Gould v. Yukon Order of Pioneers

The complainant applied for membership of the Yukon Order of Pioneers and was rejected on the ground that she was female. According to its constitution, the Order is dedicated to, among other things, the advancement of the Yukon territory, the mutual protection of its members and the collection and the preservation of literature and incidents of Yukon’s history. The historical materials and details of members are made available to the public, which is the only public-service related activity of the organization. The Board of Adjudication, constituted by the Yukon Human Rights Commission, concluded that the Order was offering or providing services to the public and concluded that the discrimination was prohibited under section 8 of the Yukon Human Rights Act. The Yukon Supreme Court set aside that decision and concluded that the complainant’s exclusion did not amount to discrimination and the Yukon Court of Appeal agreed. The Supreme Court, with two dissenters, also found in favour of the Order of Pioneers, stating that section 8 prohibits discrimination in membership of certain types of organizations that provide public services and that the Order did not provide public services.