Federally Regulated Employers Prohibited From Discriminating Based on Gender Identity

The changes contained in Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code officially came into force on June 19, 2017.

Introduced in May 2016, Bill C – 16 amends the Canadian Human Rights Act by adding "gender identity or expression" as a prohibited ground of discrimination.  This means that federally – regulated employers (including, for example, employers in the airline, inter-provincial railway and trucking, banking and telecommunications industries) cannot refuse to employ or continue to employ an individual because of their gender identity or expression. It also means that employers, in the course of providing employment, must not discriminate against employees on these bases.