The Charter, Equality Rights, and Women: Equivocation and Celebration

Abstract

In this article, the author examines some of the critiques made and some of the aspirations raised in the early days of the Charter by left/feminist/marginalized groups about the Charter, the equality guarantee, and the judicial decision makers. The author explores how these fears and hopes have played out with respect to Charter equality rights for women by looking at some of the sex equality decisions that have been made by the Supreme Court of Canada. The cases are discussed under the headings of reproduction, violence against women, family, employment, and socio-economic claims to explore how the sex equality analysis has fared in these different contexts. As the title of this article reflects, the author's assessment is one of equivocal celebration and celebratory equivocation.