Panel Discussion: Human Rights and Equitable Outcomes

  • November 09, 2023
  • Brittany Ross-Fichtner

On October 30, 2023, BLG LLP held part two of its Professionalism Series on the Changing Landscape of Human Rights in Ontario titled, “Human Rights and Equitable Outcomes.”

In part one of this series, Patricia DeGuire, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, delivered a keynote address on the Commission’s strategic plan[1] for growing a human rights culture in Ontario, and how human rights law and policy can impact and advance equality.

In part two of the series, the Chief Commissioner was joined by Marsha Lindsay, Vice President, Legal Counsel, Labour, Employment and Human Rights with Loblaw Companies Ltd. Their discussion, which covered a wide range of topics and best practices related to human rights and equity, was moderated by Harrison Brown, a Senior Associate with BLG.

The Chief Commissioner noted that organizations can refer to the Commission’s newly released Human Rights-Based Approach Framework[2] in designing and developing policies and programs to meet their obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code. She further encouraged organizations to build a human rights approach into their key performance indicators (“KPIs”) and objectives and key results (“OKRs”) in order to promote a culture of human rights.