What is Not Covered by the Act
The NWT Human Rights Act does not apply in certain circumstances.
1) Complaints that fall under federal jurisdiction are covered by the Canadian Human Rights Act. Examples of these are:
- Federal government departments, agencies and crown corporations
- Chartered banks
- Airlines
- Television and radio stations
- Internet and telephone companies
- Buses, railways, and trucking operations that travel between territories and provinces
- First Nations/Inuit governments and land claims organizations
- Other federally regulated industries, such as offshore oil and gas exploration
Complaints against federally regulated agencies are filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission within one year of the incident of discrimination.
→ For information about the differences between the Canadian Human Rights Act and the NWT Human Rights Act read, Comparing the Federal & Territorial Acts.
2) The situation does not include both a ground and an area of discrimination listed in the Act. For example:
- An employer doesn’t like employees to have purple hair, wear ball caps, or have visible tattoos and piercings. These distinctions are discrimination but they are not the types of discrimination covered by the Act. There is no ground.
- Similarly, not all types of harassment are illegal. If someone treats everyone equally badly, this is wrong, but it is not discrimination. There isn’t one person or group of persons being targeted because of one of the grounds of discrimination in the Act.
→ For information about the type of discrimination covered by the Act, visit Area & Grounds.
3) The incidents of discrimination happened more than two years ago. The Act requires complaints to be filed within two years of the last incident of discrimination.
If you have questions or concerns about a specific situation,
call our free confidential inquiry service: 1-888-669-5575.
