Women's and Girls' Rights
Protecting Sex-Based Rights in Ontario Schools, Sports, and Personal Spaces
Canadian law recognizes sex as a protected characteristic under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code. This page documents the policy and legislative developments affecting women's and girls' rights in Ontario educational institutions, competitive sport, and personal spaces -- and what parents can do.
Sex-based rights are rights that attach to a person on the basis of biological sex. In Ontario, these rights are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (s. 15 equality rights), the Ontario Human Rights Code, and federal legislation including the Canada Human Rights Act. Recent policy changes in Ontario schools and sport have raised questions about how these protections apply in practice -- particularly for girls in educational settings, competitive athletics, and sex-segregated personal spaces such as changing rooms and washrooms.
Canadian Law
The Legal Framework
Several layers of Canadian law protect sex-based rights. Understanding them is the starting point for any advocacy.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms -- s. 15
Section 15 guarantees every individual the right to equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination based on sex. The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that sex is a distinct ground of discrimination separate from gender identity (R. v. Kapp, 2008 SCC 41).
Ontario Human Rights Code
The Code prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in services, accommodation, and employment. The Ontario Human Rights Commission has published guidance on balancing sex-based rights with gender identity rights, acknowledging that both are protected and that conflicts must be resolved on a case-by-case basis.
Canada Human Rights Act
The federal Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity in federally regulated matters. Sport Canada's funding policies for national sport organizations are subject to this Act.
Education Act (Ontario)
The Education Act requires school boards to provide a safe and inclusive environment. Parents have the right to be informed about programs and policies that affect their children, and to raise concerns with their school board trustees.
Educational Institutions
In Ontario Schools
Ontario school boards have adopted policies on gender identity that affect how sex-segregated spaces and programs are administered. Several of these policies have been the subject of parental concern and public debate.
Washroom and Change Room Access Policies
A number of Ontario school boards have adopted policies permitting students to use washrooms and change rooms corresponding to their gender identity rather than their biological sex. Parents have raised concerns about privacy and safety for girls in these spaces. The Ontario Human Rights Commission has acknowledged that both sex-based privacy rights and gender identity rights are protected under the Code.
Parental Notification
In 2023, the Ontario government introduced a policy requiring school boards to obtain parental consent before socially transitioning a student under the age of 18 in school. The policy was challenged in court. As of 2026, the legal status of parental notification requirements remains subject to ongoing litigation.
Curriculum and Age-Appropriate Content
Ontario's Health and Physical Education curriculum includes content on gender identity beginning in Grade 1. Parents have the right under the Education Act to request that their child be excused from specific curriculum components on the basis of religious or conscientious grounds (s. 42 Education Act).
Single-Sex Programs and Spaces
Some Ontario schools offer single-sex programs, classes, or extracurricular activities. The Ontario Human Rights Code permits single-sex programs where sex is a bona fide qualification. Parents can request information from their board about how these programs are administered and who is eligible to participate.
Girls deserve a fair chance to compete.
Competitive Athletics
In Competitive Sport
Women's sport categories exist to ensure fair competition given the physiological differences between male and female athletes. Canadian sport policy on transgender inclusion has evolved significantly since 2021.
Sport Canada Policy (2022)
Sport Canada's 2022 guidance to national sport organizations encouraged the adoption of inclusion policies for transgender athletes. Critics, including several Canadian Olympic athletes, argued the guidance did not adequately account for the competitive advantages associated with male puberty in women's sport categories.
World Athletics and International Federations
World Athletics (2023) and World Aquatics (2022) adopted policies restricting eligibility for the female category in international competition to athletes who have not experienced male puberty. Several other international federations have adopted similar policies. Canadian national sport organizations are not required to follow international federation rules at the domestic level.
Ontario School Sport
The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) governs interscholastic sport in Ontario. OFSAA's transgender inclusion policy permits students to compete in the category corresponding to their gender identity. Parents and coaches have raised concerns about the policy's impact on girls' competitive opportunities and scholarship prospects.
Canadian Women Athletes Speak Out
Several prominent Canadian athletes -- including Olympic swimmers and track and field competitors -- have publicly called for sport policies that protect the female category. In 2023, a group of Canadian athletes submitted a brief to Sport Canada arguing that inclusion policies must be balanced against the right of female athletes to compete on a level playing field.
Privacy and Safety
Personal Spaces and Privacy
Sex-segregated personal spaces -- washrooms, change rooms, shelters, and prisons -- exist to protect the privacy, dignity, and safety of women and girls. Canadian courts and human rights tribunals have addressed how these spaces should be governed when sex-based and gender identity rights come into conflict.
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal Guidance
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has held that both sex-based rights and gender identity rights are protected under the Code, and that neither automatically overrides the other. Organizations operating sex-segregated spaces must assess each situation individually and may, in some circumstances, maintain sex-based access policies where safety or privacy is a bona fide concern.
School Board Policies
Many Ontario school boards have adopted policies that permit students to access washrooms and change rooms based on gender identity. Parents who have concerns about these policies can raise them with their elected school board trustee, who is accountable to the community under the Education Act.
Your Rights as a Parent
Parents have the right to request information from their school board about any policy that affects their child's privacy or safety. Requests can be made in writing to the principal, the director of education, or directly to elected trustees. If a concern is not addressed, a formal complaint can be filed with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
Canadian Sources