R v Banks, 2007 Flashcards
What is the importance of this case?
its relation to analogous grounds
How does this case incorporate law v canada?
Test in Law:
- (a) does the impugned law draw a formal distinction based on personal characteristics?
(b) does the impugned law fail to take into account the claiman’ts already disadvantaged position?
If so, there is differential treatment for the purpose of s15(1)
- was the claimant subject to differential treatment on the basis of one or more enumerated grounds?
- does the differential treatment discriminate in the substantive sense, bringing into play the purpose of s151 remedying prejudice, stereotyping and historical disadvantage?
What did the appellants argue?
- that the police selectively enforce the law, and that the substantive effect of the law enforcement of the provisions is different for them than for others
“ akin to a prohibition on sleeping under bridges that affects the homeless, but not the rich.
What is the distinction made at para 99?
The appellants identify the proposed group not by a characteristic, but by an activity.
What does Professor Hogg explain at para 99?
Professor Hogg suggests that the common element of the enumerated grounds is that they describe what a person is, rather than what a person does. He finds that an activity could never be used to identify a prohibited ground of discrimination
What does the trial judge believe about the “great personal cost”?
This great personal cost refers to the cost to the individual’s dignity, as the protection of dignity is the essence of s15’s purpose. A person’s characteristic is immutable or unchangeable only at unacceptable cost to personal identity.
Why did the Court reject the arguments about analogous grounds?
The appellants did not put forward their lack of fixed addresses and the fact that they beg as part of their culture that is important to their identity. The describe begging as a private choice of a means of substinence
