Negating Positive Rights: A Note on Mathur v Ontario

Abstract

This note argues that the way the Ontario Court of Appeal dealt with and sidestepped the issue of positive rights in its recent decision in Mathur v Ontario is problematic. The note 1) defends the negative-positive rights distinction as conceptually cogent and important; 2) demonstrates that in order to “side-step” that distinction the Mathur Court ended up rejecting the very possibility of positive rights; and 3) explains why this rejection matters.