Supreme Court Denies Leave to Appeal of Seminal Alberta Family Status Accommodation Case

The Supreme Court of Canada has recently denied Alberta Health Services’ application for Leave to Appeal the Alberta Court of Appeal decision United Nurses of Alberta v Alberta Health Services, 2021 ABCA 194 (“UNA v AHS”).

As such and further to our previous advice, the proper test for discrimination in the context of family status is the Moore Test[1], which requires the complainant to demonstrate:

1. the complainant has a characteristic that is protected from discrimination;
2. the complainant has experienced an adverse impact; and
3. the protected characteristic was a factor in the adverse impact.

The finding of the Alberta Court of Appeal in UNA v AHS that importing a fourth requirement of self-accommodation into the Moore Test for prima facie discrimination is incorrect and improperly holds family status claimants to a higher standard than other forms of discrimination remains settled law in Alberta.[2]