Federal Court dismisses retired pilot’s application for Judicial review of 2019 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision
March 13, 2023
A Federal Court judge has dismissed an application for judicial review of a 2019 Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision, which found that the termination of long term disability (LTD) benefits at “normal retirement age” did not violate the employee’s Charter rights in relation to age discrimination.
In 2011, the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) and Air Canada entered into a collective agreement, which included amendments that enabled pilots to retire with an unreduced pension at age 60 with 25 years of service. Under the collective agreement, once pilots became eligible for an unreduced pension, they were no longer entitled to LTD benefits.
A (now retired) pilot filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, arguing that the termination of LTD benefits amounted to age discrimination. Air Canada justified this on the basis that the Canadian Human Rights Benefit Regulations allow for age-based distinction in pension and LTD insurance plans.
At the Federal Court, the primary issue was whether the exemption in the Regulations that allows for the termination of disability benefits employees at “normal pensionable age” amounts to a violation of the Charter.
The application was dismissed as the Court found that there was a distinction based on age but the substantial guarantee of equality under subsection 15(1) of the Charter was not violated.
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