Justice for All Shapes and Sizes: Combatting Weight Discrimination in Canada

Discrimination based on weight is widespread in society, but has only been addressed in limited ways by Canadian law. In recent cases, discrimination has been prohibited where an individual’s obesity can be characterized as a real or perceived disability. The author suggests that this is not enough, and that what is needed is for body size to be its own prohibited category of discrimination under the Charter. For reasons of immutability and historical disadvantage, weight should be accepted as an analogous ground under s. 15.