Media Advisory: Canadian Constitution Foundation to argue for Tax Payer Rights at Supreme Court of Canada

Media Advisory: Canadian Constitution Foundation to argue for Tax Payer Rights at Supreme Court of Canada

OTTAWA, ON: The appeal of Moore v. BC Ministry of Education will be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday March, 22, 2012. The Canadian Constitution Foundation was granted status as an intervener, permitting it to make written and oral arguments. Lawyers Ranjan K. Agarwal and Daniel Holden of Bennett Jones LLP will be representing the CCF before the court.

The appeal concerns whether the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Education discriminated against Jeffrey Moore contrary to the BC Human Rights Code when it defunded a specialized educational program for dyslexic children. While we have sympathy for the plight of Jeffrey Moore, Moore claims that his right to be free from discrimination entitles him to receive an expensive and highly specialized education. If successful, the appeal may impose upon BC taxpayers a duty to fund any number of specialized educational services.

CCF Staff Lawyer Derek From said, “The BC Government did not discriminate against Moore. At all times, Jeffrey Moore had access to exactly the same educational services available to every other public school student in his region of BC.” From added, “The CCF believes that human rights statutes should not be interpreted to grant positive rights to some and impose positive duties on others, particularly in the context of a government benefit”.

Chronology:
August, 1999—Moore files a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal.
December 21, 2005—Tribunal finds that the BC government discriminated against Moore.
February 28, 2008—BC Supreme Court finds BC government did not discriminate against Moore.
October 29, 2010—BC Court of Appeal finds BC government did not discriminate against Moore.
June 30, 2011—The Supreme Court of Canada grants leave to appeal.
February, 2012—The Supreme Court of Canada grants the CCF intervener status.