Acknowledgments

• Pages: 15-16

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Acknowledgments

Section  of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — our con-

stitutional equal ity rights guarantee — came i nto force on  April .

Marking the twentieth anniversary of sect ion , this book celebrates both

a generation of constitutional protection for equality rights and also t he

generations of equality-seekers and advocates who have helped to build the

foundation for substantive equality in Canada.

On the sa me day in April  that section  came into force, the

Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund I nc./Fonds DAction et

DÉducation Juridiques pour les Femmes (LEAF/FAEJ) was founded as

a national, federally incorporated, non-prot advocacy organization to se-

cure equal rights for women in Canada as guaranteed by the Charter. To

this end, LEAF engages in equa lity rights litigation, research, and public

education. Commencing w ith the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark

case in Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia, []  S .C.R. ,

LEAF has contributed to the development of equality rights jurisprudence

and the meani ng of substantive equality in Canada. LEA F has developed

and advocated equal ity rights arguments i n contexts where sex inequality

is compounded by other dynamics of discrimination such as race, cla ss,

aboriginal status, sexual orientation, and disabi lity. LEAF is a leader in

developing leg al theory and litigation strategies t hat recognize women’s

diversity, and that address the ways i n which inequality manifests itself in

women’s lives. We hope that this book wil l build on t hat legacy and con-

tribute to the next generation of advocacy for substantive equality and pub-

lic education on equality law.

is book grew out of a group initiative by LEA F’s National Legal

Committee to study the impact and future implications to equality jur is-

prudence of the Supreme Court of Canad a’s  rul ing in Law v. Can ada.

Colloquially referred to as “e Law Project,” this initiative has truly been

a collective eort which could not have been realized without the contribu-

tions of many ded icated volunteers. Special thanks are given to the LEAF

Foundation for its na ncial support of the Law Project, the national con-