WINNIPEG - A Manitoba politician wants obese people protected from discrimination under the province's human rights code.
Jon Gerrard, one of only three Liberal legislature members, has introduced a private member's bill to forbid discrimination based on people's "physical size and weight."
The code already forbids discrimination on other grounds such as sex, religion and disability.
Gerrard says no other jurisdiction in Canada prevents discrimination against obese persons, and Manitoba should lead the way.
He says his bill was prompted, in part, by a man who alleges he was refused proper medical treatment because of his size.
Bills from opposition members rarely become law, but the Progressive Conservative government says it will take a look at Gerrard's idea.
