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Period: to
Evolution of Human Rights in Canada
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Constitution Act
Also known as the British Act, this document defined much of the authority of Canadian government. It was the first document which established rights for Canadians. -
Ontario Racial Discrimination Act
Ontario Racial Discrimination Act is the first HR status in contemporary era since it’s the first time that there’s a declaration that “racial and religious discrimination was against public policy”.
Nancy Holmes. “Human Rights and the Courts in Canada” -
UN and the Universal Declaration of Human rights
The atrocities witnessed during WWII was the catalyst to the creation of the UN and the Universal Declaration of Human rights. This document established the following items as human rights: rights to life; liberty and security of the person; the right to privacy; the right to own property; freedoms of expression, religion, movement & conscience; peaceful assembly. It is a non-binding document to UN member states. -
Bill of Rights
The Prime Minister at the time, John Diefenbaker, though it necessary for Canada to have a document which provided all Canadians equal rights. From this ideal, the Canadian Bill of Rights was established. It is a straight forward document devided in two sections. The first outlines the rights of each and the second links oral and written traditions. -
International Bill of Human Rights
The United Nations General Assembly supplemented the Human Rights declaration with three additional documents. They are:- International Covenant on Economics, Social and Cultural Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights- Optional Covenant on Civil and political rights- Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
These documents collectively created the International Bill of Human Rights.• This leads to public awareness of HR in Canada -
Canadian Human Rights Act
This law was enacted by federal government of Canada and has strictly federal jurisdiction. "In addition to prohibiting discrimination at the federal level, the Act also established a human rights commission system, which included the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT)." -
Charter of the French Language
This charter, also known as Bill 101, was established the Quebec Charter of Rights to ensure the protection of French speaking Canadians. -
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom
This significance of this document created an independant Canada, meaning the end of British parliamentary legislative authority over Canada. Specifically, section 52 of Constitution act states that “The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of Canada”
Nancy Holmes. “Human Rights and the Courts in Canada” -
Meech Lake Accord
A criticism of the Canadian Charter of Rights was that it failed to include a mention of the different societies of Candada. The new Prime Minister, Brian Mulruney, attempted to fix the wrong with this accrod, which includes a guarantee of Quebec's special status as a "distinct society" and a commitment to Canada's linguistic duality. -
Charlottown Accord
Per Ignatieff in Chapter 3 of The Rights Revolution, the Charlottetown Accord was an attempt to establish a "constituonal deal that sough to protect the group rights of both aboriginal people and Quebecers. It failed to win nationwide referendum." (p.77)
