The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code is the law used to
promote and protect rights and equality in Saskatchewan. The Code makes it
illegal to discriminate. Discrimination is an unfair action made against you
because you belong to a certain group. The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission
(SHRC) is a government agency that protects and promotes human rights in
Saskatchewan.
Under the Code, discrimination is an action that:
• Puts a person at a disadvantage:
- By treating them differently
from others- By applying the same rule to everyone, which can result in a person being denied opportunities or receiving fewer benefits.
The Code makes it illegal to discriminate against a person
based on certain characteristics called protected grounds. Protected grounds
are personal characteristics like:
• Ancestry, nationality or place of birth• Religion
• Physical or mental disability
• Sex/gender (including pregnancy and sexual harassment)
• Age (if you are 18 years of age or over)
• Marital status (being married, single, widowed or divorced)
• Family status (parent-child relationship)
• Receiving financial assistance from the government to pay for living expenses (public assistance)
• Sexual orientation.
The Code protects you from discrimination in public areas of
life, including, but not limited to Employment and occupations.
Here are some examples of discrimination:
• An employer decides not to hire a qualified person because
of the person’s skin colour or place of origin.• A supervisor gives an employee fewer hours of work or fires her because she is pregnant.
• A store has a rule that all cashiers should stand while working. One employee has back pain and her doctor told her she should not stand for longer than 20 minutes at a time. The employer forces the worker to stand for longer than 20 minutes.
For more information, go to www.shrc.gov.sk.ca. You can also
visit, telephone or write to the office of the Saskatchewan Human Rights
Commission:
Saskatoon office816-122-3rd Avenue North
Saskatoon, SK S7K 2H6
Phone: 933-5952
Toll free (no cost): 1-800-667-9249
