View cases - Stewart McKelvey

Health Sciences Assoc. of B.C. v. Campbell Riverand North Island Transition Society Page 19accommodation. They seem to hold that there is prima faciediscrimination whenever there is a conflict between a jobrequirement and a family obligation. In each decision thereis an overly broad definition of the scope of family statusthat I consider to be unworkable. I find both decisionsunhelpful in defining family status under s. 13(1) of the Codefor the purpose of determining whether prima faciediscrimination is proven.2004 BCCA 260 (CanLII)[36] What then needs to be established in order to prove primafacie discrimination based on family status? The respondentrelies on Wight v. Ontario (Office of the LegislativeAssembly), [1998] O.H.R.B.I.D. No. 13, a decision of theOntario Board of Inquiry (Human Rights Code). In that case,the employee was on pregnancy leave during a high-riskpregnancy and delivery. The employer ordered her to return towork but she refused to do so until she had secured adequatedaycare for her children. She was dismissed from heremployment. One of her complaints under the applicable humanrights code was that her dismissal amounted to discriminationon the basis of family status. In an extremely lengthydecision, the board found that the employer had breached otherprovisions of the code but had not discriminated on the basisof family status. That issue turned on the facts of the case