The Supreme Court of Canada has recently denied Alberta Health Services' application for Leave to Appeal the Alberta Court of Appeal decision United Nurses of Alberta v Alberta Health Services, 2021 ABCA 194 ("UNA v AHS").
As such and further to our previous advice, the proper test for discrimination in the context of family status is the Moore Test1, which requires the complainant to demonstrate:
- the complainant has a characteristic that is protected from discrimination;
- the complainant has experienced an adverse impact; and
- the protected characteristic was a factor in the adverse impact.
The finding of the Alberta Court of Appeal in UNA v AHS that importing a fourth requirement of self-accommodation into the Moore Test for prima facie discrimination is incorrect and improperly holds family status claimants to a higher standard than other forms of discrimination remains settled law in Alberta.2
Footnotes
1 Moore v British Columbia (Education), 2012 SCC 61.
2 United Nurses of Alberta v Alberta Health Services, 2021 ABCA 194 para 99.
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