Preface

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Preface

The Honourable Claire L’Heureux-Dubé

e year  mark s the twentieth anniversary of section  of the Charter.

It celebrates a generation of constitutional protection for equality rig hts in

Canada. In this time, the Charter has become d eeply engrained i n the Cana-

dian consciousness and identity. It provides a lang uage for and expresses as-

pirations for how Canadians view their relationships with the state and with

each other. It fundamentally shapes the meaning of Canadian democracy.

At this point in the Charter’s history, it is important to reect on what

it means to have guaranteed equality as a bedrock principle of Canada’s

Constitution. It is importa nt to examine the evolution of our conception

of equality and to assess the challenges that remain in order for future gen-

erations to secure the full and concrete realization of true equality i n the

lives of Canadians.

is b ook makes a signicant contribution to this endeavour. It pro-

vides a timely critical assessment of equality rights in Canada and provides

invaluable insights into the considerations that will advance equality in the

future .

An important par t of the strug gle for equality over the past t wenty

years has been to develop a more complete and sophisticated conception of

what “equality” means. It has been necessary to move beyond the narrow

formalistic understanding of equality that was i ll-equipped to examine or

restrain dynamics of discrimi nation under the Bill of Rights.

To this end, section  of the Charter deliberately ushered in important

changes by broadening the measure and reach of equa lity rights w ith the