At the moment in Canada, there are some legal cases dealing with unions, privacy and random drug testing. The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently decided a case on the issue. See: Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada Local 30 v Irving Pulp and Paper Mill, 2013 SCC 34 … [Read more...]
New Developments in the Area of Discrimination on the Basis of Family Status
Note: a portion of this article is reproduced with permission from Ablawg.ca “Accommodation for Family Status Required by Federal Human Rights Tribunal for Three Alberta Women” – Ablawg December 22, 2010 All provinces and territories, and the federal government, have human rights legislation to … [Read more...]
Equality Case Seems to Have Fractured the Supreme Court of Canada
A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) Quebec (Attorney General) v A, 2013 SCC 5, seems to have divided the Court on the issue of discrimination and equality in a manner somewhat reminiscent of the fractured Court of the mid 1990s (see the “equality trilogy”: Miron v Trudel, [1995] 2 … [Read more...]
Standing Up for Your Rights
Standing is a legal principle that addresses who is entitled to bring a case before the court for a decision. Although standing (in a legal sense) may sound like a technical legal issue, it is very important to rights litigation in Canada. After the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) … [Read more...]
The Supreme Court Changes Direction: Disability and Discrimination
The case law on disability and discrimination has had its highs and lows over the past decade and a half. A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, Moore v British Columbia (Education) 2012 SCC 61 (“Moore”), provides hope for those with disabilities, particularly learning disabilities, and … [Read more...]
Bully Bosses: When Harassment is Not Discrimination
What legal remedies do employees have if they are verbally or non-verbally bullied by their supervisor or co-workers? In the workplace, bullying can include behaviours such as: damaging your reputation; humiliating you in public; accusing you of lack of effort; calling you names; insulting, teasing, … [Read more...]
Sexual Harassment is a Continuing Issue in Canada
Sexual harassment has long been recognized in Canada as a form of gender discrimination. For several years, gender discrimination (which includes discrimination based on breast feeding, sexual harassment, transgender and pregnancy) was the most commonly alleged ground of discrimination in both … [Read more...]
UN’s Universal Periodic Review of Canada – What’s in it for Canadians?
Although Canada enjoys a pretty positive reputation internationally, we do have human rights issues here, including the right to housing, women’s inequality and Aboriginal issues, among others. A relatively new initiative, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), provides Canadians with an opportunity … [Read more...]
Universities, the Charter and Freedom of Expression
The law has always been quite complex about whether (or when) the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) applies to universities. Recently, there have been several cases involving freedom of expression (Charter s. 2(b)) that have addressed this issue. Charter s. 32(1) says:32. (1) This Charter … [Read more...]
Mandatory Retirement in Canada Has “Gone the Way of the Kiki Bird” – It’s Very Rare!
One of the first human rights cases I worked on while articling at the Alberta courts involved mandatory retirement. In 1992, Dr. Olive Dickason unsuccessfully challenged the University of Alberta’s mandatory retirement policy (see: Dickason v University of Alberta, [1992] 2 SCR 1103). While Dr. … [Read more...]
