WHEREAS seniors over 65 years remain vulnerable to mistreatment, denial of services and discrimination due to being elderly; AND WHEREAS the British Columbia Human Rights Code defines age as an age of 19 years or more and less than 65 years; AND WHEREAS due to this discrimination there is no statutory protection or recourse against age discrimination for those over 65 years; AND WHEREAS a recommendation was made to extend protection against age discrimination for seniors over the age of 65 years in a report produced in January, 1998 by the British Columbia Human Rights Commission called Human Rights for the Next Millennium; AND WHEREAS changing the definition of age to extend to those over 65 years should not affect programs or benefits that have been accorded as a special support to seniors in society; AND WHEREAS changes in the definition of age to extend to those over 65 years should not affect any proposed statutory changes related to mandatory retirement: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities urge the Attorney General of the Province of British Columbia to change the definition of age as presented in the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2002, c.62 Bill 64 from an age of 19 years or more and less than 65 years to an age of 19 years or more so that seniors over the age of 65 years, or those who intervene on their behalf, have recourse to protect against age discrimination and mistreatment due to being elderly, provided such amendment does not affect the statutory provisions on mandatory retirement.
MINISTRY OF ATTORNEY GENERAL For the purpose of the Human Rights Code, age is defined as an age of 19 years or more and less than 65 years. Changing the definition to 19 years or more inevitably raises issues related to mandatory retirement policies as well as pension or benefit programs that are specific to certain age groups. Prior to making changes to the definition of age, government would need to identify the costs to employers, employees, and to government in order to ensure that there are no negative consequences related to the change. The Human Rights Code continues to provide protection against discrimination to persons under 19 and over 65 where the discrimination relates to grounds other than age for example, race, religion or sex.