JB Emmons

Why doesn't Canada have the same battles over affirmative action?

Simple: the Charter says that its Equal Protection provision "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."

It's litigated around the margins, but the basic premise of AA is firmly entrenched.

Jun 29, 2023 at 4:40pmWeb
Show threadJB EmmonsJun 29, 2023

I'll be the first to admit that a movement to constitutionally enshrine affirmative-action protections in the U.S. in this era is, to put it mildly, an extremely long shot.

But sitting around and hoping that the Supreme Court will one day swing back to a majority that might reinstate these protections isn't much of a plan.

And worse, it gives us the luxury to imagine we need do nothing but wait for time to fix all problems.

It doesn't work like that.

Show threadJB EmmonsJun 29, 2023
So: Maybe we can emulate Canada's model. Or maybe we can't. But if not, what's the plan?
Show threadJohn Quentin HeywoodJun 29, 2023
@jbe The moral arc of the universe does not bend itself, we must bend it toward justice
Show threadLaffyJun 29, 2023
@jbe Thanks for that
Show threadThird spruce tree on the leftJun 29, 2023

@jbe Just because AA type programs are entrenched in our constitutional artifacts doesn't mean there isn't a small, but vocal fringe group of Canadians who whine and complain about them. Jordan Peterson <spit> is one of them.

If left unchecked, they sneak into power. Case in point: the Law Society of Ontario in 2019 allowed a bunch of anti-AA lunatics take control of the province's legal association:

https://awadwatt.com/tezoatlipoca/the-battle-for-ontario-law-society-good-guys-vs-the-dickholes

So continued vigilence is needed.
(the good guys won this year).

The Battle for Ontario Law Society - Good Guys vs the Dickholes

If you live in #Ontario #Canada and aren't a #lawyer you probably are not aware of the monumental battle going on right now in the provin...

Third Spruce Tree On The Left
Show threadJB EmmonsJul 2, 2023
@tezoatlipoca
I appreciate you sharing this story, which I'd completely missed.
Show threadThird spruce tree on the leftJul 2, 2023

@jbe I know! It got like zero coverage in the news. I knew about it because of Vegan Lawyer GF.

I gotta write part 2, cause this story has a happy ending.

Show threadJB EmmonsJul 2, 2023
@tezoatlipoca
LSO this past spring, as the media focused on the Law Society of Alberta's rift over its mandatory Indigenous history and culture course
Show threadFirefighterGeek Jun 29, 2023

@jbe Without wanting to take away from this being great in Canada, lets not ignore that the history and population of Canada is very very different.

Let's talk about the Canadian equivalent of the ADA for a minute, shall we?

Show threadJB EmmonsJul 2, 2023
@FirefighterGeek
I try not to be one of those US-to-Canada immigrants who's like "This is what you're doing wrong here!" in every conversation, because obviously different places, different histories, different needs, etc. But in terms of US congressional legislation, the enactment of the ADA is one of the unambiguous high points of the late 20th century, and I really wish each province in Canada would adopt a similar scheme.
Show threadFirefighterGeek Jul 2, 2023
@jbe i love spending time in Canada and would not mean to be critical of what they’ve accomplished. I just wanted to point out that the US has a massive historical and cultural burden to overcome that is by no means even close to just historical.
Show threadKarl Morant 🇨🇦  🖖Jul 2, 2023

@jbe

Canada also has a smaller per capita ratio of religious nutters.

Show threadGlenda SmithJul 2, 2023
@jbe In the United States race is a zero sum game. A place where the poorest white person will forego very needed aide if a needy black person will also receive it. A place where the poorest white person will (paraphrasing President Johnson) will empty
his/her pockets to be able to call a black person the “N” word or a Gay person a “faggot” without any repercussions. Many citizens in the United States are diabolical and insane.
Show threadBathsheba BlueJul 2, 2023

@jbe

Also they don’t have the electoral college. Without it, both Al Gore and Hillary Clinton would have won and we’d have a supermajority liberal SCOTUS.

Can’t disentangle the court from plain old politics imo.

Show threadJB EmmonsJul 2, 2023

@inklings
To be fair, Canada has its own very different Rube Goldberg methods of choosing its head of government* and Supreme Court justices. But point taken.

*(and a very, very different way of "choosing" its head of state!)

Show threadGinnikinJul 2, 2023
@jbe
Provided no provinces invoke the notwithstanding clause, of course. (Bitter? Me? You betcha.)
Show threadJB EmmonsJul 2, 2023
@ginnikin
On the other hand, the need to invoke the notwithstanding clause to attack AA is a firm indication that AA is entrenched, since a province has to explicitly allow a Charter violation to undermine it. (Doesn't make it less shitty when the clause is invoked, though.)
Show threadGinnikinJul 2, 2023

@jbe
Yeah. It used to be no one used it. It was a huge thing when Quebec first did so in the late 80s. Then Ontario failed to learn from Rob Ford and elected their Premier, who gleefully used it willy-nilly. (I can say that because I lived there most of my life.)

The mere existence of the notwithstanding clause infuriates me.

Show threadJB EmmonsJul 2, 2023
@ginnikin
I'm still relatively new to Canada and have only lived in BC (where it's never been invoked) for two years. But it strikes me as one of those things where the first invocation is a lot harder politically than the second or subsequent ones. Once the genie's out of the bottle....
Show threadGinnikinJul 2, 2023
@jbe
Exactement, malheureusement.