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Suppose a store is considering an employee for hire when a social media review finds views that conflict with both prevailing governmental advice as well as the views of management. If the discovery of this information were to be the reason someone was declined an interview, according to Canadian law, would the declination be considered legal? If it is, would that status change if the person's religious views are what guided them to their opinion?

I am hoping to discover statutes and/or similar case law that relate to this. The closer to Alberta law, the more useful it is for me personally, but Canadian law in general would be more useful for the site at large.

corsiKa
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1 Answers1

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Discrimination in employment is legal

For example, you can discriminate to hire the more qualified or experienced candidate over less qualified ones.

What you can’t do is discriminate on the basis of a protected category:

The Alberta Human Rights Act (AHR Act) prohibits discrimination in employment based on the protected grounds of race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religious beliefs, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, physical disability, mental disability, marital status, family status, source of income, and sexual orientation.

If it’s not on the list (or a proxy for something on the list), you can discriminate on it.

Dale M
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