# 2017-033 - Discrimination

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2017–10–04

The grievor argued that he was discriminated against on the basis of sex, colour and race, which are prohibited grounds of discrimination under sub-section 3 (1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act. He alleged that, while he was assessed as a course failure, another candidate who had also failed the retest of the same performance check was granted a course pass on the basis that she was a female from a minority ethnic group,. As redress, he sought to be granted the qualification.

The Initial Authority (IA) denied the grievance, finding that the assessment of the other candidate was indeed influenced by other factors, but these were unrelated to gender and race; and the grievor had provided no relevant evidence to enable the IA to conclude otherwise. The IA also stated that the grievor's performance had to be reviewed against the course training standard and he could not be granted a pass as he had not shown he had acquired the skills of the Performance Objective in question.

The Committee found that the grievor failed to provide evidence to establish, on the balance of probabilities, that the characteristics in question (sex, colour, or race) were a factor in the decision rendered in his regard. As such, he failed to meet the criteria of the prima facie test established by the courts. Accordingly, there was no need to proceed to an analysis of the employer's reasonable justification or bona fide occupational requirement. The committee noted that the information on file shows that the course staff deviated from the standard under the premise that, given her occupation, the other candidate would have to show she possessed the desired skills on follow-on training, which was not the case for the grievor. The Committee observed that this was not an acceptable practice and that the Final Authority might wish to address the issue. As the grievor recognized that he had failed the retest, thus met the course failure criteria, the Committee agreed that he could not be granted the qualification.

The Committee recommended that the grievance be denied.

FA Decision Summary

FA Decision Pending