The Ontario Human Rights Code, 1961–1962 | The Brian Mulroney Institute of Government

The Government of Ontario enacted the first Human Rights Code in Canada in 1962, which states that "every person is free and equal in dignity and rights without regard to race, creed, colour, nationality, ancestry or place of origin."
This Code marked a shift in Canadians speaking of rights as human rights rather than civil rights and it is often remembered as the beginning of Canada's rights revolution.
The 1962 Code describes the prohibited means of discrimination covered by the policy, penalties associated with violating the code, the establishment of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and much more.
The province of Ontario began the process of human rights legal reform in Canada and it also acted as a model for other jurisdictions in their creation and implementation of Human rights law and commissions.
The Ontario Human Rights Code still remains today but has been revised and amended several times since its creation in 1962.
This landmark achievement contained enforcement mechanisms for human rights, it contained a mandate for human rights education and promotion, and it provided constructive options for settlements.

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