INTRODUCTION
 

During the last fifty years, major inroads have been made to reduce discrimination in Canadian society.  This reflects a recognition of the basic dignity of all persons. Non discrimination is an important component of social equality, and Canadian society’s collective wellbeing.

While there have been significant efforts made to challenge stereotyping and prejudices about people’s race or ethnic origin, their sex or sexual orientation, their physical or mental condition, the same is not true for age discrimination  and other related discriminations in later life.

People's age and the stereotypes about aging are frequently used to determine people’s perceived value in the workplace, housing and health areas. Age related stereotypes and prejudgments also influence  the manner in which health and other resources are allocated to them as individuals or as a group.

Unlike other areas of  discrimination based on grounds such as race, ethnic origin, disability or sex, there has not been the same degree of social activism to challenge the stereotypes that underlie age discrimination. The Ontario Human Rights Commission points out:

“Age cases tend to be treated differently than other discrimination cases, particularly where the cases involve retirement issues. The most noticeable difference from a human rights perspective is the lack of a sense of moral opprobrium linked to age discrimination which in comparable circumstances would generate outrage if the ground of discrimination were, say, race, sex or disability.”

It is important to

There are many different methods of discrimination, including

Resources

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/issues/housing/aboutrental

http://gerontologist.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/reprint/42/2/152.pdf

Federal and Provincial Human Rights Agencies

Alberta:

British Columbia:

Canadian:

Manitoba:

New Brunswick:

Newfoundland:

North West Territories:

Nova Scotia:

Ontario:

Prince Edward Island:

Quebec: