Hot Headlines in Human Rights–Racial Discrimination and the Legal Profession
Constitutional, Civil Liberties & Human Rights | Original Program Date: September 10, 2013
Two black lawyers and an articling student who were asked to show their IDs in a Brampton, Ont., court several years ago were discriminated against based on their race, the Ontario Court of Appeal most recently ruled in Peel Law Association v. Pieters, 2013 ONCA 396 (CanLII).
The appeal court said the Divisional Court erred on several grounds, including its application of “stricter test of discrimination” and, “This error necessarily affected the Divisional Court’s analysis of whether the evidence could reasonably satisfy the test for discrimination”. The decision re-affirms the findings of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, which ruled in 2010 that the actions of the association librarian were discriminatory and that the respondents failed to provide a credible explanation as to why the appellants were questioned.
View the discussion of this important decision and its implications for human rights law in Ontario.
Program Chair
Gregory Richards, WeirFoulds LLP
Speakers
Geri Sanson, SANSON LAW OFFICE Professional Corporation
Selwyn Pieters, Lawyer and Notary Public
Ranjan Agarwal, Bennett Jones LLP
Mark Freiman, Lerners LLP
