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Category: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Racial Bullying in Schools

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On February 8, 2023

In Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

By: Myrna El Fakhry Tuttle

PDF Version: Racial Bullying in Schools

Editors’ Note: This is the second in our series of posts on equity, diversity and inclusion issues to mark Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Week at the University of Calgary. For more on the Faculty of Law’s commitment to taking action on EDI issues, see here.

 

Studies show a majority of students have witnessed or experienced racism at school, with implications for both students and teachers.

A majority of students in Canada have either witnessed or experienced racism at their schools, according to a 2021 survey by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with the University of British Columbia (ARI/UBC Survey). In this context, racism likely means racial discrimination as opposed to systemic racism.

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There’s No Place Like Home: Why the Dower Act Remains Relevant

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On February 7, 2023

In Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Property

By: Laura Buckingham

Case Commented On: James v Belanger, 2023 ABKB 34 (CanLII)

PDF Version: There’s No Place Like Home: Why the Dower Act Remains Relevant

Editors’ Note: February 6 to 10 is Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Week at the University of Calgary. We will be publishing a number of posts this week that touch on EDI issues. This first post deals with dower rights and the inequalities experienced by unmarried spouses. For more on the Faculty of Law’s commitment to taking action on EDI issues, see here.

James v Belanger, 2023 ABKB 34 is interesting because of something that isn’t mentioned in the decision. The case is not about the Dower Act, RSA 2000, c D-15. If the Dower Act applied, the whole dispute might have been avoided. A retired man would be able to stay in the home he shared with his partner for more than 15 years.

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Women’s Charter Equality before the Supreme Court of Canada: Where Do We Stand as of International Women’s Day 2022?

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On March 8, 2022

In Constitutional, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

By: Jonnette Watson Hamilton & Jennifer Koshan

PDF Version: Women’s Charter Equality before the Supreme Court of Canada: Where Do We Stand as of International Women’s Day 2022?

Matter Commented On: International Women’s Day 2022

March 8 is International Women’s Day (IWD), a day on which we assess the progress towards achieving women’s rights. The theme this year is “Break the Bias.” We are encouraged to “Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated.” When considering women’s rights under Canadian law, we tend to use the lenses of discrimination and equality as the umbrella words rather than bias. Bias is certainly one form of discrimination, but discrimination also includes the harms of stereotyping, prejudice, and disadvantage. The right to equality and to be free from discrimination based on protected grounds is guaranteed under s 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada’s constitutional equality guarantee.

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Lost in Precedent: Preserving “the Rule of Law” Through the Minimization of Identity

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On April 6, 2021

In Criminal, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Sentencing

By: Emma Arnold-Fyfe

PDF Version: Lost in Precedent: Preserving “the Rule of Law” Through the Minimization of Identity

Case Commented On: R v Blackplume, 2021 ABCA 2 (CanLII)

Editor’s Note

During Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Week at the University of Calgary in February 2021, the Faculty of Law’s EDI Committee held a research-a-thon where students undertook research on the law’s treatment of equity, diversity and inclusion issues. We are publishing a series of ABlawg posts that are the product of this initiative. This post is the second in the series.

Introduction

The case of R v Blackplume, 2021 ABCA 2 (CanLII) involved consideration of whether the accused should be declared a dangerous offender and consequently subjected to an indeterminate sentence. The accused, Lucy Blackplume, survived a severely traumatic childhood, often witnessing domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse. She was “repeatedly sexually assaulted by various relatives and others from a young age” (at para 8). In addition to having cognitive functions at the level of a 9- or 10-year-old, Ms. Blackplume suffers from various personality disorders, psychopathy, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. It is not possible for her to appreciate the consequences of her actions, “exercise self-control, or filter impulses” (at para 7).

 The criminal record of Ms. Blackplume began in 2008 with a conviction for sexual assault, and she has spent almost 12 years in institutions. While institutionalized, she has spent “notable periods of time in segregation, isolation or observation,” and over that time has been the target of threats because of, among other things, her gender expression (at para 11).  Previous efforts to treat Blackplume’s conditions, including through a fifteen-month high-intensity sex-offender treatment program, have been unsuccessful (at para 12).

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Protection Against Online Hate Speech: Time for Federal Action

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On March 19, 2021

In Equality, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Human Rights, Internet Law

By: Emily Laidlaw & Jennifer Koshan, with Emma Arnold-Fyfe, Lubaina Baloch, Jack Hoskins, and Charlotte Woo

PDF Version: Protection Against Online Hate Speech: Time for Federal Action

Legislation Commented On: Canadian Human Rights Act, RSC 1985, c H-6

Editor’s Note

During Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Week at the University of Calgary in February 2021, the Faculty of Law’s EDI Committee held a research-a-thon where students undertook research on the law’s treatment of equity, diversity and inclusion issues. Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing a series of ABlawg posts that are the product of this initiative. This post is the first in the series, which also closely coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination next week on March 21. The theme this year is “Youth Standing Up Against Racism”, which fits well with this initiative.

Introduction

On January 5th, 2021, Erin O’Toole, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, tweeted “Not one criminal should be vaccinated ahead of any vulnerable Canadian or front line health worker.” His tweet unsurprisingly went viral. To date the tweet has received 6.1k likes, 3.6k retweets and 4.8k comments. The tweet is representative of the kind of internet content we have grown increasingly and painfully accustomed to: content that is rhetorical, overblown, and often hateful, even if not explicitly directed at marginalized groups,  and that occurs on a platform with global reach. When Erin O’Toole tweets, it is to an audience of 122.7k followers.

This post is not about Erin O’Toole’s tweet per se. Indeed, while his tweet dehumanizes prisoners and those with a criminal record, persons who are disproportionately Indigenous, it is not obvious, on its face, that it meets the legal standard of hate speech. Rather, this post is about what tweets like his represent in the struggle to regulate hate speech online: that so much we intuitively know is wrong falls into a legal grey area, and that much of the harm is the mob pile-on that the original post inspires. In the case of the O’Toole tweet, many tweets in response have been removed by Twitter, but it is noteworthy that thousands of others addressed the harmful nature of his statements with tweets such as “prison health is public health”, recognizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission in prisons.

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