''Lovelace v Ontario'',

000 Triple zero, Triple Zero, Zero Zero Zero, Triple 0, Triple-0, 000, or 0-0-0 may refer to: * 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number * "Triple Zero", a song by AFI (band), AFI from ''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your ...

1 S.C.R. 950, 2000 SCC 37, was the leading decision by the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

on section 15(2) of the

Charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

, which shields affirmative action programs from the equality requirement of section 15(1). The Court decided that distribution of

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

profits to a select group of aboriginals is not discriminatory. The leading case on section 15(2) is now

R. v. Kapp ''R v Kapp'', 2008 SCC 41 is a Supreme Court of Canada case dealing with an appeal from a British Columbia Court of Appeal decision that held that a communal fishing license granted exclusively to Aboriginals did not violate section 15 of the ...

, 2008 SCC 41.

Background

In a deal made in the early 1990s, the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

government gave control of reserve-based gaming activities to several First Nations bands. By 1996 the government enacted the First Nations Fund, which restricts the distribution of the profits from the on-reserve casinos to First Nation bands registered under the

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

. The petitioners were a group of non-registered First Nations bands who were status Indians. They claimed that they were discriminated against by the government under section 15(1) of the Charter. The

Court of Appeal for Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...

ruled against the First Nations bands. The Court ruled that an exception under section 15(2) could be made for any discrimination claims as the purpose of the law was to improve the social and economic conditions of the registered bands.

Opinion of the Court

The unanimous Court decisions was given by

Iacobucci Iacobucci may refer to: * Adam Iacobucci (born 1986), Australian rules footballer * Alessandro Iacobucci (born 1991), Italian footballer * Dawn Iacobucci born (ca. 1960), American marketing professor *Ed Iacobucci, American businessman * Frank Iac ...

J. in which he ruled that the claimants failed to establish that the purpose of the First Nations Fund was based on a stereotype. There was a clearly established ameliorative purpose to the fund that did not coincide with the claimants' needs and circumstances. Iacobucci further examined the purpose of section 15(2). He described it as "confirmatory and supplementary" to section 15 jurisprudence. That is, the section must not be applied separately from section 15(1); rather, it should be used as a guide when analysing claims under section 15(1). Nevertheless, he left open the possibility of different applications of section 15(2) for future cases.

External links

* {{lexum-scc, 2000, 37 Supreme Court of Canada cases Section Fifteen Charter case law Labour relations in Canada 2000 in Canadian case law