In mid-December of 2021, the Divisional Court ruled in Ontario Teachers Candidates’ Counsel and Sara Petrucci v. the Minister of Education that it was discriminatory for the Ministry of Education to require all teacher candidates to pass a standardized math test to become certified teachers in Ontario. The Court found that the math proficiency test violated section 15(1) of the Charter because it had a disproportionate impact on racialized individuals.
Upon appeal, the Baker McKenzie team intervened on behalf of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, arguing that courts must take a holistic look at whether government action is arbitrary, which includes the type of accommodations the legislation makes to minimize any adverse impact on racialized individuals. The appellants argued that the Court’s findings should be set aside for a variety of reason, including that the findings were based on incomplete and preliminary data and the absence of evidence to show that the relatively modest differences in success rates on these standardized tests will impact the diversity of the teaching profession in Ontario.
On November 28, 2023, the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the Divisional Court’s ruling, finding that the standardized test does not violate section 15 (1) of the Charter.
The Baker McKenzie team intervening on behalf of the Canadian Constitution Foundation was led by George Avraam, along with Jennifer Bernardo and Rono Khan.
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