."
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Summary
Discrimination on a Prohibited Ground |
Reasonable Alternatives:
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