DRC Complaint of Systemic Discrimination before the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal (2019-2021)

On October 6, 2021, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal released a landmark decision on disability rights in the Human Rights Complaint brought by the DRC.

What you’ll find below are all the steps taken and all the documents that were filed with the Court of Appeal in the lead up to the Court’s Decision.

The Disability Rights Coalition, the Province and the three Individual human rights complainants all filed appeals from the March 4, 2019 Board of Inquiry Decision and the Board of Inquiry’s December 2019 Compensation award.

The DRC Appeal

  1. Disability Rights Coalition Notice of Appeal
  2. The Province of Nova Scotia’s Notice of Cross-Appeal
  3. The Individual Complainants’ Notice of Contention

Intervention in the DRC Appeal by Three National Disability Rights Groups

  1. Notice of Motion to Intervene by CACL, CCD and People First Canada
  2. Intervenors’ Motion Brief in Support of the Intervention Application
  3. Affidavits in Support of the Intervention Application
    a. Affidavit filed by CACL (Krista Carr)
    b. Affidavit filed by CCD (April D’Aubin)
    c. Affidavit filed by People First Canada (Shelley Fletcher)
  4. Order of Justice Duncan Beveridge granting intervenor status to the three disability rights groups (June 21, 2019)

The Individuals’ Appeals

  1. The Individuals’ Notice of Appeal
  2. The Province’s Notice of Cross-Appeal

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal Consolidated the DRC and Individuals’ Appeals and Set the Hearing Dates

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal granted an Order which consolidated the DRC appeal with the Individuals’ appeals.

Legal Arguments filed in advance of the Appeal:
Arguments filed March 6, 2020

  1. Factum of the Province of NS
  2. Factum of the Individual Complainants
  3. Factum of the Disability Rights Coalition
  4. Factum of the Intervenors Inclusion Canada, CCD and People First Canada

Legal Arguments filed September 4, 2020

  1. Disability Rights Coalition (Factum)
  2. MacLean, Delaney and Livingstone (Factum)
  3. Province of Nova Scotia (Factum)

The Human Rights Commission, a party to the appeal, filed a one-sentence letter, rather than legal submissions, with the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal indicating that it would be “maintaining a watching brief” and taking no position on the appeals:

  1. Letter from Kymberly Franklin, on behalf of the Human Rights Commission

Appeal Hearing

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal heard the appeals over two days (November 18 and 19, 2020). Archived tapes of the actual hearings before the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal can be found here:

  1. Day 1 morning – November 18th
  2. Day 1 afternoon – November 18th
  3. Day 2 morning – November 19th
  4. Day 2 afternoon – November 19th

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal Decision

After ten-and-a-half months of being on reserve, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal released its Decision on the Appeals on October 6, 2021:

On December 14, 2021 the Court of Appeal released a brief Supplementary Decision relating to payment of the compensation award to one of the Individual Complaints who had died before the Court’s October 6th Decision.

Also on December 14th, the Court of Appeal released its Order for Judgment which gives effect to its October 2021 Judgment (see also para. 311 of the October 6th Decision.)