Vriend v Alberta [1998] 1 S.C.R. 493 is an important Supreme Court of Canada case that determined that a legislative omission can be the subject of a Charter violation. The case involved a dismissal of a teacher because of his sexual orientation and was an issue of great controversy during that period. History Delwin Vriend was dismissed from his position as a lab coordinator at The King's College, a private religious college in Edmonton, Alberta, because of his sexual orientation. He attempted to file a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission claiming that his employer had discriminated against him on the grounds of his sexual orientation. However, he was prevented from making a complaint under the Alberta Individual Rights Protection Act because the legislation did not explicitly include sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Vriend sought a declaration from the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench that the omission breached section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court of Queen's Bench (Justice Anne Russell) found, in favour of Vriend, that the exclusion of sexual orientation as a protected ground of discrimination from ss. ss. 2(1), 3, 4, 7(1) and 8(1) of the Individual's Rights Protection Act (IRPA) violates s. 15(1) of the Charter and could not be saved under section 1. The trial judge ordered that the phrase "sexual orientation" be read into those sections and permitted the appellants to appeal and the respondents to cross-appeal to the Supreme Court. Ruling There were two issues put before the Supreme Court: Do (a) decisions not to include sexual orientation or (b) the non‑inclusion of sexual orientation, as a prohibited ground of discrimination in the preamble and ss. 2(1), 3, 4, 7(1), 8(1), 10 and 16(1) of the Individual's Rights Protection Act, R.S.A. 1980, c. I‑2, as am., now called the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act, R.S.A. 1980, c. H‑11.7, infringe or deny the rights guaranteed by s. 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? If the answer to Question 1 is "yes", is the infringement or denial demonstrably justified as a reasonable limit pursuant to s. 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? The court decided yes to the first question and no to the second. They found that there is no legal basis for drawing a distinction of the Charter scrutinizing a positive act and an omission. Section 15