Equality in Canada

A tale of non-normative groups struggling with grounds of discrimination

Authors

  • Nausica Palazzo University of Trento

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1066

Keywords:

Grounds, equality, discrimination, families, Canada

Abstract

This article intends to address the limits associated with a rigid grounds-based approach to equality, requiring claimants to categorize their identity within an enumerated ground to “deserve” the protection of the equality guarantee. To this end, I first shed light on the irreconcilability of rigid grounds with post-structuralist accounts of identity, and then lay claim to an approach to equality that extends its reach to fluid, intersectional groups. Thereafter, taking Canada as a case study, I parse out the Canadian equality jurisprudence, particularly the cases offering an analysis of the aforementioned grounds. I then move to sketch out two proposals to overcome the risks associated with the current equality jurisprudence, by focusing on marital status discrimination. I ultimately offer a cursory overview of the complex interplay between approaches to equality and the organization of interest groups, and illustrate the issues around the organization of “post-identity groups”.

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Author Biography

Nausica Palazzo, University of Trento

Ph.D. candidate at the University of Trento Faculty of Law (Trento), and Adjunct Lecturer in Constitutional Law at Bocconi University (Milan).

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Published

10-02-2020

How to Cite

Palazzo, N. (2020) “Equality in Canada: A tale of non-normative groups struggling with grounds of discrimination”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 10(1), pp. 88–122. doi: 10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1066.