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Last week, I saw someone on the streetcar give up their seat to someone who needed it more.

Hardly an earth-shaking event; it happens many times every day. But in the human-rights business, we see something that simple as "accommodation" in action: helping someone who needs extra help, or making an exception to a rule for a good reason. And yet, accommodation in that sense has gotten something of a bad rap lately. We've seen a lot of coverage about Muslim women wearing the hijab denied a job or prevented from playing soccer — just because they wore a particular headgear that has, for them at least, important religious significance.

The messages that follow this lack of accommodation are almost always the same: We don't make exceptions. Everyone has to follow the rules. That's the way things are around here. Sometimes, people will say, "But that's real equality — everybody gets the same treatment."

I keep thinking about those people on the streetcar, though. The first person in the seat was well within their rights to keep it. But, without having to have a debate on "equality," they just did the right thing.

Of course, there is also a legal aspect to accommodation. Human-rights codes across the country, as well as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, make clear that accommodation is more than a good thing — it is a right, protected by law. But why go to court if some negotiation and problem-solving can do the job just as well?

Here's another, now famous, example: About 20 years ago, a Sikh RCMP officer asked to wear his turban instead of the traditional Mountie hat.

He was committed to being a Mountie, but he was committed to being a good Sikh, too, and to wearing the turban that his religion required. Some people complained that this was unreasonable and said that everyone had to wear the same hat to be a Mountie. But by being accommodating, the RCMP demonstrated its own commitment to having a force that looked more like the communities it serves. What was a one-day wonder 20 years ago is long past now. People see a police officer in a turban and just accept it. Why not? What a police officer wears for headgear has no impact at all on how well the job is done.

This is not to suggest that everything can or should be accommodated.

In some cases, there may be a clear health-and-safety issue that would have to take priority or an excessive cost to be considered. But so often, I have found, a little bit of negotiation can go a long way.

Wearing a hijab might be dangerous in some circumstances, but why not consider the suggestions that some Muslim women have made and allow a hijab of a different type or fabric that doesn't have to be tied on? There are many designs, from around the world, that might work. Let's find a simple solution that allows everyone to play in that soccer game or to get that job; all it needs is some accommodation from everyone involved.

My point is that accommodation is an everyday occurrence in all our lives; we just need to get used to the idea of extending the concept further. Is anyone offended that there are parking spots or washrooms set aside for disabled people? Are we worried because some people might need a translator's help to be properly understood? Do you smile when you see a baby being breast-fed in public? These are all examples of accommodation in action today. Often the changes come slowly and even painfully; human-rights complaints are filed, government bodies are pressured and a lot of time and energy goes into something that, in retrospect, seems so sensible. Why don't we start by acknowledging that different people have different needs and help those needs be met?

Accommodation is a core Canadian value. One of the reasons I am proud to be a Canadian is because we don't just tolerate our differences — we celebrate them. In Toronto, where I live and work, I might hear a dozen or more different languages spoken during a short ride on the subway.

That's a good thing; it makes us all richer.

The other thing you can hear on the subway, now, is the names of the stations being announced. It makes so much sense, but that simple change took many years for a blind person to accomplish, with the support of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Now it's the rule, and everyone benefits.

Many times, these sorts of changes require that people in authority bend. They need to look at cases carefully and instead of saying "no" right away, they should consider how to resolve the issue in a way that works for everyone. Yes, it can mean extra effort. But here in our diverse, rich and peaceful country, an investment in accommodation can have powerful benefits.

So, let's all be a bit more accommodating. It can only help.

Barbara Hall is chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.