The Supreme Court of Canada recently considered, for the first time, whether discrimination could arise out of a decision of a foreign authority. In that case, a Canadian company refused to provide training to an individual on the basis of a decision by U.S. authorities; however, it was argued that the U.S. authorities’ decision was based on racial profiling and that the Canadian company had, therefore, discriminated against the individual by relying on that decision. While the Court did not find that the individual had been discriminated against on the facts, the Court recognized that proof of a connection between the U.S. authorities’ decision and a prohibited ground of discrimination would have satisfied the second element of the test for establishing a prima facie case of discrimination. The Court cautioned that “a company can [not] blindly comply with a discriminatory decision of a foreign authority without exposing itself to liability.” This is an important decision for companies operating globally.
Canada