Adding Social Condition to the Canadian Human Rights Act

In considering the wisdom and feasibility of adding this ground to the Canadian Human Rights Act, it is necessary to analyze the federal, provincial, and international legal landscape in this area, to determine the definitional parameters of the ground, and to address the arguments both for and against the recognition of social condition as a prohibited ground of discrimination. [...] Second, the addition of social condition to the CHRA would build upon the existing infrastructure of the statutory human rights regime and the expertise of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Tribunal, enabling the resolution of complaints in a more economical way and in a manner that permits a more authentic reflection of the experience of discrimination where multiple grounds are involved. [...] Third, the inclusion of social condition could inform jurisprudential developments in the Charter field, both in the application of equality rights under section 15 of the Charter and in the consideration of broader socio-economic claims, due to the symbiotic relationship between the Charter and human rights codes. [...] The response of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the Canadian state has not been adequate, in our view, and the addition of the ground of social condition to the CHRA in a controlled and defined way will be one more tool in advancing the rights and interests of those on the margins of Canadian society. [...] To assist in the review, we submitted to the Canadian Human Rights Act Review Panel a research paper on the topic of social condition, which included an overview of the law in the area, an analysis of the policy context, arguments for and against the inclusion of social condition as a prohibited ground of discrimination, and options for addressing the issue.4 The present paper, submitted to the Ca.