The Toronto Sun – November 19, 2010
When some are more equal than others
Brian Lilley
In 1776, as the United States headed towards independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” While America has struggled to live up to those words at times, there is no doubt that they have acted as a clarion call, a shining ideal for the nation to live up to.
Regrettably, in Canada, we have no such thing. While once we would have looked to our British heritage as our source of liberty and equality before the law, today Canada is a country that grants differing levels of rights and freedoms based on who you are, your ethnicity, your religion, your gender or what you think your gender is. Outside the Supreme Court in Ottawa there is a statue of lady justice. As usual the statue is blindfolded, but inside, where justice is applied, the judges are peeking out with one eye to see who you are and which group you fit into.
A bill before Parliament, which seems likely to pass, would add gender identity and gender expression to the prohibited grounds of discrimination protected under the criminal code and Human Rights Act. The idea is to give greater protection to transgendered and transsexual citizens.
Whatever happened to the idea that all are equal before the law?
Gender identity and gender expression would, of course, not be the only areas where you are prohibited from discrimination; there is also race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, or conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted. That’s already in the Human Rights Act.