Human Rights
The jurisdiction you work in and how your company is regulated determines which human rights law applies to your workplace. Each law has specific protected grounds on which people can not be mistreated, discriminated against or harassment because of it.

The Canadian Human Right Act establishes 11 protected grounds:

• Race
• National or ethnic origin
• Colour
• Religion
• Age
• Sex (including pregnancy and childbearing)
• Sexual Orientation
• Marital status
• Family status
• Physical or mental disability (including dependence on alcohol or drugs)
• Pardoned criminal conviction

            To find the protected grounds that apply to your workplace, first find out if you are federally or provincially regulated.  If your employer is federally regulated then the above applies to your workplace.  If your employer is provincially regulated you must go to the Human Rights Act for your province.  Most provinces exceed the above list of protected grounds, for example Ontario has 13 and Manitoba has 12.