Taking Measure of the Charter’s Equality Guarantee: A Comment on the Court of Appeal’s Ruling in Morrow v. Zhang

On 12 June 2009, the Alberta Court of Appeal released its decision in Morrow. Thecentral issue in the case was whether Alberta’s minor injury cap unjustifiably violates theright to equality guaranteed by s. 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Overturning the trial judgment of Neil Wittman A.C.J., the Court of Appeal concluded thatthe minor injury cap does not violate the Charter’s equality guarantee. The appeal Court heldthat, when looked at in the context of the province’s overall regulatory scheme of automobileaccident insurance, the minor injury cap does not perpetuate a negative stereotype ofindividuals who suffer minor soft tissue injuries in motor vehicle accidents.