M. v. University of Guelph

Summary

This appeal addressed whether the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to universities regarding mandatory retirement policies and whether section 9(a) of the Ontario Human Rights Code, 1981, which limited age discrimination protection to persons under 65, violated equality rights. The Court of Appeal held that the Charter did not apply to universities as they were not performing governmental functions, but found that section 9(a) of the Code violated section 15(1) of the Charter by discriminating against individuals aged 65 and older. However, this violation was upheld as a reasonable limit under section 1 of the Charter to preserve tenure systems and pension financing. This decision was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which upheld it (Mckinney v. University of Guelph, [1990] 3 SCR 229). The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that universities are not government entities subject to the Charter and that the Human Rights Code provision restricting age discrimination protection to those under 65 is a reasonable limit under section 1 of the Charter. The mandatory retirement policies stand as valid and enforceable collective agreement terms or institutional policies for the universities involved in this proceeding, and the limit in the human rights legislation stands as constitutional within the context of the issues raised here; those whose claims for mandatory retirement at age 65 had been struck down therefore found no remedy under the Charter from the universities themselves nor the Human Rights Commission at the time.

Key Factors

• Charter applicability to universities
• Age discrimination
• Mandatory retirement
• Section 15(1) equality rights
• Section 1 justification