Section 15: Equality Rights
Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law
15 (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
Affirmative Action Programs
(2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
Equality Rights
What is this right and who does it protect?
Section 15 in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is all about equality rights. This right protects people from being discriminated against based on their race, colour, creed, sex, age, religion, ethnicity, nationality or mental and physical disability. This right also declares that every person - regardless of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, colour, sex, age, creed or mental and physical disability - are considered to be equal. Discrimination occurs when a person, because of a personal attribute, suffers disadvantages or is even denied opportunities that are available to other members of society. This right is one of the most important rights in the Charter because this right does not just protect citizens. This right protects everyone! Every individual is protected by this right! What is also important about this right is that at the same time as it protects equality, the Charter also allows for certain laws or programs that aim to improve the conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups. For example, programs aimed at improving employment opportunities for women, Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, or those with mental and physical disabilities are allowed under subsection 15(2). My thoughts on this section are great! We need equality rights because sadly, there are people out there that are not being treated equally. The equality rights section of the Charter should be something that inspires us to live up to the meaning that everyone needs to be treated equally. Equality rights are very important to the Charter and we all should not take it for granted.
This is Mark Andrews, the lawyer resident who won this case! He sadly died in March of 2020.
This is the Supreme Court of Canada Building.
A court case related to this section: Andrews v Law Society of British Columbia, [1989] 1 SCR 143
This case is about Mark David Andrews who was a lawyer resident in British Columbia at the time of this case. He was refused membership in the provincial Law Society on the grounds that he was a British subject and lacked Canadian citizenship.
The Supreme Court of Canada, in its first major case involving the Charter’s Section 15(1) equality provision, decided that discrimination according to citizenship indeed violated the equality guarantee, but could be justified in some situations in accordance with Section 1 of the Charter (the “reasonable limits” clause). In the case of the Law Society membership, the court did find that there was no justifiable reason to exclude individuals solely on the basis of citizenship status and declared that the BC Law Society’s policy, to the extent that it applied to Mr. Andrews and co-respondent Gorel Elizabeth Kinersly, to be unconstitutional.
This was actually a historic case because the Supreme Court of Canada actually outlined a test, sometimes called the “Andrews test”, to determine whether there has been a prima facie violation of equality rights. Prima facie is a Latin expression which means at first sight or based on a first impression.
A justifiable limitation for this right
A justifiable limitation for section 15 of the Charter is age. For example, you cannot be served alcohol until you are 18 or 19 because of the harm that drinking could cause and you can’t drive until age 16 because that could also cause great harm.
Sources:
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 15, Part 1 of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11.
Centre for Peace and Human Rights, J. H. (n.d.). Youth Guide to the Charter - English - Omarbinalkhattab.ca. Youth Guide to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.omarbinalkhattab.ca/eteacher_download/3347/85592
Heritage, C. (2022, March 24). Government of Canada. Canada.ca. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/how-rights-protected/guide-canadian-charter-rights-freedoms.html
Government of Canada, D. of J. (2021, September 1). Section 15 – equality rights. Charterpedia. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art15.html
Maddock, J. (n.d.). Andrews V. Law Society of british columbia, [1989] 1 SCR 143. Charter Cases. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from http://www.chartercases.com/andrews-v-law-society-of-british-columbia-1989-1-scr-143/
Wikipedia. (2021, March 4). Andrews V law society of british columbia. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 11, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrews_v_Law_Society_of_British_Columbia