Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7f64f4797f-bnl7t Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-11-09T13:49:50.892Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 4 - Twenty Questions about Employment Testing Bias and Unfairness in Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2025

Winfred Arthur, Jr.
Affiliation:
Texas A & M University
Dennis Doverspike
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Benjamin D. Schulte
Affiliation:
Texas A & M University
Get access

Summary

This chapter explores the historical, legal, and regulatory landscape of employment testing bias and fairness in Canada. Canada’s history of colonization and immigration has resulted in a multicultural society. In 1984, the landmark Abella Report, and the subsequent Employment Equity Act, established key protections for historically disadvantaged groups, shaping modern employment practices. The chapter discusses the jurisdictional complexities of employment law, detailing federal and provincial regulations that prohibit discrimination based on race, sex/gender, disability, and other characteristics. Legal frameworks (e.g., the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Employment Equity Act) define bias and fairness in employment testing. Key court case decisions illustrate legal principles guiding test validity and adverse impact. We also examine professional guidelines, burden of proof requirements, regulatory oversight, and emerging challenges such as AI-driven assessments and balancing validity with diversity. The legal landscape continues to evolve, with growing emphasis on fairness, transparency, and inclusion.

Information

Type
Chapter

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abella, R. S. (1984). Report of the commission on equality in employment. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. https://publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.699768&sl=0Google Scholar
Accessible Canada Act (2019) (S.C., c. 10). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from Government of Canada website: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/a-0.6/Google Scholar
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005) (S.O., c. 11). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from Government of Ontario website: www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/05a11Google Scholar
Action Travail des Femmes v. Canadian National Railway Co. et al. (1987) 76 N.R. 161 (SCC), https://ca.vlex.com/vid/femmes-v-cnr-680926389Google Scholar
Agócs, C. (2014). Employment equity in Canada: The legacy of the abella report. University of Toronto Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education (AERA, APA, & NCME) (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. American Educational Research Association.Google Scholar
Bill 40 Human Rights Code Amendment Act (Genetic Characteristics) (2018). Retrieved December 23, 2022, from www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-1/bill-40Google Scholar
Bill C-27, An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts (2022). 1st Session, 44th Parliament. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-27Google Scholar
Bill S-201 An Act to Prohibit and Prevent Genetic Discrimination (2017). Royal Assent May 4, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2022, from www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/s-201/royal-assentGoogle Scholar
Bitonti et al v. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (1999). BCHRT 63. Retrieved June, 23, 2025, from www.canlii.org/en/bc/bchrt/doc/1999/1999bchrt63/1999bchrt63.html?resultIndex=3Google Scholar
Blake v. The Ministry of Correctional Services and Mimico Correctional Institute. (1984). 5 C.H.H.R. D/2417.Google Scholar
Bonaccio, S., Bourdage, J., Chiocchio, F., Latham, G., & Shen, W. (2015). Happy 40th anniversary to the Canadian society for industrial and organizational psychology! In L. Zugec: International practice forum. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 53(2), 8490.Google Scholar
British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU. (1999). 3 S.C.R. 3.Google Scholar
British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles) v. British Columbia (Council of Human Rights). (1999). 3 S.C.R. 868.Google Scholar
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part 1 of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (1982, c 11). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-12.html.Google Scholar
Canadian Human Rights Act (1985) (R.S.C., c. H-6). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from Government of Canada website: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/Google Scholar
Canadian Human Rights Commission. (2009). Policy on alcohol and drug testing. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2009/ccdp-chrc/HR4-6-2009E.pdfGoogle Scholar
Canada (Attorney General) v. Walden (2010) (368 F.T.R. 85, FC)). Retrieved January 27, 2023 from https://ca.vlex.com/vid/can-g-v-walden-681739593Google Scholar
Canadian Psychological Association (1987). Guidelines for educational and psychological testing. Canadian Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Catano, V. M., Wiesner, W. H., Hackett, R. D., & Roulin, N. (2021). Recruitment and selection in Canada (8th ed.). TopHat.Google Scholar
Cascio, W. F., Outtz, J., Zedeck, S., & Goldstein, I. L. (1991). Statistical implications of six methods of test score use in personnel selection. Human Performance, 4(4), 233264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornish, M., McIntyre, E., & Pask, A. (2000). Strategies for challenging discriminatory barriers to foreign credential recognition. Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal, 8, 1754.Google Scholar
Cronshaw, S. F. (1986). The status of employment testing in Canada: A review and evaluation of theory and professional practice. Canadian Psychology, 27(2), 183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, D., Dorsey, J. K., Franks, R. D., Sackett, P. R., Searcy, C. A., & Zhao, X. (2013). Do racial and ethnic group differences in performance on the MCAT exam reflect test bias? Academic Medicine, 88(5), 593602.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Employment Equity Act (1995, c 44). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-5.401/index.html.Google Scholar
England, G., Barnacle, P., & Christie, I. M. (2005). Employment law in Canada (4th ed.). Lexis Nexis Canada.Google Scholar
Feitosa, J., & Sim, J. (2020). IO psychology around the world: A snapshot of historical roots. In Bryan, L. Koppes (Ed.), Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 6382). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaz Métropolitain Inc. v Commission des Droits de la Personne et des Droits de la Jeunesse. (2011). QCCA 1201 (CanLII). https://canlii.ca/t/fm2txGoogle Scholar
Henle, C. A. (2004). Case review of the legal status of banding. Human Performance, 17(4), 415432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Institute of Credentialling Excellence. (2021). National Commission for Certifying Agencies’ Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from www.credentialingexcellence.org/Accreditation/Earn-Accreditation/NCCA/Standards-RevisionGoogle Scholar
Joy, T. R. (2022). Strategies for enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in medical school admissions – A Canadian medical school’s journey. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. Retrieved July 1, 2025, from www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.879173/fullCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kelloway, E. K., Catano, V. M., & Day, A. L. (2011). People and work in Canada: Industrial and organizational psychology. Nelson.Google Scholar
Kerr, J. R. (1990). The impact of Canadian employment selection issues on validation research. Canadian Psychology, 31(4), 334344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McMillan, S. K., Stevens, S., & Kelloway, E. K. (2009). History and development of industrial/organisational psychology in the Canadian forces personnel selection branch: 1938–2009. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 50(4), 283291. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015973CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myors, B., Lievens, F., Schollaert, E., Van Hoye, G., Cronshaw, S. F., Mladinic, A., Rodríguez, V., Aguinis, H., Steiner, D. D., Rolland, F., Schuler, H., Frintrup, A., Nikolaou, I., Tomprou, M., Subramony, S., Raj, S. B., Tzafrir, S., Bamberger, P., Bertolino, M.Sackett, P. R. (2008). International perspectives on the legal environment for selection. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1(2), 206246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborne-Brown, S. (2014). The “right to sue” as access to justice: Discrimination in employment before the Courts in Canada and California. Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal, 18(1), 291330.Google Scholar
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (2000) (S.C., c. 5). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from Government of Canada website: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/p-8.6/Google Scholar
Public Service Commission of Canada (2007). Testing in the public service in Canada: standards for the development and use of tests for appointment purposes. Assessment Oversight Policy Dictorate.Google Scholar
Public Service Employment Act (2003) (S.C., c. 22, ss. 12, 13). Retrieved January 27, 2023, from Government of Canada website: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/p-33.01/Google Scholar
Rupp, D. E., Song, Q. C., & Strah, N. (2020). Addressing the so-called validity–diversity trade- off: Exploring the practicalities and legal defensibility of Pareto-optimization for reducing adverse impact within personnel selection. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 13, 246271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saskatchewan Government and General Employee’s Union, et al. v. Government of Saskatchewan (Attorney General, Department of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour), et al. (2019). SCC Case Information: 35512. https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-l-csc-a/en/item/13393/index.doGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, B., & Valel, J. (2011). Human rights legislation and the recognition of foreign credentials. Asper Review of International Business and Trade Law, 11, 1732.Google Scholar
Shen, W., Sackett, P. R., Lievens, F., Schollaert, E., Van Hoye, G., Steiner, D. D., Rolland-Sayah, F., Georgiou, K., Nikolaou, I., Tomprou, M., Tzafrir, T., Bamberger, P., Bertolino, M., Mariani, M., Fracca-Roli, F., Sekiguchi, T., Onyura, B., Yang, H., Oostrom, J. K.Cook, M. (2017). Updated perspectives on the international legal environment for selection. In Farr, J. L. and Tippins, N. T. (Ed.), Handbook of employee selection (pp. 659677). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315690193CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, B. (2010). Fair and equal in the world of work: Two significant federal developments in discrimination Law. Sydney Law School Legal Studies Research Paper, 10(4), 199219.Google Scholar
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). (2018). Principles for the validation and use of personnel selection procedures. American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada. (2018). 150 years of immigration in Canada. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-630-x/11-630-x2016006-eng.htmGoogle Scholar
Statistics Canada. (2022a). (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=EGoogle Scholar
Statistics Canada. (2022b). The Canadian census: A rich portrait of the country’s religious and ethnocultural diversity. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026b-eng.htmGoogle Scholar
Statistics Canada. (2022c). Immigrants make up the largest share of the population in over 150 years and continue to shape who we are as Canadians. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026a-eng.htmGoogle Scholar
Toronto District School Board and C.U.P.E., Loc. 4400 (Shaw) (Re). (2003). CanLII 89646 (ON LA), https://canlii.ca/t/jmxgdGoogle Scholar
Vining, A. R., McPhillips, D. C., & Boardman, A. E. (1986). Use of statistical evidence in employment discrimination litigation. The Canadian Bar Review, 64, 660702.Google Scholar
Walsh v. Mobil Oil Canada (2012, ABQB 527 (CanLII)). Retrieved from: https://ca.vlex.com/vid/walsh-v-mobil-oil-679770625Google Scholar
Wikipedia. (2022). History of immigration to Canada. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_immigration_to_CanadaGoogle Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×