Assignment:
Bliss v. Attorney General of Canada was a Canadian Bill of Rights case. Stella Bliss’ claim for maternity benefits (under the former Unemployment Insurance Act) as a form of “equality before the law” was rejected by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court famously suggested that “any inequality... is not created by legislation but by nature.”
Many feminists have suggested that the Bliss decision demonstrates both the problems with formal equality and the limited effectiveness of the Bill of Rights for equality litigation. Bliss was overturned in 1989 due in large part to the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Your essay should include:
- a brief (one paragraph) summary of the Bliss decision;
- a discussion and critique of formal equality with respect to the Bliss decision;
- and finally, a consideration of the possibilities and/or limitations of equality litigation bringing about social change, with a particular focus on mothers in Canada.