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Filling The "Charter Gap": Human Rights Codes In The Private Sector, Gavin W. Anderson

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The author considers the capacity of the federal and provincial human rights codes to deal with human rights abuses in the private sector. He compares the social democratic potential of the codes, with the classical liberalism of Charter jurisprudence, which shields the private sector from constitutional scrutiny. Four case studies are used: the definition of "offered to the public," mandatory retirement, the rights of the poor, and systemic discrimination. It is concluded that there are important similarities between the codes and the Charter, both at an institutional design and a doctrinal level. As a result, the codes have been unable …