Does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms not apply to government hiring practices?

Question

While I was reading Yahoo! News today, I came across this article which discussed British Columbia's New Democratic Party's affirmative-action rules:

According to the BC NDP's affirmative-action rules, [being "a straight, old, able-bodied, white guy"] makes him ineligible to run in the next election in his own riding. The NDP's equity rule, mandates the next NDP candidate in Maple Ridge must be a woman, or a member of an under-represented group: "Persons of colour, gay/lesbian/bi/transgender people, youth, aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities."

I was surprised that something like this could exist in this day and age, as one might think that selecting people for jobs based on colour, sex, religion, or creed would have gone to the rubbish bin of history along with segregated bathrooms and Robert Borden's campaign slogans. However, when discussing this with folks that are more politically inclined today, I've heard multiple times that this is not only allowed (and behind some closed doors, encouraged), but that there is an exception in the Charter that allows for such kind of hiring practices by the government and the parties that wish to run.

So, after surfing for confirmation of such ... bizarre information, and finding that, to quote Bones "I'm a programmer, not a lawyer," I turn to here to clarify if I'm getting faulty information or if Canada has only added a "No" in front of Robert Borden's infamous campaign slogan.

Does the NDP's hiring practice violate Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Answer 1

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does apply to government hiring practices (as it applies to everyone). What you discovered is not a violation of the Charter as long as this activity of hiring has as its objective "amelioration" [as outlined in the Charter].

  Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
  http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/charter/FullText.html
  (Note: Any web site within the .gc.ca internet domain is operated by the Government of Canada.)

See section 15, subsection 2, which applies directly; for your convenience, I bolded the most relevant text from that section (which was copied directly from the above source):

Equality Rights

Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law

  15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

Affirmative action programs

  (2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability.(84)

(Similar text can also be found in section 6, subsection 4, with regard to Mobility Rights.)