Permanent Residency Status Does Not Give Same Protection As Citizenship In Canada's Human Rights Code

Overturning an earlier decision, an Ontario Court has ruled that permanent residency status does not have the same protection under the Canadian Human Rights Code as citizenship.

In a 2-1 decision, the majority of the Divisional Court of Ontario (the 'Court') overturned a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ('Tribunal') decision which determined that permanent residency is intrinsically included under the protected ground of citizenship. In Imperial Oil Limited and Haseeb (2021 ONSC 3868), the Court overturned the Tribunal's determination that the employer discriminated against an applicant for employment (the 'Applicant') on the ground of citizenship because the employer required employees to be eligible to work in Canada on a permanent basis.