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This case comment addresses the recent contributions to human rights law developed in the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. B.C.G.S.E.U. The Court held that the aerobic standard for evaluating the fitness of forest firefighters was discriminatory towards women. The Court ordered the reinstatement of Tawney Meiorin, a female forest firefighter who had lost her employment by reason of failing the mandatory provincial fitness testing. The author maintains that the Court significantly advances human rights analysis by articulating a unified approach to human rights defences that is not premised on any preliminary classification of the discrimination as either direct or adverse effect. The Court also highlights the importance of an employer’s duty to accommodate as an integral dimension of equality. The author suggests, nonetheless, that further elaboration of certain aspects of discrimination law will be required in future cases. More specifically, the concept of adverse effect discrimination should be retained and clarified to ensure that hidden and institutionalized forms of inequality are identified and remedied. Furthermore, there remains a need to ensure that discriminatory standards, rules, or policies are fully scrutinized and potentially revised before assessing individual accommodation strategies. Finally, the approach to health and safety risks in the context of human rights adjudication deserves further discussion.
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