Skip to content

Environmental Hypersensitivity

When the environment makes you sick

  • Home
    • When Health Depends on the Environment
  • A Question of Biology
    • Introduction
    • The Environmental Sensitivities Cycle
    • Pathways into the body
    • Physical Reaction to Triggering Agents
    • The symptoms
  • Cultural and Social Response
    • Collective Strength
  • A Question of Law
    • Introduction
    • Filing a CSST claim (workers’ compensation
  • Medical Aspects
    • Prevalence
    • Getting a diagnosis
    • Facing the Health Environment
  • Managing the Illness
    • Introduction
  • Toggle search form

A Question of Law

Posted on June 9, 2022June 17, 2022 By ASEQ-EHAQ

A Disability which gives the right to a reasonable accommodation

In November 2011, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec (Québec’s human rights commission) stated:

[TRANSLATION] “The definition of the basis of a handicap in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedom retained by the Commission as well as the interpretation of this ground by tribunals in Quebec is sufficiently broad and open for people suffering from environmental sensitivities to invoke this ground.”Reasonable accommodation in the workplace

Even if in August 2012, there had not yet been a decision recognizing environmental sensitivities as a handicap according to the Charter, there is every reason to believe that Quebec tribunals would consider them as such. In fact, in the legislation of most Canadian provinces —including Ontario and British Columbia—as well as in Canadian federal law, environmental sensitivities have clearly been recognized as being a “handicap” in tribunal decisions, in acts and in legal advice provided by human rights commissions.

Considering environmental sensitivities as a disability means a sufferer has the right to request a rea- sonable accommodation from an employer, a landlord or service provider, as long as the accommoda- tion does not cause undue hardship.

The scope of the right to a reasonable accommodation varies depending on the sector at issue (employ- ment, housing, public or private services) and on the circumstances. By virtue of the Charter, a medical certificate is not necessary to request an accommodation. However, if a disagreement exists between the parties, the type of accommodation required will have to be justified by a certificate. Once again, finding a well-informed and sympathetic physician is essential. As already highlighted elsewhere, this is probably the biggest challenge facing people suffering from environmental sensitivities.

In the area of employment, a first measure of reasonable accommodation is when the employer of a person suffering from environmental sensitivities establishes a “fragrance-free working environment” policy.

In Ontario, an arbitral tribunal decision confirmed that a high school in Toronto was required, among other things, to not only adopt a fragrance-free policy applicable to everyone, including students, but also to have the teacher with environmental sensitivities approve all cleaning products used in the building where she worked.

The Public Service Labour Relations Board has already decided that a federal department was required to accommodate a worker with environmental sensitivities by allowing her to work from home and by providing the equipment needed to do so.

Reasonable accommodation in housing

In Quebec, although it is clear by virtue of the Quebec Charter that owners have an obligation to provide reasonable accom- modations to lessees, there is little guidance on the issue in case law. For example, it has not yet been ruled under which circumstances a lessee with environmental sensitivities could request the installation of an air exchanger in an apartment. This is in stark contrast to the situation in Ontario, where a collaborative project between the Environmental Health Cli- nic in Toronto and a tenant rights group has been set up.

That being said, a lessee’s right to the “peaceful enjoyment of the premises”, as stated in the Civil Code of Québec, could serve as grounds for requests made by tenants with sensitivi- ties. For example, if cigarette smoke from other dwellings has detrimental effects on the tenant’s health, an owner could impose a no-smoking clause on other lessees, even during the term of a lease. Furthermore, a tenant who does not have the peaceful enjoyment of a dwelling because of odours or fumes from other dwel- lings, or even from other sources, can request the resiliation of a lease.

Reasonable accommodation from public and private service providers

There are few legal precedents concerning accommodation requests from people suffering from envi- ronmental sensitivities with regards to public services (health services, government buildings) or pri- vate services (from restaurants, movie theatres, airlines, etc.). However, this does not necessarily mean people do not make them or that requests are not granted when they do.

Let us turn to Nova Scotia as an example of a more hospitable world for people suffering with sensitivities. All provincial hospitals, all municipal offices in Halifax and the Halifax Regional School Board have adopted “No-Scent” policies. Even though the objective is to educate rather than enforce norms with disciplinary ac- tion or refusal of services from a hospital in the case of non-compliance, these po- licies demonstrate a social awareness of environmental sensitivities which is still lacking in Quebec. This awareness came about in Nova-Scotia in a dramatic way. At the beginning of the 1990s, more than 300 people working in a new hospital—including a physician—developed incapacitating environmental sensitivities after exposure to an anti-corrosive product in the hospital’s boiler. Since then, an environmental health clinic has opened its doors.

Another example, this time in an educational context in British Columbia, is that of a college student with sensitivities who was granted permission, for several courses, to sit by an open window or in the corridor adjacent to the classroom or to ask another student to take notes or record classes for her. However, the human rights tribunal has justified the requirement that the student be present for courses based on experiential learning.

Regarding services offered by the private sector such as restaurants, movie theatres and taxi companies, the obligation to grant reasonable accommodations also exists, but it is also limited by“undue hardship.” For example, to expect a restaurant to ask all clients with fragrances to leave the premises to accom- modate a client with sensitivities who unexpectedly arrives would no doubt present undue hardship. However, a request made to a restaurant owner several days in advance, asking waiters to take into account the needs of a person affected with environmental sensitivities by not using fragrances, reser- ving a place by a window and providing information on the menu would be much more reasonable.

In short, the obligation to provide reasonable accommodations could, in certain cases, be grounds for recourse. Accommodation requests can also serve as a way to educate public and private service providers on the needs of people with environmental sensitivities and convince them to take certain steps. Reasonable accommodations require above all an open mind and a real commitment from both sides to work together to find an acceptable solution for all.

The right to a workplace free from psychological harassment

Unfortunately, people with environmental sensitivities who invoke the right to a reaso- nable accommodation in their workplace are sometimes subject to hostile gestures or rejec- tion from certain colleagues: grimaces (scowls, frowns, sneers, etc), verbal abuse, antagonistic gestures such as increasing the use of or spilling perfume, laughter and other unkind behaviour when, for example, the sufferer is wearing a mask. It is therefore important to know that in Quebec, by virtue of the Act Respecting Labour Standards, all employees have a right to a workplace free of psychological harassment. The employer has the obligation to prevent psychological harassment. When such gestures are brought to an employer’s attention, reasonable means must be taken to put a stop to them. Furthermore, the Quebec Charter stipulates that no one can be harassed because of a handicap or because of means used to alleviate a handicap.

Despite the fact that the provisions concerning psychological harassment in the Act Respecting Labour Standards are not applicable in federal law, most federal employees nevertheless have policies addressing harassment in the workplace that provide grounds to file a complaint.

People with environmental sensitivities have, like everyone else, the right to have their dignity respected at work!

Non classé

Post navigation

Previous Post: Filing a CSST claim (workers’ compensation
Next Post: Documents produced by other groups

General information

  • Environmental Sensitivities
  • ​Questions and answers about ES

Legal information

  • Jurisprudence Guide – until 2012 (CSST)
  • Jurisprudence Guide – 2013-2017 (CSST)
  • ​Right to reasonable accommodation
  • ​Letter from the Quebec Human Rights Commission: Protection of the Quebec Charter
  • ​ASEQ's application to the Quebec Human Rights Commission
  • ​Tips for obtaining an accommodation without a lawyer

Managing the illness

  • Tips for taking control of your illness (SEEDS)
  • ​Check List
  • ​Choosing Healthy Household Products
  • Activity and Symptoms Journal

USEFUL LINKS

  • ASEQ-EHAQ – Website
  • ASEQ-EHAQ – Eco Living Guide
  • ASEQ-EHAQ – Affordable Healthy Housing Project
  • www.ewg.org
  • www.lesstoxicguide.ca
  • CSST Toxicological Repertoire – material safety data sheets
  • CHRC Policies
  • Fragrance-free policy
  • Français
What are environmental sensitivities?

People suffering from environmental sensitivities react negatively to all kinds of contaminants (pesticides, cleaning products, solvents, perfumes, mould, electromagnetic radiation, etc.), but at lower levels of exposure that seem to cause no reaction in most people. These reactions can affect multiple systems in the body. In fact, many symptoms can affect several organ systems, such as the respiratory, digestive and nervous systems, as well as the skin. The symptoms can be inconvenient, quite serious, or even debilitating. According to Statistics Canada, environmental sensitivities are becoming an increasingly common health issue.


Are environmental sensitivities similar to allergies?

Environmental sensitivities were first thought to be allergies. In both cases, avoidance of triggers allows the person affected to remain healthy. But with the discovery of allergic-response mechanisms (immunoglobulin E), it became clear these mechanisms were not responsible for causing environmental sensitivities. In both cases, however, chemical contamination is linked to their increased prevalence in the population.


Another ban! Can’t people with sensitivities take into account my right to wear perfume?

In keeping with the “balance of convenience” principle, healthy people should make adjustments to avoid adversely affecting the health of a group of people, no matter how small, especially in cases involving the workplace and shared public places. Accommodating people with environmental sensitivities—no fragrances, better ventilation, least-toxic cleaning products—will improve indoor air quality, and benefit everyone. Smoking is now no longer permitted in the workplace and in public buildings. The same principle should apply for environmental sensitivities. Not only will your fellow citizens and colleagues with sensitivities appreciate the gesture, but so will people suffering from asthma, allergies, and other illnesses such as respiratory and heart diseases.


In Quebec, are environmental sensitivities recognized as an illness?

From a legal and human rights perspective, environmental sensitivities are recognized as being a handicap both in Quebec and Canada. The Commission des lésions professionnelles (CLP) has already recognized the right to CSST compensation for workers who have developed environmental sensitivities after exposure in the workplace.

From a medical perspective, as of 2012, the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services had still not recognized environmental sensitivities and there was no diagnostic code for the disease. Only a few physicians in Quebec are equipped to diagnose this illness. Some Quebecers who suffer from it are sometimes forced to travel to Ontario to receive care. Others increase the number of medical consultations as their health deteriorates.

There are specialized clinics that treat environmental sensitivities in Ontario and Nova Scotia. The European Parliament has asked member-states to recognize environmental sensitivities in their classification of diseases, if they have not already done so. It is time for Quebec to follow suit!


Symptoms are not visible. When people say they are sensitive to toxic substances that don’t affect others, couldn’t it just be “in their mind?”

It is exactly that heightened susceptibility in an individual, whose body is no longer able to defend itself against a multitude of small toxic attacks, which is the defining characteristic of environmental sensitivities. It is true that some environmental sensitivity symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and feeling dazed, dizzy or brain fogged (lack of cognitive function) are imperceptible to others. The person could therefore appear to be physically normal. However, just because the symptoms are not visible does not mean that they are any less real.

Share vos ressources !

Every person with environmental sensitivities is a wealth of information about the resources available in their area of information about the resources available in their area. You know of professionals who are understanding, aware accommodating? The best places to get adequate products or services? or receive services? Why not share them? pool them together?

Send your suggestions

Resources

UQAM - Community Service
TELUQ

Environmental Health Association of Québec

Logo-Quebec inv With the financial participation
of the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport.
Translation from French to English was made possible in part by the Department of Canadian Heritage and ASEQ-EHAQ Department of Canadian Heritage
© Environmental Health Association of Quebec (ASEQ-EHAQ), UQAM Community Services, TÉLUQ. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2022 Environmental Hypersensitivity.

Powered by PressBook WordPress theme