Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, DC has a duty to accommodate based on: 

• Family Status, only in cases where the organization’s rules, policies, practices or institutional structures, assumptions or culture are either imposing burdens on you as a caregiver that are not placed on others, or withholding or limiting your access to opportunity, benefits or advantages available to others. 
• Creed such that you do not have to choose between observing your sincerely held creed-based beliefs and practices and pursuing your education.  

In both cases, the duty to accommodate is limited to the steps that may be required to accommodate, short of undue hardship. The factors to consider when determining undue hardship are cost, health and/or safety requirements.  The burden for proving undue hardship lies with the person responsible for providing the accommodation, that is Durham College. 

If you are a student who believes that this is your experience, we can help you work with your department to process these requests for accommodation, if needed. Please contact us at humanrightssupport@durhamcollege.ca to speak to the Human Rights Advisor (Students) today. 

The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has made every effort to confirm the following creed-based accommodation dates below with an authoritative representative from each faith listed. We wish to express our gratitude to those who have extended their kind assistance. 

Individual students and employees may require accommodation in addition to the dates set out in the Creed-based Accommodation Calendar as a result of their personal religious beliefs. For further information, please contact the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion by email at equity@durhamcollege.ca. 

1. Baha’i Faith dates: 

• • During the Baha’i 19-day Fast, Baha’i’s are required to abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise until sundown. 
  • Baha’i holy days begin and end at sundown. 

2. Christian dates: 

• • Sunday is the weekly Christian holy day. 
  • Creed-based accommodation may be required, if requested, for the days over the Great Triduum (Christian) or Triduum (Eastern Orthodox) periods. 
  • Orthodox Churches are autocephalic, meaning that each church is independently headed by a bishop. Each bishop is free to set their own feast days depending on the calendar they use (Gregorian or Julian). As such, there may be some legitimate deviation from the dates provided. 

3. Hindu dates: 

• • Hindu dates are based on a lunar calendar guided by a solar constraint and, thus, may vary depending on the sighting of the moon. 

4. Islamic dates: 

• • Islamic holy days are based on the Islamic lunar calendar. Therefore, the dates shown on the calendar are tentative and may change depending on the sighting of the moon. 
  • Islam requires five obligatory prayers daily (dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening). These prayers may be performed individually or in congregation at home, work, school, outdoors etc. 
  • Friday is the Muslim holy day. An obligatory weekly Friday noon congregational prayer is held at a mosque. 
  • During Ramadan, Muslims are required to abstain from eating and drinking from the break of dawn until sunset daily. 

5. Judaism dates: 

• • The Jewish Sabbath is held weekly from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. Jews may not work, travel, etc. on the Sabbath. 
  • Jewish holy days start the previous evening at sundown and continue through the following day(s). 
  • During Sukkot, religious accommodation may be required, if requested, particularly on the first and second days of Sukkot. 
  • The holy days of Shimini Atzeret and Simchat Torah may require accommodation, if requested. 
  • During Pesah (Passover), creed-based accommodation may be required, if requested, particularly on the first, second, seventh and eighth day of Pesah. 

Individual students may require accommodation in addition to the dates set out above because of their personal creed-based beliefs. For further information, please contact the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion equity@durhamcollege.ca.