Supreme Court of Canada Equality Jurisprudence and “Everyday Life”

The author asks whether the Supreme Court’s equality jurisprudence poses a model or standard for the equality efforts undertaken by organizations, or whether the standard is too low or complex. The Supreme Court’s rhetoric around equality has contributed to the broader equality conversation over the past 30 years and in some specific cases has had a definite impact. This is not the same, however, as the Court’s serving as a “leader” in advancing equality in the private or public sectors. The jurisprudence has been erratic and recent efforts to simplify it have not helped. The author concludes that only a jurisprudence that acknowledges and explicitly addresses the complexity of substantive equality will serve as a way to assess the equality initiatives taken “on the ground”.