Case information

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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 — Right to equality — Federal funding of Aboriginal bands — Relative equality between large and small bands — What are the proper legal tests and standards to be applied by the Canadian Human Rights Commission since the repeal of s. 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act extended its jurisdiction to include complaints concerning matters relating to the Indian Act — Whether the Court of Appeal erred in determining whether First Nations bands can bring complaints based on their relative inequity with other bands — Whether the Court of Appeal erred in determining whether significant differential treatment by the federal government based on the size of a First Nations band can establish prima facie discrimination on the grounds of national or ethnic origin — Whether the Court of Appeal erred in determining the proper legal test for prima facie discrimination, including whether a prima facie case can be established by demonstrating significant differential treatment for which there is no neutral or non-discriminatory explanation.

The applicant First Nations are four of the five largest First Nations in Ontario. They argue that the federal funding for core programs and services is discriminatory because it differentiates adversely based on size. The First Nations asked the Commission to order the elimination of the discriminatory features in the distribution formulae such that any per capita differences would be due solely to proven economies of scale and urban proximity, without reducing funding to smaller First Nations. After some initial proceedings the complaint was assigned to an investigator who recommended that the complaint be dismissed on the basis that the evidence did not support the allegations that the First Nations were treated in an adverse, differential manner. In so finding, she appeared to accept the findings of a report that the First Nations had not previously known about. After review and comment by both parties, the Commission dismissed the complaint on the basis that the evidence gathered does not support the allegation, and that, if they did support the allegation, this is not based on national or ethnic origin. The First Nations applied for judicial review of that decision.