Case information
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31633
Kimberly Nixon v. Vancouver Rape Relief Society
(British Columbia) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2007-02-07 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2007-02-02 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2007-02-02 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2007-02-01 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for an extension of time is granted and the application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA031546, 2005 BCCA 601, dated December 7, 2005, is dismissed with costs. Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2007-02-01 |
Decision on motion to extend time to file and /or serve the leave application Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2006-12-18 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Cha Ro | |
| 2006-12-18 | Submission of motion to extend time to file and/ or serve the leave application, CJ Cha Ro | |
| 2006-10-25 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2006-10-25 | Kimberly Nixon |
| 2006-10-16 | Response to the motion to extend the time to file and / or serve the leave application, Included in the Response, Completed on: 2006-10-16 | Vancouver Rape Relief Society |
| 2006-10-16 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Proof of service rec'd on October 17, 2006, Completed on: 2006-10-16 | Vancouver Rape Relief Society |
| 2006-09-28 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), letter by fax from Denise E. Paluck, BC Human Rights Tribunal will not be filing a response | British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal |
| 2006-09-25 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal | |
| 2006-09-21 | Motion to extend the time to file and or serve the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2006-09-21 | Kimberly Nixon |
| 2006-09-21 | Application for leave to appeal, TC and CA judgments not signed - rec'd Nov 20/2006, Completed on: 2006-11-20 | Kimberly Nixon |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Nixon, Kimberly | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Rape Relief Society | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: Nixon, Kimberly
Counsel
635-1033 Davie Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 1M7
Telephone: (604) 251-4356
FAX: (604) 251-4373
Agent
1900 - 66 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5H1
Telephone: (613) 231-8220
FAX: (613) 788-3698
Party: Vancouver Rape Relief Society
Counsel
Christine Boyle
Ryan D.W. Dalziel
3000 Royal Centre - PO Box 11130
1055 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 3R3
Telephone: (604) 641-4907
FAX: (604) 646-2542
Agent
2600 - 160 Elgin St
P.O. Box 466, Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 788-3433
Email: henry.brown@gowlings.com
Party: British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal
Counsel
1170 - 605 Robson Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 5J3
Telephone: (604) 775-2000
FAX: (604) 775-2020
Email: denise.paluck@gems1.gov.bc.ca
Summary
Keywords
None.
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
Human rights – Group rights exemption – Sex Discrimination – Gender identity – Transsexual woman denied opportunity to train as volunteer peer counsellor with non-profit feminist organization providing services to women victims of male violence – Whether exclusion constitutes discrimination under B.C. Human Rights Code on basis of sex – Whether group rights provision operates to exempt organization from application of Code – Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210, ss. 8, 41.
Kimberly Nixon, a post-operative male-to-female transsexual woman was denied the opportunity to train and serve as a volunteer peer counsellor with Vancouver Rape Relief Society, a non-profit feminist organization providing services to women victims of male violence. Rape Relief requires that everyone it trains as a peer counsellor have the shared experience of being "oppressed since birth" as a result of being born and raised female. At an initial training session, Ms. Nixon was identified as a person who had lived part of her life as a man and asked to leave. Ms. Nixon filed a human rights complaint against Rape Relief alleging discrimination on the basis of sex in providing a service customarily available to the public and in employment, contrary to ss. 8 and 13 of the B.C. Human Rights Code.
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal upheld Ms. Nixon's complaint and awarded $7500 against Rape Relief. On judicial review, the British Columbia Supreme Court found that discrimination had not been established and, in any event, s. 41 of the Code (group rights exemption) operated as a defence to exempt Rape Relief from the application of the Code's discrimination provisions. The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed Ms. Nixon's appeal
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of British Columbia
L021846, 2003 BCSC 1936
Respondent's application for judicial review, allowed
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)
CA031546, 2005 BCCA 601
Applicant's appeal, dismissed
Filed documents
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available
Related links
The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613-996-8666 or at 1-844-365-9662.
If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available