Age Discrimination and the Employment Rights of Elderly Canadian Immigrants

Abstract

The human rights code in most Canadian jurisdictions restricts the employment rights of the elderly, either by defining “age” to exclude those 65 years of age and older or by identifying a bona fide mandatory retirement plan as reasonable limitation on the equality rights. This paper considers the possibility that these restrictions entail “adverse effect” discrimination for immigrants to Canada. Since many immigrants arrive relatively late in their working life and with little personal wealth, denying them the right to employment may inadvertently create an undue economic hardship by limiting their capacity to accumulate sufficient savings for retirement.