Federal judges have upheld a nearly three-decade-old $20,000 limit on compensation for pain and suffering in Canadian human rights cases, ruling that increasing or eliminating the cap is a decision for Parliament.The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed a challenge to the compensation limit under the Canadian Human Rights Act despite acknowledging years of criticism from judges, tribunals and legal scholars.“While I have concluded these appeals must be dismissed, I am not unsympathetic to the appellants’ arguments,” Justice Anne Mactavish wrote on behalf of the court.“There has been much judicial, tribunal and academic criticism of the caps over the years.”Parliament established the $20,000 maximum in 1998. Adjusted for inflation, the amount would now be approximately $37,177.“Having come into effect nearly 30 years ago, the cap has clearly not kept up with inflation and $20,000 today is worth significantly less than it was when Parliament enacted the cap in 1998,” wrote Mactavish.Blacklock's Reporter said the court nevertheless ruled that setting compensation levels was a matter of public policy rather than a constitutional question for judges to resolve.“Nevertheless, at the end of the day the existence or amount of any statutory limit on the damages for pain and suffering and that special compensation that are available to successful human rights claimants under the Act is a policy decision for Parliament and not a constitutional matter for the Courts,” wrote Mactavish.The Public Service Alliance of Canada challenged the limit under Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees individuals equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination.Union lawyers argued the cap resulted in “under-compensation of victims of discriminatory practices, thereby contributing to their disadvantage.”Parkdale Community Legal Services of Toronto was a co-plaintiff in the case..A Federal Court judge who dismissed a separate Parkdale application in 2025 noted there had been repeated calls from prominent legal figures to abolish the $20,000 maximum.Among those critics was Governor General Louise Arbour, a former Supreme Court of Canada justice.Arbour recommended eliminating the cap in 2022 as part of her Report Of The Independent External Comprehensive Review Of The Department Of National Defence.“Removing the cap on damages would go a long way to increase access to justice,” Arbour wrote.Calls to eliminate the compensation ceiling stretch back more than two decades.“There have been calls to eliminate the cap,” the Federal Court wrote in the Parkdale case.The court cited a recommendation made in 2000 by former Supreme Court justice Gérard La Forest, who chaired a review panel examining the Canadian Human Rights Act.La Forest recommended “the removal of the limits on the amount of compensation the Tribunal can award” for injury to “dignity, feelings and self respect.”Despite those recommendations and the declining purchasing power of the $20,000 maximum, the Federal Court of Appeal concluded any change must come from Parliament.
