Keeping Tabs - Winter 2022

FRASER V CANADA (ATTORNEY GENERAL)
Reflections on Fraser v
Canada (Attorney General)
in a Global Pandemic
Ashley Maciuk, Legate Injury Lawyers
“For many women, the decision to work on a part-time basis, far from being an
unencumbered choice, ‘often lies beyond the individual’s effective control.’ […]
Deciding to work part-time, for many women, is a ‘choice’ between either staying
above or below the poverty line.”
- Justice Abella in Fraser v Canada (Attorney General) at para 91
These statements by Justice Abella form part of the majority reasons in the
October 2020 decision of Fraser v Canada (Attorney General) (see Case in Brief
for a summary). In making these statements, Justice Abella relied on statistics
and social science to affirm the long-standing disadvantage faced by mothers
in the workforce. Women generally bear the larger share of childcare
and other domestic responsibilities in the home, leading to disadvantages in
balancing domestic work and employment, especially where working hours
are fewer, less stable, and precarious.
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