Can my employer refuse to hire me because of my age or my religion?
Short answer
In Quebec, the Charter of human rights and freedoms prohibits discrimination based on 14 grounds, including age, religion, sex, pregnancy, ethnic or national origin, a handicap and social condition, at every stage of employment — from hiring through to dismissal.
In detail
The 14 grounds are: race, colour, sex, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, civil status, age except as provided by law, religion, political convictions, language, ethnic or national origin, social condition, and a handicap or the use of any means to palliate a handicap.
The protection covers the hiring and pre-hiring process (forms, interviews), working conditions, treatment and wages, the length of the probationary period, training, promotion, transfer, layoff, suspension and dismissal.
The complaint is filed with the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse. The time limit is 3 years from the events — 6 months where the situation involves a member of a police force or of a municipality. The Commission may however refuse to act if the last relevant facts go back more than two years (s. 77 of the Charter), which makes acting early decisive in practice.
What to document
The job posting, your application and its date, the questions asked in the interview and what was said, the reply you received, the name of the person you met, and any witnesses. Write down what was said the same day, in the exact words: that is what distinguishes a memory from a contemporaneous note.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
- Charter of human rights and freedoms (CQLR, c. C-12) — Légis Québec
- CDPDJ — Your rights at work
- CDPDJ — Frequently asked questions about complaint handling
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.