The Code protects against discrimination in how jobs are advertised, how workers are hired, how workers are paid and how workers are treated at work.

Examples of harmful treatment in employment are:

• Not being offered a job because you are Black
• Not getting paid fairly because women are usually paid less in your office than men doing similar work
• Not getting a promotion because you just got married
• Being disciplined because your religious clothing doesn’t meet the dress code
• Being denied benefits because you are in a same sex relationship
• Not being allowed to return to work because you’ve been on leave for a mental illness
• Being bullied or harassed at work because you are transitioning
• Feeling unsafe at work because discrimination is ongoing and widespread
• Getting fired because you have been off work with a medical problem

For more information, go to:

• Responsibilities under the Code as an employer, or

• Rights under the Code as a worker

The Code protects against discrimination in how property is rented and purchased.

Examples of harmful treatment in housing are:

• A landlord refusing to rent his laneway house to you because you have children
• Not being able to access affordable housing because all social housing in town is two-bedroom units and your parents and three children live with you
• A no-pets rule in your condo being applied to your service dog
• Being bullied or harassed in your apartment building because you are an immigrant
• Getting evicted because you are on social assistance

For more information, go to:

• Responsibilities under the Code as a landlord, or
• Rights under the Code as a renter

The Code protects against discrimination in access to services, facilities, and accommodations in B.C. This includes hotels, stores, restaurants, schools, libraries, campgrounds and government and community programs.

Examples of harmful treatment in services are:

• Being refused entry to a restaurant because you are using a wheelchair
• Being stopped by police for crossing the street unsafely because as an Indigenous person you are more likely to be singled out for a minor mistake
• Being removed from volunteer training because you are transgender
• Being bullied in a sports league because you identify as gender fluid
• Being asked to meet additional conditions to get into a community program because you have a seizure disorder

The Code protects against discrimination for people who are or who want to be members of trade unions, employers’ organizations, and occupational associations.

Examples of harmful treatment in a union or association are:

• Being denied membership because you turned 65
• Having membership suspended because you were charged with a crime
• Being removed because you attended a residential treatment program for a substance use disorder

Publications include things like a public sign, a notice, a flyer, or an article. Publications can also mean things not in writing, such as a speech, a picture, or a video. Communications that are meant to be private are not covered.

The Code protects you from discrimination in publications and from hate speech.

Age means 19 years or older.

This means the Code does not protect against discrimination based on age for those under 19. However, youth 18 years old and younger still have protection against discrimination based on other parts of their identity, such as race.

Examples of discrimination based on age:

• A nursing job is offered to a 30-year-old, when a 60-year-old is more qualified.
• A pipefitter is not given membership in the union because he didn’t get his credentials right after high school.

Family status includes being related to another person by blood, marriage or adoption. It also includes family type (for example, a single parent family) and who is in your family (for example, children).

Examples of discrimination based on family status:

• A property manager won’t rent a house to a person because they have three children.
• A dental office changes the receptionist’s hours of work, making it impossible for them to provide evening care for their children.

Marital status includes being married, single, widowed, divorced, separated or living together (common law). It also includes the identity of your spouse.

Example of discrimination based on marital status:

• A company doesn’t give a promotion to a consultant who just got married because the manager thinks the consultant won’t be willing to travel now that they are married.
• A community clinic decides not to hire a health care worker because her husband speaks out against same-sex relationships.

Physical disability occurs when a physical or social setting makes it hard for a person with a physical condition to participate. Examples of physical impairments include asthma, diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and impairments to mobility, hearing, and sight.

Examples of discrimination based on physical disability:

• A taxi driver refuses to give a ride to a person with a guide dog.
• A shelf stocker is off work with a back injury. When she is ready to return to work, the store tells her they no longer have a job for her because they think she won’t be able to lift the heaviest boxes.
• A college advertises a teaching job and says a driver’s license is required to travel to both campuses. An applicant with a heart condition takes public transportation instead of driving and is not considered for the position.

Mental disability occurs when a physical or social setting makes it hard for a person with a mental condition or illness to participate. Examples of mental conditions include a learning disorder or developmental disability. Examples of mental illness include substance use disorder, depression or bipolar disorder.

Examples of discrimination based on mental disability:

• The director of a theatre club doesn’t let an actor come back to work because the director is worried the actor’s depression may make him miss rehearsals.
• A university student with schizophrenia is asked to give medical information before being accepted into the Study Abroad program.
• After receiving treatment for an addiction, the professional regulatory association refuses to renew the dentist’s membership.

Race, colour, place of origin and ancestry are often closely connected. Some or all of these may be combined to define a person or group’s ethnic identity.

• Race includes socio-cultural or ethnic groups such as First Nations, Métis, Chinese or South Asian.
• Place of origin includes being born in a particular country or group of countries or region of Canada or the world.
• Ancestry includes where a person’s family is from. Examples include Indigenous, Cree, Bosnian, Filipino or Persian ancestry.

Examples of discrimination based on race, colour, place of origin, and ancestry:

• The community rink won’t let the Indigenous team book ice time for practices.
• The property manager of the apartment building made so many rude comments about the smell of their cooking, the Chinese family felt they had to find a new place to live.
• A Black man applies for a job at a car dealership in the mostly white suburbs. The hiring manager doesn’t give him the job, saying “I just don’t think our customers would trust you.”

Indigenous means First Nations, Métis, or Inuit peoples. Indigenous peoples have distinct languages, cultures, relationships to the land, and ways of living together that are unique and predate contact with settlers. Many Indigenous peoples are also likely to identify as belonging to their specific nations. For example, Haida or Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc.

Examples of discrimination based on Indigenous identity:

• A municipality won’t let a hockey team from a nearby reserve rent a rink for practices.
• A landlord evicts an Indigenous woman from her apartment because she is practicing the Indigenous spiritual ritual of burning herbs (smudging).
• The police break up a group of teenagers at the beach because they are drinking beer. Only the Indigenous teenager is taken to the police station for questioning.

Sex includes being female, male or intersex. This part of your identity also includes being pregnant or breastfeeding.

Sexual harassment is considered discrimination based on sex.

Examples of discrimination based on sex:

• Young men at a financial company get paid bigger bonuses than the women who meet the same sales goals.
• A woman is asked to leave a restaurant because she is breastfeeding her child in public
• A transgender person is sexually harassed when their landlord keeps offering to lower their rent in return for sexual favours

Gender identity is a person’s sense of their gender, including whether they identify as a cisgender or transgender man, woman, Two Spirit or non-binary person, or otherwise. For some people, gender identity is fixed. For others, it is fluid.

Gender expression is how a person presents their gender. It includes how a person acts and appears. It can include dress, hair, makeup, body language and voice. How a person presents their gender may be different than their gender identity.

Gender identity or expression includes what pronouns a person uses, such as he, she or they.

Examples of discrimination based on gender identity or expression:

• A homecare worker is in the process of changing their appearance, name, and pronouns at work. The manager reassigns long-term clients to another worker saying, “We don’t want our clients to be uncomfortable.”
• A factory refuses to update a mechanic’s identity card when she informs them about her new name and pronouns.
• After talking to the head coach, an athlete quits the women’s soccer league because her teammates keep bullying her about her short hair and men’s clothes.

Sexual orientation includes being heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual.

An example of discrimination based on sexual orientation:

• A couple is told to leave the weekend yoga retreat for couples because they are both men.
• A travel agency lets their agents take spouses on work trips. One travel agent is told not to bring her spouse because they are a same-sex couple.

Religion includes following the practices of a particular faith, genuinely held religious beliefs or not having religious beliefs.

Examples of discrimination based on religion:

• A restaurant gives a woman wearing a religious head scarf a warning for not following the dress code. “You can’t work here if you don’t follow the dress code. There are no exceptions,” says the supervisor.
• A cleaning company refuses to change the schedule so that a custodian can work on Sunday instead of Saturday. The custodian can’t work a Saturday shift due to his religion and loses his job.

Criminal conviction includes being charged with or convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code or another law.

An example of discrimination based on criminal conviction:

• A financial company refuses to hire an accountant because he was arrested for a minor drug charge when he was a teenager.

Political belief includes support of a political party or group that advocates political change, and beliefs about the governance of communities. It also includes advocacy for a change to the law.

An example of discrimination based on political belief:

• A veterinarian who applies for a job is not hired because they volunteer for a political party the other veterinarians don’t support.

Source of income refers to legal sources of income. For example, it includes when a person receives income assistance, disability pension benefits or rent subsidies.

An example of discrimination based on source of income:

• A renter is evicted from an apartment when they start using rent subsidies to pay the rent.