Supreme Court held that an employer who fires or otherwise discriminates against an individual simply for being gay or transgender does so “because of. In a landmark ruling issued on June 15, 2020, the U.S. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.” An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. “Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. “Today’s authorization is a significant milestone toward a more inclusive blood donation system countrywide, and builds on progress in scientific evidence made in recent years,” it said in a statement.By Melissa Legault, Daniel Pasternak, Laura Lawless and Lew Clark on JPosted in Discrimination, Employment Law, Employment Policies, Litigation, News, Recent Cases, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Orientation Health Canada said it convened a group of scientific and medical experts on blood safety to inform its decision on the request by the federal blood agency. He said the change in screening questions would lead to “no measurable increase in the risk” of HIV transmission. Sher said the risk of contracting a disease from donated blood is “exceedingly, exceedingly low” and there are several layers of screening, including for HIV, as well as blood purification before samples are used. He said the approach is very similar to the one taken in the United Kingdom. Sher said the agency is taking an evidence-based approach to the change based on research in Canada and around the world, including epidemiological studies and statistical modelling. “After years of delay, we are still at least five months away from this change taking effect.” “Finally, after multiple delays, Canada is one step closer to ending the long-standing and discriminatory blood ban in this country,” Duncan said. Ontario MP Eric Duncan, the first openly gay man to be elected as a Conservative, said “discrimination like this should not take this long to resolve.” “This change is a significant step, but we know we still have considerable work to do to build trust and repair relationships with LGBTQ communities, and we commit to doing so.” “This criteria change is science-informed and will enable us to be more inclusive about who can donate while, as always, ensuring safe, adequate blood and plasma supplies for patients in Canada,” she said. It was reduced to five years in 2013.Ĭatherine Lewis, a spokeswoman for Canadian Blood Services, said the agency knows it needs to restore connections with the LGBTQ communities over having had the policy in place.
That was when thousands of Canadians were exposed to HIV and hepatitis after receiving contaminated blood products. Long overdue!”Ī lifetime ban had been put into place in 1992 as part of the fallout from the tainted blood scandal in the 1980s. “We definitely welcome today’s decision by Health Canada to authorize Canadian Blood Services to end their discriminatory blood and plasma donation ban targeting Two-Spirit, gay, bisexual, and queer men, trans women, and other men who have sex with men. “Finally!” Egale Canada wrote on Twitter. It also asks potential donors if they have been tattooed or engaged in intravenous drug use, as a way to help prevent diseases, including HIV, being transmitted through a transfusion. The federal blood agency said focusing on sexual behaviour, not orientation, will allow it to more reliably assess the risk of infections, such as HIV, that can be transmitted through transfusions. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.