Ontario Law Commission highlights ageism in justice system

This Toronto Star editorial discusses the Law Commission of Ontario's report, A Framework for the Law as it Affects Older Adults, designed to highlight and remedy the ways provincial laws, regulations, and policies discriminate on the basis of age:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper dislikes meddlesome courts, activist judges and rulings that challenge his authority. He has done everything in his power to limit their influence.

He killed the Law Commission of Canada, an independent agency set up by the government in 1997 to ensure the law reflected current values and standards. He eliminated the Court Challenges program, set up in 1978 to help individuals facing discrimination test their constitutional rights and set legal precedents. And he is now stripping judges of their authority, forcing them to impose mandatory minimum sentences for crimes involving drugs and firearms.

Ontario, fortunately, is moving in the opposite direction.

Five years ago, under the leadership of former attorney general Michael Bryant, the province set up the Law Commission of Ontario "to put forward progressive ideas, ask tough questions and engage in creative, innovative, critical thinking."