The Rights Movement of the 1960s

Beginnings of the Rights Movement  In the 1960s, many Canadians became increasingly aware of a gap between the society they lived in and the society they wanted Canada to be.  Canadians watched American’s struggle with racial discrimination and desegregation, fighting against laws that denied black Americans their basic civil rights  Women also sought freedom from traditional social roles

Lester B Pearson  During his time as Prime Minister he introduced:  Universal health care  Student loans  The Canada Pension Plan  The Order of Canada  The Current Canadian Flag  Convened the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism  Abolished the death penalty  Kept Canada out of the Vietnam War  Organized the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis

Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau  In the early 1960s Prime Minister Pearson believed that Canada’s future required that Quebec be more strongly involved at the federal level  He recruited three prominent Quebecois to run for office, including Pierre Trudeau  When Pearson resigned in 1968, Trudeau made a bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party, and won, becoming the Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau  Within months of winning the Liberal Leadership, Trudeau called an election and won a Liberal majority, the first in many years  Many found the 48-year old cocky and arrogant; but many others found him charismatic and charming  Trudeaumania was born when the media showed him dancing and dating movie stars and famous musicians, and pulling pranks  VIDEO

Like father like son?

The Ontario Human Rights Code  The first province to protect human rights was Ontario with the Human Rights Code in 1962  This act protects Ontarians from discrimination based on the grounds of ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age and marital status  Other provinces soon followed

Capital Punishment  In 1961, the government limited capital punishment to premeditated murder or the murder of a police officer or prison guard  After two men were hanged in 1962 for killing an FBI informant and a police officer, Pearson’s government blocked further executions in 1966  The death penalty was abolished by Trudeau in 1976

Gay Rights  The 1960s saw the first gay rights organizations and the beginning of opposition to laws that limit the rights of gays and lesbians  In 1967 Trudeau introduced legislation called the Omnibus Bill to update Canada’s Criminal Code. One change eliminated a law banning sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex

No-Fault Divorce  Trudeau also passed the 1968 Divorce Act as part of the Omnibus Bill  This act made it possible for a couple to divorce without proving that one or the other was at fault

Birth Control  Under the 1892 Criminal Code it was illegal to advertise, sell, buy, or promote and medication or device that prevented pregnancy  The federal government approved the sale of the pill in 1961, but doctors were not allowed to prescribe it for birth control, so instead prescribed it for vague therapeutic reasons  In the Omnibus Bill, Trudeau introduced changes that legalized access to birth control methods

Abortion  By the 1960s between 35,000 and 120,000 Canadian women were getting illegal and often dangerous abortions every year   In the Omnibus Bill, Trudeau legalized abortion if a committee at an accredited hospital declared that continuing the pregnancy would endanger the life or health of the woman  This meant that a group of often male doctors would make the decision for the woman

Henry Morgentaler  Henry Morgentaler, a Montreal doctor, openly criticized the law for not doing enough for women’s choice  He set up an abortion clinic in Montreal in 1969 and was jailed in 1973, but went on to set up several more clinics in other provinces and was jailed there as well  Finally in 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the abortion law  VIDEO