University professor wants to teach

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67-year-old wins retirement fight

After being "sent out to pasture" at age 65, a Metis university professor won a provincial arbitration decision, Oct. 23, supporting her fight against mandatory retirement.

Olive Dickason, now 67, believes the ruling will "establish a precedent nationally" and pave the way for others to work past the mandatory age for retirement.

Dickason, a "born fighter", was raised on a Manitoba trapline near Lake Winnipeg and hopes to be taching history at the University of Alberta again before the end of November. She also wants to increase her pension.

A local board member of the Legal Education and Action Fund for women, Marie Gordon says the ruling may help other women increase their pensions, which are difficult to build up because child-rearing years interrupt their careers.

Gordon adds statistics show that 75 per cent of Canadian women that live alone and are 75-years-old or more, live in poverty and only a third of women collect employee-sponsored pensions.

Alberta Human Rights Commission chairman Stan Scudder says the "landmark" decision is the "first test of its kind in Canada (where an arbitrator dealt with a complaint of mandatory retirement at 65)."

Scudder hints that other employers may have to abide by the ruling.

But, arbitrator Ken Alyluia says the ruling will only affect the province's universities ? not other fields of employment.

Alyluia, who was appointed by the Labor Department, says the U of A wrongfully discriminated against Dickason by telling her to retire, adding that the university's retirement policy goes against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

However, university president Myer Horowitz says the decision may be appealed before the 30-day deadline the ruling gives the U of A to act within.

If the ruling is appealed, Dickason says she will continue to fight for the career she started in 1967. The Metis Association of Alberta member, who is also an active member on various other groups such as the Women of the Metis Nation, adds she will go the Supreme Court of Canada if necessary.