1. The Evolution of Human Rights Law
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2. What are Human Rights?
Every person is entitled to certain rights – simply by the fact that they are a human being.
They are ‘rights’ because they are things you are allowed to be, to do, or to have.
They are also there to help us get along with each other and live in peace.

3. How did we get here?
Canadians often take for granted the rights we possess, especially since their entrenchment in the Charter
However, our current rights are the result of the hard work of many people over time
The concept of Human Rights is essentially a post-WWII construct, but has its roots in earlier ideas

4. Natural Rights Enlightenment-era concept Extension of Natural Law
Universal rights, not contingent upon the laws, customs, or beliefs of any particular culture or government
Prominent thinkers: Locke, Rousseau

5. Natural Rights
Concepts featured prominently in American and French revolutions
American Declaration of Independence and French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen are essentially Human Rights documents
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”
United States Declaration of Independence, 1776

6. Natural Rights
Also infused early feminist movements (Mary Wollstonecraft) and later suffrage movements
Integral to the abolition of slavery

7. International Human Rights
The global Human Rights movement was a reaction to the horrors and injustices perpetrated during WWII
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was developed in 1948 as an international agreement binding its signatories to respect certain rights

8. Rights in Common Law
Originally, the rights held by Canadians were simply those that had been granted to people through the common law process.
We had rights as long as there was not law that forbade something
Rule of law very important
Government infringement on our rights had to follow two principles, as seen in Roncarelli v. Duplessis [1959] S.C.R. 121
Validity: government action must be justified by law
Redress: those whose rights have been violated can sue

9. The Canadian Bill of Rights
The Canadian Bill of Rights was passed by the Diefenbaker government in This bill was in response to many events:
Canada's treatment of minorities during WWII
Jews
Natives
Japanese
Canadians of African descent
Canada signing on to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
General changes to the way many Canadians viewed the world and how people should be treated.

10. The Canadian Bill of Rights
However, the Bill of Rights had some serious flaws:
As it was a piece of legislation, it could be amended or revoked at the whim of any government
It did not apply to provincial or territorial governments
It was narrowly interpreted by the courts in terms of what a particular right meant
Attorney General of Canada v. Lavell, [1974]
Indian Act was being challenged on basis it treated men and women differently
Court interpreted "equality" to mean that all Indian women were to be treated as all other Indian women -- not that they were to be treated the same as Indian men.

11. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Charter was created as part of the process of patriating the Constitution.
Had long been a goal of Trudeau
General public began to support idea in greater numbers
By entrenching these rights, many flaws of the Bill of Rights were solved
As a part of the constitution, the Charter takes precedence over all other legislation
Inconsistent legislation will be declared invalid by the court system
The Charter may not be modified at the whim of the government - it must go through the constitutional amendment process

12. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
However, the Charter is not without controversy:
There are many Canadians who feel that the Charter grants the court system, especially the Supreme Court, too much power
There are many who feel that the Charter rights are applied too broadly