The Canadian Human Rights Act is a statute originally passed by the Government of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be victims of discriminatory practices based on a set prohibited grounds such as gender, disability, or religion. It applies throughout Canada, but only to federally regulated activities; each province and territory has its own anti-discrimination law that applies to activities that are not federally regulated.
Before a case can be brought to the Tribunal it must go through several stages of investigation and remediation. After this process has been completed, if the parties are not satisfied, the case will go to the tribunal.
If a complainant can show a valid case of discrimination the defendant can rebut it by showing that their practice was for a justified reason. The process is generally known as the "Meiorin test" which is similar to the Oakes test justification in a Charter challenge. Since the 1980s, much controversy has arisen through the use of this Act, based mainly on alleged violations of free speech rights enumerated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms based on section 13.1 of the Human Rights Act.
As with any other court, decisions from the Tribunal are binding with the option to appeal to a higher court.
