Unit 3 Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Right

Things we deserve as human beings. A right belongs to everyone.

Freedom

Means that no one will interfere with what you do.

The Charter

• Part of Canada’s Constitution (highest law in country)

• Became part of Canada’s Constitution in 1982.

• Protection of individuals rights and freedoms ACROSS Canada (for every citizen-no matter what city, province you live in).

• The government makes law. Canadians can challenge laws that restrict their rights. The judicial branch makes decisions about these challenges. They can strike down laws that restrict rights in an unjustified way.

• **The Charter says that Canada’s government is justified in restricting rights if the restrictions are necessary to maintain Canada as a free and Democratic society.

The Charter (continued)

• The Constitution is a document that sets the framework for how Canada is to be governed.

• The Constitution is the highest law in Canada.

• The Charter created Constitutional protection for individual rights and freedoms.

• With the Charter, Canadians can challenge in court, laws that restrict their rights.

• The Judicial branch of Government (Supreme Court) will strike down laws that restrict rights in an unjustified way.

• The Charter says that Canada’s government is justified in restricting rights if the restrictions are necessary to maintain Canada as a free and Democratic society.

Citizenship

The position or status of being a citizen of a particular country.

Identity

The distinguishing character or personality of and individual.

Quality of Life

A measure of personal and collective well being.

Individual Identity

Your personal interests and experiences, with the many roles you have.

• Necessary in a free and democratic society

• Rights and freedoms limit what a government can do.

• Exp: because of democratic rights, government cannot ban elections and become a dictator ship.

Fundamental Freedoms (Individual Rights Under the Charter)

• Freedom to express you opinion

• Freedom to choose your own religion

• Freedom to organize peaceful meetings and demonstrations

• Freedom to associate with any person or group.

Democratic Rights (Individual Rights Under the Charter)

• Right to vote for members of the house of commons and of provincial legislatures.

• Right to vote for a new government at least every 5 years.

Mobility Rights (Individual Rights Under the Charter)

• The right to move anywhere in Canada and earn a living there.

• The right to enter, stay in, or leave Canada.

Legal Rights (Individual Rights Under the Charter)

• The right to be free of imprisonment, search and seizure without reasons backed by law and evidence.

• The right to a quick and fair public trial by an impartial court that assumes you are proven innocent until proven guilty.

Equality Rights (Individual Rights Under the Charter)

• The right to be free of discrimination because of race, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, or mental or physical disability.

First Nations and the Indian Act

• The Indian Act was passed by government in 1876, where the First Nations would have to register with the government to receive their First Nations status.

• It also let the government control the reserves where First Nations people lived.

• Was put in place, due to the Canadian government believing the First Nations peoples needing guidance (ethnocentrism) and aimed to assimilate the First Nations.

Indian Act (1876)

• Required First Nations to obtain government permission to wear traditional clothing.

• Banned traditional ceremonies, such as the Sundance of the Siksika

• Prevented First Nations from taking political action (First Nations people received the vote in the 1960’s)

Canadian Women and the right to vote

• The Canada Elections Act (1867) barred women from voting and running as candidates in a federal election.

• In 1867, Emily Howard Stowe, Canada’s first female doctor, founded a club to promote women’s suffrage-women’s right to vote (also called the Toronto Women’s Literary Club, as it was a very radical idea at the time)

• The fight for women’s suffrage became more widely known around the world

• England’s '“suffragettes” held large, angry rallies for their cause, and were often imprisoned for their views

• Canadian women gained the right to vote in 1918

War Measures Act

• A law in Canada that allows for emergency measures to be taken during times of war, invasion, or insurrection.

• Allowed for thing like censorship;arrest, detention, and deportation; controlling all forms of transportation, trade, and manufacturing; and taking over property and disposing of it without permission.

• Has been used three times in Canadian history

• Changed to the Emergencies Act in 1988

Prejudice

• Prjudice=Pre-judgement

• Preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience

• Bias

Internment

The state of being confined as a prisoner, especially political or military reasons.

What did the Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act call for?

• The Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act was passed in 2005. The act acknowledged the internment of Ukrainian Canadian people, and called for a “better public understanding of the important role of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the respect and promotion of the values it reflects and the rights and freedoms it guarantees”.

• An acknowledgement and apology for the internment camps in Canadian history.

Internment of Canadians

• WWI; Internment of Ukrainian Canadians

• WWII; Internment of Italian Canadians and Japanese Canadians

• During both of the World Wars, Canada has to put the War Measures Act into effect. As a result, the government took property and possessions, and arrested people of Ukrainian/Italian/Japanese heritage. These people were sent to be labourers in internment camps.

• Kananaskis held the internment camp for Italian Canadians

• Banff National Park was built by the labour of Japanese Canadians

• Japanese Canadians were moved away from the coast to more inland British Columbia-they had to ask permission from the RCMP to leave the internment camp

• Most of the arrests made were men, but their families often followed them to these internment camps.

Workplace Rules

Set by the company

• What you can and cannot wear

• Time work starts and responsibilities

Set by the province

• Where you can work

• How long

• What constitutes overtime etc

Even broader rules set by Canadian government as a whole

• Issues of discrimination, equality in the workplace

Discrimination in the workplace

• Requiring different clothing for men and women

• Paying one gender a higher rate than the other

• Age

• Hiring based on ethnic origin, gender orientation

• Pregnancy issues