In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Woman wins human rights fight over parking spot

(Globe and Mail ) Marise Mynard, a Quebec woman, won a fight with her condo association on Thursday. Mynard, who is am morbidly obese woman with extensive health problems, wanted a parking spot closer to her building. An older woman, who also had health problems, occupied the spot closer to the building. Mynard's attempts to negotiate with the woman and the condo association turned ugly, and the tribunal ruled the neighbours used "insulting and degrading language" against her. Pierre-Yves Bourdeau, a lawyer with the Quebec Human Rights Commission, who represented Mynard says that this ruling sets a precedent that people living in condo associations have to help other members with physical difficulties.

1.

Obesity up in Canada

Statistics Canada Report on Canadian Health
Stats Can released a report on Janurary 13, 2010, about the state of Canadians health. Participants were measured and weighed regularly, but their waist circumference, skin folds on the arms wait and back were also measured. statisticians also took blood pressure and samples of blood and urine to test of other medical conditions. The study found that obesity has increased significantly since 1981. 24 per cent of Canadian adults are now obese and 37 per cent are overweight. The study also found that Canadians are much less active than their counter-parts in 1981.

2.

Canadian Transportation Agency policy on obesity rights

One-Person-One-Fare Policy
The Canadian transportation Agency developed a one-person-one-fare policy for Canadian air travelers. They ruled that people with disabilities could not be charged for required additional seating on an airplane in Canada. The transportation agency also made a point of including obese people on this list, so that obese people or are diagnosed as such can have additional seating on Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and West Jet flights without having to pay two fares.

3.

Air Canada Fails to bring down tranportation policy

Federal Court of Appeal sides with One-Person-One-Fare policy
In 2008 the Supreme Court of Canada sided with the One-Person-One-Fare policy for Canadian Air Travelers. This type of policy had long been in place in other forms of transportation in Canada but Canadian airplane companies had argued that this was not an economically viable option for them. One of the interveners in the case was a Calgary Law Professor, Linda McKay-Panos, who became involved with the rights of obese travelers when she was charged for 1 ½ seats on an Air Canada flight in 1997.

4.

Addressing social stigma of obesity

Canadian Obesity Network
The Canadian Obesity Network was established to address obesity in Canada and find ways to treat and prevent obesity. The network called itself the "voice of obesity in Canada." One of their main goals is to address the social stigma of obesity in Canada. The group works with healthcare professionals to change the way they interact with obese individuals. The group is made up of 4,00 researchers, health-care professionals, and policy makers across Canada who are working toward a new national policy on obesity.

5.

Court's decision on Parking lot case

Quebec Human Rights Comission's decision in the Marise Mynard case
The Quebec Human Rights Commission found that Marise Mynard’s condo association had discriminated against her basis on her handicap. The tribunal found that the condo association had “violated the inclusive values promoted by our society.” The condo association must give Myard the parking spot she was looking or, closer to the building and must pay her $10, 000.