Time for municipal elder rights law: An Anglo-Canadian perspective

Israel Doron, Haifa University

Abstract

In an age of globalization and privatization, local governments and municipalities are searching to definine their social role and place. In an ageing society such as Canada, arguing that promoting the legal rights of older persons should be part of the legal authority of the municipal government, is not simple. It is simpler to abide by the position that without an efficient centralized machinery, social and environmental problems will remain unsolved or unaddressed.

This article presents a different understanding of the place of municipal government in Canada. The goal of this article is to present an original legal-policy argument: It is time for local communities and local governments in Canada to use their legal authorities in order to enact local by-laws that define and establish the rights of their older citizens. The argument maintains that local municipalities hold the legal power and the social potential of making a significant contribution in the legal sphere to the promotion of the rights of older people, and that this power has been so far neglected.

The article supports the argument on three pillars: (1) an empirical analysis of existing by-laws in different municipalities across Canada; (2) a socio-legal analysis of the advantages of municipal law as a tool for social change; (3) a case analysis of a recent municipal legal reform in the province of British Columbia.