JB EmmonsJun 29, 2023

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.

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 threadGinnikin
@jbe
Exactement, malheureusement.
Jul 2, 2023 at 7:05pmWeb