Court of Appeal

Judge:

The Honourable Justice Joel E. Fichaud

Appeal Heard:

June 9, 2015, in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Subject:

Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 15(1) – workers’ compensation

Summary:

Ms. Muggah was divorced and in receipt of spousal support under her Corollary Relief Judgment.  Then her former spouse died from a workplace accident.  Ms. Muggah claimed a survivor’s benefit under s. 60 of the Workers’ Compensation Act, S.N.S. 1994-95, c. 10.  The Workers’ Compensation Board’s hearing officer, and then the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal, denied her claim.  The reason was that the Act provided a survivor’s benefit only to persons who, at the time of the worker’s death, were either married or in a common law relationship with the worker.  Ms. Muggah claimed that the Act discriminated against former spouses, that this was distinction based on “marital status”, an analogous ground under s. 15(1) of the Charter of Rights, and that the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act offended the Charter.  The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal held that there was no infringement of s. 15(1).  Ms. Muggah appealed.

Issues:

Do the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act governing a survivor’s benefit offend s. 15(1) of the Charter by discriminating on the basis of marital status?

Result:

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.  The provisions of the Act did not draw a distinction based on the analogous ground of marital status, as that ground has been defined in the authorities.  Neither did the provisions discriminate, or offend the principles of substantive equality, by exacerbating or perpetuating a disadvantage to former spouses, or to Ms. Muggah because she was a former spouse.