TORONTO - Older employees should not be forced into retirement. This and other issues are addressed in a new Policy on Discrimination against Older Persons because of Age developed by the Ontario Human Rights Commission after a three-year study.

Most complaints of age discrimination relate to employment, which prompted the commission to emphasize this area, but the obligations of service providers and landlords are also addressed.

"The policy is in keeping with the broader goals of the code, which promotes the inherent dignity and worth of everyone and the right to be treated equally without discrimination," says Chief Commissioner Keith Norton. "Given Ontario's growing population of older persons, we need to look at attitudes towards aging and how such attitudes place older persons at an increased risk for discriminatory treatment."

A public awareness campaign to address common myths and stereotypes surrounding older people will be handled jointly by the commission and Canada’s Association of Retired Persons (CARP).

Details of the policy can be found online at http://www.ohrc.on.ca/english/publications/age-policy.shtml.

 

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