RR
Rent Regulations

Ottawa — Ch. 46 Human Relations § 46-33

Construction of article

In Force
Verified 11/10/2026 · Next check 2/8/2027
OttawaFair Housing & Anti-Discrimination

Operative Text

Ottawa — Ch. 46 Human Relations § 46-33
This article shall be construed according to the fair import of its terms and shall be liberally construed to further the purposes and policy stated in section 46-32 and the special purposes of the particular provision involved.
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Ottawa Chapter 46, Section 46-33 establishes a rule of interpretation for the Human Relations article: courts and officials reading the article should give its words their fair, natural meaning and should interpret provisions broadly in favor of the goals and policies set out in § 46-32. This means ambiguous language is generally resolved in the direction that best advances the article's anti-discrimination and human-relations purposes, rather than being read narrowly or technically. The provision applies to every section within the article, not just selected parts.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on November 10, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Under Ottawa Ch. 46 § 46-33, the entire Human Relations article is designed to be read expansively, so operators should not assume that technical or narrow readings of specific provisions will shield conduct that conflicts with the article's broader purposes. Compliant property managers generally familiarize themselves with the policy goals stated in § 46-32 and apply those goals as a guiding framework when interpreting their obligations under each section. When a specific provision's scope is uncertain, the interpretive default runs toward broader protection for individuals covered by the article.

General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.

For Tenants

Ottawa Ch. 46 § 46-33 is a structural protection that works in the background of every other provision in the Human Relations article: because the article must be liberally construed, tenants who believe a provision applies to their situation may find that ambiguities in the text are resolved in favor of the article's protective purposes. When raising a potential violation, tenants can point to § 46-33 to support a broader reading of the relevant section. Tenant-rights organizations familiar with Ottawa's Human Relations ordinance can help explain how this interpretive rule has been applied in practice.

General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.

Generated November 10, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.

Effective Timeline

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References Out

Rules and statutes cited by this regulation

IL Muni § 46-32
Not yet ingested

References In

No inbound references recorded yet for this provision.

Related Rules

§ 5.106
§ 5.106 Equal access in accordance with the individual's gender identity in community planning and development programs.
§ 5.109
§ 5.109 Equal participation of faith-based organizations in HUD programs and activities.
§ 2
Policies; recommendations

Source Information

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