Manitoba Liberals want to have weight discrimination in human rights code
WINNIPEG — Advocates say Manitoba should expand human rights protection to overweight people because they are being passed over for everything from job promotions to surgery.
About two dozen people rallied outside the legislature Wednesday in support of Liberal legislature member Jon Gerrard and his effort to amend the province’s human rights code to ban discrimination based on physical size or weight. Manitoba would be the first province to do so, he said.
“People are being made to feel ashamed or bullied,” Gerrard said. “There are also issues where people are not getting the help or the treatment that they should be getting.”
Lindsey Mazur, a dietitian, said some overweight people she works with are being denied surgeries and other care unless they lose weight first. In the workforce, some people are losing out on promotions because of their weight, she added.