Protected grounds

The Alberta Human Rights Act protects against discrimination based on one or more protected grounds.

A physical disability is any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation, or disfigurement caused by injury, birth defect, or illness. It also includes relying on a guide dog or service dog.

A mental disability is any mental, developmental, or learning condition. The cause or duration of the condition does not matter.

In Alberta, employers, landlords, and service providers cannot discriminate against a person because of their disability. The Alberta Human Rights Act also requires employers, landlords, and service providers to reasonably accommodate a person with disabilities unless it would cause undue hardship. This might mean accommodating an employee needing time off work, a change to their work environment, or a change in their work duties. For example, an employer may provide an office with natural rather than fluorescent light for an employee with epilepsy.

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Gender is being a woman, a man, cisgender, transgender, two-spirit, non-binary, or intersex. The protected ground of gender also includes pregnancy and sexual harassment.

Gender identity is a person’s internal, individual experience of gender, which may or may not align with the sex assigned to them at birth. A person may identify as being a woman, a man, transgender, two-spirit, non-binary, gender non-conforming, intersex, or other. Gender identity is different from sexual orientation, which the Act also protects.

Gender expression is the varied ways a person expresses their gender. This can include a combination of dress, demeanour, social behaviour, and other factors.

In Alberta, employers, landlords, and service providers cannot discriminate against a person because of their gender, gender identity, or gender expression. For example, an employer cannot terminate someone’s employment because they are pregnant. A landlord cannot evict a transgender or non-binary person because they are transitioning or because of how they look.

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Sexual orientation is a person’s physical, emotional, or romantic attraction to others. A person may be heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, queer, or any other sexual orientation.

In Alberta, employers, landlords, and service providers cannot discriminate against a person because of the person’s actual or presumed sexual orientation. For example, an employer cannot refuse to hire someone because they are bisexual or pansexual. A business cannot refuse service to a lesbian or queer couple.

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Race includes belonging to a group of people, usually of a common descent, who may share common physical characteristics, such as skin colour, hair type, or facial features.

Colour refers to the colour of a person’s skin.

In Alberta, employers, landlords, and service providers cannot discriminate against a person because of their race or colour. For example, store security cannot use racial profiling to try to prevent theft. Discrimination based on race or colour may include racial slurs, jokes, stereotyping, and verbal and physical harassment.

Read the Racism page and Hate page for more information.

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A person’s religious beliefs include their system of beliefs, worship, and conduct. The protected ground of religious beliefs includes Indigenous spirituality.

Canadians hold a variety of religious beliefs. The Supreme Court of Canada defined religion as freely and deeply held personal convictions or beliefs connected to a person’s spiritual faith, and an integral part of who they are as a person. Practicing a religion allows a person to connect with the divine or with the subject or object of a spiritual faith.

In Alberta, employers, landlords, and service providers cannot discriminate against a person because of their religious beliefs. For example, an employer may require all employees to work on a specific day of the week, which may be a Sabbath day for some employees. This is discrimination, as it negatively impacts some individuals, even if the rule appears neutral and non-religious.

Employers, landlords, and service providers also must accommodate employees based on their religious beliefs. For example, an employer may provide short prayer breaks or change schedules to accommodate religious practices. A government service, like the Alberta Human Rights Commission or the courts, may provide a space for Indigenous persons to smudge or to use an eagle feather to take oaths.

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Ancestry refers to belonging to a group of people related by a common heritage.

Place of origin includes a person’s place of birth and usually refers to a country or province.

In Alberta, employers, landlords, and service providers cannot discriminate against a person because of their ancestry or place of origin. For example, it is discrimination to make derogatory jokes about an employee’s place of origin or accent.

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Age means someone 18 years of age or older. This means the Act protects persons 18 years and older from age discrimination.

There are three exceptions listed in the Act for age restrictions:

  1. Benefits based on age may only be for minors or for seniors 55 years and older.
  2. Seniors-only housing can impose age minimums for residents.
  3. Age-restricted condominiums, co-operative housing units, and mobile home sites can have age restrictions only if the restrictions were in place before January 1, 2018. This means a new condominium cannot impose age restrictions.

For example, an employer cannot refuse to employ someone over 18 because of their age. Read the Age discrimination page for more information.

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Marital status is the state of being married, single, widowed, divorced, separated, or living with a person in a romantic relationship outside of marriage.

Family status is the state of being related to another person by blood, marriage, or adoption.

In Alberta, employers, landlords, and service providers cannot discriminate against a person because of their marital or family status. For example, a person who cares for family members (such as parents or children) may require accommodation at work to provide care.

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Source of income means a lawful income that attracts a social stigma to its recipients, such as social assistance, disability pension, and income supplements for seniors. This ground does not include income that does not result in social stigma, such as employment wages.

In Alberta, employers, landlords, and service providers cannot discriminate against a person because of their source of income. For example, a landlord cannot refuse to rent to a potential tenant because they receive Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH).

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FAQs

The Alberta Human Rights Act says a policy, program, or activity does not contravene (go against) the Act if its goal is to improve the conditions of disadvantaged persons. Ameliorative programs are not a form of discrimination.

Ameliorative programs might include programs for groups such as:

  • Indigenous persons
  • women
  • transgender persons
  • persons with disabilities
  • persons of colour

The courts have established a test to show that a program is ameliorative under the Act. For more information on this test, review the Defences to Human Rights Complaints guide.

For example, an organization advertises that they offer programming for youth who identify as transgender or non-binary. At first glance, the ad discriminates based on gender identity because it excludes those who do not identify as transgender or non-binary. However, the program is an ameliorative program, as it is designed to improve the conditions of those groups, which have been found to be disadvantaged in some circumstances.

If you believe the complaint relates to an ameliorative program, provide detailed information about this in the Response Form.

 

 

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The Commission cannot help with complaints of discrimination that happen outside of these protected grounds. This does not necessarily mean the behaviour is acceptable. You may have other options to deal with this behaviour.

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