discrimination; see Miron v. Trudel, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 418, at para. 15 (per Gonthier J.) and at paras. 148-149 (per McLachlin J.), and Egan v. Canada, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 513, at paras. 59-61 (per L'Heureux-Dubé J.). 55 As deaf persons, the appellants belong to an enumerated group under s. 15(1) -- the physically disabled. While this fact is not contested, it is nonetheless relevant. As Wilson J. held in Turpin, the determination of whether a law is discriminatory is a contextual exercise. It is important, she explained, at p. 1331, "to look not only at the impugned legislation . . . but also to the larger social, political and legal context". 56 It is an unfortunate truth that the history of disabled persons in Canada is largely one of exclusion and marginalization. Persons with disabilities have too often been excluded from the labour force, denied access to opportunities for social interaction and advancement, subjected to invidious stereotyping and relegated to institutions; see generally M. David Lepofsky, "A Report Card on the Charter's Guarantee of Equality to Persons with Disabilities after 10 Years -- What Progress? What Prospects?" (1997), 7 N.J.C.L. 263. This historical disadvantage has to a great extent been shaped and perpetuated by the notion that disability is an abnormality or flaw. As a result, disabled persons have not generally been afforded the "equal concern, respect and consideration" that s. 15(1) of the Charter demands. Instead, they have been subjected to paternalistic attitudes of pity and charity, and their entrance into the social mainstream has been conditional upon their emulation of able-bodied norms; see Sandra A. Goundry and Yvonne Peters, Litigating for Disability Equality Rights: The Promises and the Pitfalls (1994), at pp. 5-6. One consequence of these attitudes is the persistent social and economic disadvantage faced by the disabled. Statistics indicate that persons with disabilities, in comparison to non-disabled persons, have less education, are more likely to be outside the labour force, face much higher unemployment rates, and are concentrated at the lower end of the pay scale when employed; see Minister of Human Resources Development, Persons with Disabilities: A Supplementary Paper (1994), at pp. 3-4, and Statistics Canada, A Portrait of Persons with Disabilities (1995), at pp. 4649. 57 Deaf persons have not escaped this general predicament. Although many of them resist the notion that deafness is an impairment and identify themselves as members of a distinct community with its own language and culture, this does not justify their compelled exclusion from the opportunities and services designed for and otherwise available to the hearing population. For many hearing persons, the dominant perception of deafness is one of silence. This perception has perpetuated ignorance of the needs of deaf persons and has resulted in a society that is for the most part organized as though everyone can hear; see generally Oliver Sacks, Seeing Voices: A Journey Into the World of the Deaf (1989). Not surprisingly, therefore, the disadvantage experienced by deaf persons derives largely from barriers to communication with the hearing population. 58 With this context in mind, I turn to the specific elements of the appellants' s. 15(1) claim. While this Court has not adopted a uniform approach to s. 15(1), there is broad agreement on the general analytic framework; see Eaton v. Brant County Board of Education, [1997] 1 S.C.R. 241, at para. 62, Miron, supra, and Egan, supra. A person claiming a violation of s. 15(1) must first