Since 1985, LEAF has shaped the meaning of substantive equality and equality rights law in Canada. LEAF has done so by helping the Courts understand systemic discrimination and gender-based inequality. In over 150 cases before the courts, LEAF has exposed women’s realities in crucial areas such as:

• Violence against women
• Socio-economic rights
• Workplace discrimination
• Reproductive freedom
• Access to services to people with disabilities
• Aboriginal rights

LEAF intervenes in equality rights cases that affect the equality rights of women and girls in Canada. LEAF also brings forward its legal expertise by producing high quality research that is used to by policymakers in areas such as social benefits, criminal justice, reproductive rights, and violence against women.

Advancing equality guarantees in the law

LEAF has been instrumental in shaping gender equality guarantees in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Section 28
Notwithstanding anything in the Charter, the rights and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.

Section 15
Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

Using these equality guarantees, LEAF has worked to strike down discriminatory laws and practices in Canada.

Exposing compound discrimination

LEAF has not limited its focus to sex inequality alone, but has developed approaches to equality law to expose how sex inequality is compounded by other prohibited grounds of discrimination such as:

• Race
• Class
• Aboriginal status
• Sexual orientation
• Poverty
• Disability

Please note that LEAF does not provide funding or sponsor cases. For resources in your region, please visit the Canadian Women’s Directory

Shaping legal analysis

LEAF has also contributed significantly to the relationship between equality guarantees and other sections of the Charter, including sections 2 (fundamental freedoms) and 7 (legal rights). LEAF’s arguments have also included analyses of the interpretation and application of statutory human rights law.

Diversity and Collaboration

Central to LEAF’s mandate as a national, equality rights organization is our commitment to incorporate collaboration and consultation to ensure that all of LEAF’s arguments are informed by the diversity of women’s experiences in Canada. The consultative process ensures that LEAF’s arguments are as inclusive as possible, and that the organization maintains its accountability to women and girls in Canada.