Law Reform

Our law reform work seeks to expand human rights protections. To accomplish this, we rely on two primary strategies:

1. We regularly provide submissions and presentations to government committees, panels, courts and special commissions who are reviewing legislation that relates to human and or equality rights issues.

Our position statements and formal submissions can be viewed online
Issues for Reform
- Limited Age Protection in Employment (note this issue has largely been corrected by amendments to the B.C. Human Rights Code, effective January 1, 2008).
- No Age Protection in Services (note this issue has also been corrected by amendments to the B.C. Human Rights Code, effective January 1, 2008).
- Weak Pre-Employment Practices
- Lack of Wage Parity in B.C.
- Limited Protection when Buying your Home

2. We provide support, leadership and representation to complaints that have a significant chance of advancing or expanding human rights law. Examples of this work include:

Dupuis v. Her Majesty in Right of the Province of B.C. et al – 1993 – a sexual harassment case that clarified the definition of consent,
Burton v. Chalifour Bros. Construction Ltd. – 1994 – a sexual harassment case that increased the available remedies for victims of harassment,
Guzman v. Dr. and Mrs. T – 1997 – a sexual harassment case that defined the employers responsibility for the work environment of live-in foreign domestic workers, and
Zutter v. British Columbia – 1995 – where the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled that the Commission cannot dismiss a complaint for narrow reasons.