Discrimination
A Duty to Tolerate? SCC on Free Expression in Ward v Quebec
No person has the right not to be offended. Every person, however, has the right to the safeguard of their dignity—at least in Quebec. How this right balances against another’s right to free expression was at issue in Ward v. Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse), 2021 SCC […]
Delta Air Lines v Lukács: SCC Considers Boundaries of Public Interest Standing
How and when should public interest standing be established before an administrative agency? This is the question at the heart of the Supreme Court of Canada’s ("SCC") recent decision in Delta Air Lines Inc v Lukács, 2018 SCC 2 [Delta]. The matter arose after Dr. Gábor Lukács, an "air passenger rights advocate," filed a complaint […]
BC Human Rights Tribunal v Schrenk: Employment Discrimination and Access to Justice
On December 15th 2017, the Supreme Court released its decision in British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal v Schrenk, 2017 SCC 62 [Schrenk], which deals with the question of whether discrimination “regarding employment” can ever be perpetrated by someone other than the complainant’s employer or superior in the workplace. The following post will discuss the case […]
Against Unfounding: Sexual Assault Investigation & A Proposed Class Action Against Police
This post discusses the constitutional challenge recently brought by sexual assault complainant Ava Williams against the London, ON Police Services (“LPS”). The applicant alleges that the police force engaged in gender-based discrimination contrary to Charter section 15 for relying on stereotypes about gender and sexual assault complainants while investigating her case, resulting in her claim […]
PS v Ontario: ONCA Finds Ontario Mental Health Law Breached the Charter
The Ontario Court of Appeal's judgment in PS v Ontario, 2014 ONCA 900, has determined that a detainee in a mental health institution suffered discrimination and a denial of procedural fairness, contrary to his Charter rights under Sections 15 and 7. The case arose from the 19-year-long involuntary detention of a man, identified only as PS, at a […]