Are you a registered or practical nurse? Do you like working with seniors? Are you white?

A race-specific call for job applications, looking for “a Caucasian RN or RPN” appeared this week on Craigslist and Kijiji, posted by a Burlington home-care provider, Retire-At-Home.

For decades, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Code of Human Rights have enshrined anti-discrimination principles to ensure people have equal access to employment. Despite appearing on a computer screen, the ad looks like an anachronism.

In a written statement, Retire-At-Home’s CEO, Rick Norland, explained that the job ad was “unfortunately written in a fashion that sounds discriminatory.”

“It was an unfortunate mistake on the part of one individual and it was removed immediately when we became aware of it,” he wrote.

Although the ad is no longer visible on the job boards, cached versions of it can still be found online.

“This situation was regrettable and we have taken immediate action to ensure this does not happen again,” Norland wrote.

Many seniors’ services actively seek to accommodate elderly people with nurses who speak a certain language, and the Human Rights Code makes provisions for that kind of discrimination, said Lisa Stam, a Toronto employment and human rights lawyer.

Race, however, falls outside that scope.

“Exceptions are very narrow and they are carved out very specifically. A nursing (company) would not fall into that category unless it was specialized and served a narrow client base,” Stam said.

Most job advertisements carry proactive equal opportunity disclaimers encouraging people of all backgrounds, abilities and religions to apply and include an extensive list of factors that won’t be used to discriminate: race, creed, colour, religion, gender, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, military or veteran status.

The Ontario Human Rights Code is clear on the subject of hiring: “The right … to equal treatment with respect to employment is infringed where an invitation to apply for employment or an advertisement in connection with employment is published or displayed that directly or indirectly classifies or indicates qualifications by a prohibited ground of discrimination,” says Section 23(1).

“This is a throwback,” said Toronto employment lawyer Howard Levitt. “These days, no one has discriminatory ads except this nursing (service). I haven’t seen this in years … It’s shocking companies are still doing that.”

Levitt pointed out that not only would Retire-At-Home be vulnerable to a human rights complaint, but Kijiji and Craigslist could also be held responsible as publishers.

Should the Human Rights Tribunal find that discrimination has occurred, it has the power to award damages (typically up to $40,000 for loss of dignity and respect), and require both the company and the publishers of the ad to post a public statement apologizing.

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What’s more because the courts have recently incorporated the Human Rights Code into law, a non-white nurse could also file a lawsuit, Levitt said.

This kind of ad presents not only a legal problem, but could also provoke a public relations crisis.

“Saying that it is a ‘mistake’ sounds disingenuous and weak,” said Deirdre McMurdy, a principal at the PR firm Navigator. “A full apology from senior management is in order — immediately and publicly.”

A public commitment to review hiring policies would be advisable, McMurdy said, preferably by an independent third party. But perhaps most important, she said, is to not make things worse with reaction.

“They should definitely not compound the damage with a ‘some of my best friends are…..’ type comment about diversity among their staff.”