Research publications

Equality is a fundamental Canadian right guaranteed by this country’s Constitution and human rights laws. At the same time, equality means different things to different people, and individuals frequently disagree over what an equal society should look like. Canadians rely on governments, legislatures, tribunals and courts to provide guidance when it comes to implementing the principles of equality on a practical basis. One of the primary applications of the human right to equality is through the accommodation of difference, including factors such as disability, religion or gender, by the institutions that govern our lives, from employer, to service provider, to government. This paper explores the right to equality in Canadian law and how that right has generated a duty of reasonable accommodation that governs the practices of various actors in our communities including employers, landlords, service providers and governments across the country. Specific examples will be provided of how the duty to accommodate has been interpreted in relation to disabilities and religious obligations, as well as gender and family status.

The Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) are international agreements negotiated by states, with the support of the United Nations (UN) and input from civil society, that cover the movement of people. Based on pre-existing international conventions and practices, they set out objectives for how migration management and refugee protection should be approached within states of origin, states of transit and host states. They promote effective international cooperation in managing migration by addressing the disproportionately heavy burdens certain countries are carrying and by seeking to replace the previous ad hoc reactions to major flows of migrants. While not adopted unanimously, the agreements have the support of a large majority of states in the international community. Although refugees and migrants are sometimes referred to as one and the same, their differences explain the existence of two separate but complementary agreements. On the one hand, refugees are protected by a well-established international legal framework, applicable in cases of flight due to persecution, violence, or other conditions related to vulnerability in their home countries. Migrants, on the other hand, are a broader group that includes individuals who change their country of residence, irrespective of the reason. While migrants and refugees are both entitled to universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, the two global compacts take into account different underlying obligations for states. The global compacts are not legally binding. Although the months of negotiations behind their creation and the various iterations of their commitments resembled a treaty-making process, they are not international conventions. Thus, they encourage states to act according to certain goals rather than compel them to do so.

Unprecedented global warming has been observed in recent decades. Around the world, mean air and water temperatures have increased, amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and sea levels have risen. Canada is no exception: our mean temperature has increased by more than twice the global average temperature. A warming climate will likely have short- and long-term effects on people’s lives. Many aspects of our society are governed to some extent by climate. Here in Canada, climate change is likely to have an impact on human health, human rights, migration, food security, the economy, employment, national security and transportation. Political, social and economic institutions will have no choice but to adapt to the societal disruption brought about by climate change, but they can also find ways to take advantage of new opportunities. That means taking climate change into account in public policy planning.