British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. British Columbia Government Service Employees' Union [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 SCC 48 – called Meiorin for short – is a Supreme Court of Canada case that created a unified test to determine if a violation of human rights legislation can be justified as a bona fide occupational requirement (BFOR).
Before Meiorin, Human Rights violations were treated in one of two ways; either as dire...
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British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. British Columbia Government Service Employees' Union [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 SCC 48 – called Meiorin for short – is a Supreme Court of Canada case that created a unified test to determine if a violation of human rights legislation can be justified as a bona fide occupational requirement (BFOR).
Before Meiorin, Human Rights violations were treated in one of two ways; either as direct discrimination pursuant to the analysis in Ontario Human Rights Commission v. Borough of Etobicoke [1982] 1 S.C.R. 202, or as adverse effects discrimination pursuant to the analysis in O'Malley v. Simpson-Sears [1985] 2 S.C.R. 536. Academic writing deeply criticized this bifurcation of analysis as arbitrary and unhelpful in protecting equality rights. With the Meiorin case, the court decided to confront this criticism and refashion the analysis.
Tawney Meiorin was employed as a firefighter by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests. Three...
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