Ethics Newsline®

OTTAWA
A physical fitness test used by Canada’s firefighting service discriminates against women and cannot be used, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled last week in a landmark decision that could alter workplace policy nationwide.

The Court ruled that a female firefighter was unjustly fired after she failed to run 1.5 miles in less that 11 minutes — the same standard required of male firefighters, the Reuters news agency reported.

The Ministry of Forests argued that the standard was necessary to ensure that firefighters are sufficiently fit to protect themselves, other firefighters, and threatened communities.

The woman insisted that experience was more important than an arbitrary physical test, and that women’s aerobic capacity is less than men’s, making the test discriminatory.

The Supreme Court agreed, ruling that “the essence of equality is to be treated according to one’s own merit, capabilities, and circumstances. True equality requires that differences be accommodated.”

That decision, with its implications for Canadian employers and military forces, “completely changes the face of discrimination law in Canada,” lawyer Kate Hughes, who joined the case as a representative of women’s groups, told Reuters.

“We’re not talking about accommodating one individual,” Hughes said. “We’re talking every workplace rule, or practice, or test, or even equipment should be looked at to determine whether or not it has a discriminatory effect.”