Bliss v. Attorney General of Canada
E715441
Bliss v. Attorney General of Canada is a landmark 1979 Supreme Court of Canada decision that upheld a federal unemployment insurance scheme denying benefits to pregnant women, highlighting early limitations in Canadian equality rights protections.
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Canadian constitutional law case
ⓘ
Supreme Court of Canada decision ⓘ equality rights case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
constitutional law
ⓘ
human rights law ⓘ social welfare law ⓘ |
| characterization | landmark early Canadian equality rights case ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionConsidered | Canadian Bill of Rights NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country | Canada ⓘ |
| court | Supreme Court of Canada NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1979 ⓘ |
| defendant | Attorney General of Canada NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discriminationGround |
pregnancy
ⓘ
sex ⓘ |
| findingOnDiscrimination | no violation of equality rights found ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | Bliss v. Attorney General of Canada NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| governmentProgramChallenged | federal unemployment insurance scheme ⓘ |
| historicalContext | pre-Charter Canadian rights framework ⓘ |
| holding |
denial of benefits to pregnant women did not constitute sex discrimination under the Canadian Bill of Rights
ⓘ
federal unemployment insurance provisions denying benefits to certain pregnant women were valid ⓘ |
| impact |
criticized as formalistic approach to equality
ⓘ
highlighted limitations of the Canadian Bill of Rights in protecting equality ⓘ influenced later development of equality jurisprudence under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | federal ⓘ |
| languageOfProceedings | English ⓘ |
| legacy |
often cited as example of inadequate protection for women under early Canadian equality law
ⓘ
used in academic commentary to illustrate limitations of the Canadian Bill of Rights ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
equality rights
ⓘ
pregnancy discrimination ⓘ sex discrimination ⓘ unemployment insurance benefits ⓘ |
| outcome | appeal dismissed ⓘ |
| plaintiff | Stella Bliss NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precedentialStatus | important but later criticized precedent in equality jurisprudence ⓘ |
| ratioDecidendi | distinction based on pregnancy was not considered discrimination based on sex ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
formal equality
ⓘ
substantive equality ⓘ |
| rightsInstrument | Canadian Bill of Rights NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| statuteInterpreted | Unemployment Insurance Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits
ⓘ
treatment of pregnant women under social insurance schemes ⓘ |
| subsequentTreatment | approach to pregnancy discrimination later rejected by the Supreme Court of Canada ⓘ |
| timePeriod | late 1970s ⓘ |
| typeOfDiscriminationAlleged | exclusion of pregnant women from unemployment benefits ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1979 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.