Ontario Human Rights Commission Service Guide

1. Intake Services

a. Inquiring About Filing a Human Rights Complaint

You can find out about filing a human rights complaint by contacting the Commission by telephone, in person, by mail or by finding information on our Web site at www.ohrc.on.ca.

b. Speaking with Staff of the Commission

If you believe you have been discriminated against and want to file a human rights complaint, contact the Commission by telephone. Staff of the Commission will ask you to tell your story and describe why you believe you were discriminated against. During the conversation, the Commission staff will ask you questions to find out whether your concerns should be handled by the Commission.

If the Commission cannot handle your concerns, our staff will try to refer you to another place that may be able to assist you.

c. If You Have a Complaint

The Commission staff will ask for your name, address and telephone number and will send you a package with a form for you to fill out and return to us. The form is called a Human Rights Complaint Form. After you return the completed complaint form it will be sent to the person(s) about whom you are complaining.

2. Your Human Rights Complaint

a. Writing and Filing Your Complaint

Your complaint is a legal document. You must complete the complaint form in a way that is clear and can be understood by the person you are complaining about. The complaint form must contain the facts or incidents that you believe tell your story of discrimination. Once you have completed the complaint form, sign and return it to the Commission. It is your responsibility to make sure that your complaint is filled out properly.

If you need help filling in the form for special reasons (for example, a medical condition) you should contact the Commission staff and ask for assistance to complete the complaint form.

After you have returned the form and the Commission accepts your complaint, you are called “the complainant”. The person you are complaining about is called “the respondent”. Once the Commission receives your signed complaint form, it becomes a legal complaint under the human rights law of Ontario. It is sent to the Respondent for an answer.

b. Serving Your Complaint

When we receive your completed and signed complaint form, Commission staff may call you to talk more about the complaint or to ask more questions. The Commission will then register and “serve” the complaint by sending it to the person(s) or representative(s) of the organization that the complaint is about (the respondent(s)).

The respondent will be asked to respond in writing within 30 calendar days after getting the complaint. The response should reply directly to the complaint and may include documents that are relevant to the complaint.

The response and any other documents we receive from the respondent will be shared with you.

If you need further information about any of these services, please visit our website at www.ohrc.on.ca. or contact an Inquiry Service Representative at the following number(s):

Local Telephone Inquiry: (416) 326-9511
Toll-Free Telephone Inquiry: 1-800-387-9080
TTY (Local): (416) 314-6526
TTY (Toll Free): 1-800-308-5561
Inquiries Email: info@ohrc.on.ca