1. UNIT #4 What is the Charter of Rights?
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UNIT #4 What is the Charter of Rights?
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of Canada’s constitution. The constitution sets out the framework for how Canada is to be governed.
The constitution is the highest law in Canada
Before the Charter, Canada’s provincial and federal government had a variety of laws about individual rights. (still do)
The Charter created constitutional protections for individual rights and freedoms which apply to laws and government across Canada.
Canadians can challenge laws in court that restrict their rights.

2. UNIT #4 What is the Charter of Rights?
“In a free and democratic society, it is important that citizens know exactly what their rights and freedoms are, and where to turn for help and advice in the event that those freedoms are denied or rights infringed upon. In a country like Canada – vast and diverse, with eleven governments, two official languages and a variety of ethnic origins – the only way to provide equal protection to everyone is to enshrine those basic rights and freedoms in the constitution. We have a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that recognizes certain rights for all of us, wherever we may live in Canada.”
Jean Chretien – 1982, Minister of Justice

3. UNIT #4 Individual Rights under the Charter!!
Fundamental Freedoms
The freedom to express your opinion
The freedom to choose your own religion
The freedom to organize peaceful meetings and demonstrations
The freedom to associate with any person or group.
Democratic Rights
The right to vote for members of the House of commons and of provincial legislatures.
The right to vote for a new government at least every five years.

4. UNIT #4 Individual Rights under the Charter!!
Mobility Rights
The right to move anywhere within Canada and to earn a living there.
The right to enter, stay in, or leave Canada.
Legal Rights
The right to be free of imprisonment, search and seizure without reasons backed by the law.
The right to a fair and quick public trial by an impartial court that assumes that you are innocent until proven guilty.
Equality Rights
The right to be free of discrimination because of race, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, or mental or physical disability.

5. UNIT #4 Individual Rights under the Charter!!
Did YOU KNOW!!
With two exceptions, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives every person in Canada the same rights, whether or not they are citizens. The exceptions are the right to vote and the right to leave and enter Canada freely.
Only Canadian citizens have these rights!!

6. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Past and Present
First Nations and the Indian Act
In 1876, parliament passed the Indian Act.
It passed without consulting the First Nations (They knew nothing about it)
The European settlers viewed themselves as far more superior!
Require First Nations people to obtain government permission to wear traditional clothing.
Banned traditional ceremonies
Prevent First Nations from taking political action.

7. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Past and Present
Canadian Women and the Right to Vote
Emily Howard Stowe (Canada’s 1st female doctor) founded a club in 1876 to promote women’s suffrage – women’s right to vote.
Called the group – Toronto Women’s Literary Club
Women’s groups started to hold rallies all over the world, they were often imprisoned for it.

8. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Past and Present
The Internment of Ukrainian Canadians
At the beginning of WWI in 1914, 8000 people of Ukrainian and German descent were sent to camps.
Canada was at war with Germany, Austria – Hungary, Ukraine.
War Measures Act was passed in 1914, which permitted the government to make the arrests.
Government used the people and their families as labour – to build roads, and railways, with NO wages.
At the end of the war, War Measures Act was no longer in force but these people were forced to stay in camps to work.

9. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Past and Present
The Internment of Italian Canadians
WWII, June 10, 1940 Italy declared war on Canada. Canadian men of Italian descent were rounded up and placed in camps.
Property was seized. (700 people affected)
In 1990, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney apologized for the government actions.
Some people have sought compensation from the government, negotiations are ongoing.

10. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Past and Present
The Internment of Japanese Canadians
On December 7, 1941, during WWII, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour.
Canadians with Japanese heritage were suddenly treated with suspicion.
February 1942, all Japanese Canadians were moved away from the west coast and moved to the interior B.C and placed in camps.
War Measures Act made this possible. 20,000 people forced to leave their homes.
In 1943, the Canadian government sold all their homes and belongings.

11. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Assignment #1
Personal Diary Insert
You have just learned about 5 events from Canada’s past where government actions had an impact on individual rights and freedoms.
Choose one event and put yourself in their shoes.
Record two days in your personal journal on how you are feeling during this violation of your rights and freedoms.
Record the date, specifics as to what is happening.
How you feel. Whys is this happening?
Must have an outline, rough copy, good copy.
Be Descriptive

12. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Law Making & Workplace
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UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Law Making & Workplace
Always Open: 24-7
Until 1985, The Lord’s Day Act made it illegal for most Canadian businesses to open on Sunday.
The law upheld the Christian Sabbath (day of rest)
In May of 1982, 3 months after the Charter of Rights became part of Canada’s constitution, Calgary’s Big M Drug Mart opened on Sunday to challenge the Act.
The Supreme Court overturned the law because it violated our fundamental right to freedom of conscience and religion.
Do you agree with the Supreme Court decision?

13. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Law Making & Workplace
Restrictions on Flying
In June 2007, Canada’s government banned certain people from travelling by air for security reasons.
Pg. 107
Canada’s no-fly list was one of many new security measures restricting the rights of individuals that Canada adopted after September 11, 2001.
Anti-Terrorism Act pg. 108
What is more powerful: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the Anti-Terrorism Act?

14. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Law Making & Workplace
Banning Junk Food Ads
Advertising attempts to persuade people of all ages to buy products.
Increases the risk of death.
How might the Charter of Rights and Freedoms affect decisions about advertising to children?

15. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Law Making Assignment #2
Search magazines, television, internet, and find TWO food ads that market food to children.
Explain in detail why these ads are bad for children; socially, physically, and mentally.
Detail the outcomes of the ads when they are successfully marketed to children.
If they are harmful to youth, why are the companies permitted to market their products?
Use the Charter of Rights and Freedom as a guideline.
Must be completed in poster form.

16. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Workplace
In 2001, four Ontario women and five labour unions launched a Charter challenge, arguing that the province was discriminating against them based on gender.
A 1993 Ontario law required the province to pay women and men equally when they had equivalent levels of experience and training.
The four women wanted pay equity from the province and were owed millions of dollars.
In 2003, before the case went to court, the Ontario government agreed to pay the workers a total of $414 million in pay adjustments. (Holy Cow!!)

17. UNIT #4 Charter of Rights – Workplace
Did You Know…
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms creates equity rights in the workplace. For example, you have the right to work without facing discrimination based on race, religion, or gender.
What about RCMP officers wearing traditional head gear. Should officers with different cultural backgrounds be permitted to express their heritage while on duty?

18. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – Affirmation of Collective Rights
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What makes Canada unique? What makes Canada different from other countries?
Collective Rights belong to groups of people and are entrenched in Canada’s constitution.
Collective Rights are rights guaranteed to specific groups in Canadian society for historical and constitutional reasons.
Collective Identity is the shared identity of a group of people, due to a common language and culture.
Affirmation is to validate and express commitment to something.

19. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – Affirmation of Collective Rights
The purpose of collective rights is to affirm the collective identity of groups in society and to create a society where people of different identities belong.
Collective rights are part of the dynamic relationship between Canada’s government and Canadian citizens.
Throughout our history, laws that affect collective rights, and the promises of the government to uphold them, have created opportunities and challenges for Canadians.

20. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – Affirmation of Collective Rights
Who has Collective Rights in Canada?
Collective rights recognize the founding peoples of Canada.
Collective rights come from the roots of Aboriginal peoples, Francophones and Anglophones.
First Nations, Metis’, Inuit peoples.
Francophones and Anglophones.

21. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – First Nations People
First Nations is the umbrella name for the diverse Aboriginal peoples who have collective rights that are recognized and protected in Canada’s constitution.
The constitution uses ‘Indians’ because it was the name used when the treaty was signed.
Indian was the word used by European settlers, which First Nations do not acknowledge.

22. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – First Nations People
Numbered Treaties:
Numbered treaties are historic agreements that affect the rights and identity of some First Nations in Canada.
Has roots in the Royal Proclamation of 1763.
Britain made the proclamation at the end of the 7 year war as it wanted to control the lands it won in North America, from the French.
The proclamation recognized First Nations’ rights and developed peaceful resolutions between the two sides.

23. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – First Nations People
Numbered Treaties were agreements between the Queen and First nations.
First Nations agreed to share their lands and resources in peace.
Government agreed to cover First Nations’ education, reserves, and annuities.
First nations deem the Treaties sacred that cannot be changed without their agreement.
Treaty rights and citizenship are the same thing!!
Pg. 124 – 127 (CD ROM)

24. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – First Nations People
A Time Line of Two Views of the Numbered Treaties:
1870 – 2010.
Design a Chart Organizer (as depicted on pg. 128) to analyze the evidence that First nations viewed the treaties differently than the Canadian Government.
Make sure to include the date, source, main idea, and if it affirms First Nations. Pg

25. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – First Nations People
What is the Indian Act?
The Indian Act is federal legislation related to the rights and status of First nations’ peoples, first passed in 1876.
Under this act, the government is able to develop specific policies and programs to administer to First Nations’ people.
The act affirmed collective rights. It created “Indian Agents” with the power to decide how the government would interpret the treaties.
The laws were made without consulting the First Nations people.

26. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – First Nations People
What is the Indian Act?
The laws were made without consulting the First Nations people.
Ethnocentrism – when people of one culture believe they are more superior than another.
The act defines who may be registered as a status Indian with Treaty rights. The Federal government controls the decisions, not First Nations.
The Indian Act is a way for the government to administer Treaty rights to Treaty people.

27. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – First Nations People
What is the purpose of the Indian Act?
The act originally aimed to assimilate First Nations people.
It defined how they had to conduct affairs, such as elections.
The act restricted their freedom to travel, to take political action, to wear traditional dress, and to take part in traditional ceremonies.
Until 1960, First Nations’ who choose to vote had to give up their legal identity .
Tremendous pressure from First Nations’ has caused the Indian Act to be revised. Today.

28. UNIT #4b Collective Rights – First Nations People
Changing the Act!!
Both the First Nations and the government agree the act needs to be changed.
The first attempt to a new agreement occurred in 2002 but the First Nations’ rejected it.
Negotiations are ongoing…
Pg. 138

29. UNIT #4b Collective Rights First Nations People – Assignment #3
Research Inquiry:
Choose a law affirming collective rights and complete the research chart in detail.
Treaties 6, 7, 8
Indian Act
Official Bilingualism
Minority Language Education Rights
Manitoba Act
Section 35, Constitution Act
Use your textbook, internet, and the library as major sources of research.

30. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Official Language Groups
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Anglophone- a person whose first language is English.
Francophone- a person whose first language is French.
Official Language Community – one of the groups in Canadian society whose members speak an official language of Canada (French or English) as their first language.
Pg. 142

31. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Official Language Groups
What are the Charter rights of official language groups?
Official bilingualism
Sections 16 to 20 of the Charter establish French and English as official languages of Canada.
These sections also establish New Brunswick as an officially bilingual province.
Minority language education rights
Section 23 of the Charter says that a French/English speaking minority population of sufficient size in any province has the right to publicly funded schools that serve their language community.

32. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Official Language Groups
Francophone History in Canada:
Samuel de Champlain founds the city of Quebec and establishes New France in North America.
Britain passes the Quebec act, recognizing the rights of Francophones to their language and identity.
Confederation establishes Canada as bilingual under the BNA act.
Official Languages Act re-asserts both French and English language.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms confirms the language minority education rights.

33. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Official Language Groups
Francophone Education
Rights for Francophones and Anglophones are part of what made Confederation possible.
BNA act in 1867 established Canada as bilingual, bicultural country with rights for both.
French and English was made the official languages of Canada.
These rights guaranteed public schools for the Protestant minority in Quebec and the Catholic minorities in the rest of Canada.
Protestants spoke English, Catholics spoke French.

34. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Official Language Groups
1890 Manitoba Schools Act
Manitoba entered Confederation in 1870, as a bilingual province with Francophones attending Catholic Schools and Protestants attending Anglophone Schools. Louis Riel won the rights.
The Manitoba School Act made Manitoba an officially English-only province.

35. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Official Language Groups
1892 Haultain Resolution and North West Territories Ordinance #22
Before Alberta became a province it was part of the North West Territories, which was officially bilingual and had publicly funded Catholic schools and Protestant schools.
The Haultain Resolution was proposed by the premier of the territory, Frederick Haultain, and passed by the territory assembly.
Ordinance #22 required English as the language of instruction in all schools.

36. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Official Language Groups
The Charter and Official Language Minority Education Rights.
Pg. 148 – The Charter and Francophone Education Rights in Alberta.
How Does the Charter Affect Francophone identity in Quebec?
Pg. 150 – Charte de la langue francais
Bill 101

37. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Metis’ Rights
The Metis are one of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples under section 35 of Canada’s constitution. Unlike First Nations, the Metis do not have any historic treaties with the Canadian government.
As an Aboriginal people of Canada, the Metis consider rights to land, and rights to use the land in traditional ways, as inherent rights (rights with origins in fundamental justice)

38. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Metis’ Rights
In Canada, the Metis are represented by several organizations.
In Alberta – the Metis Nation of Alberta, and the Metis Settlements General Council.
Each group present Metis views in their own way.

39. UNIT #4c Collective Rights Metis’ Time line Assignment
Use page 153 – 158 ( ) as a guide for your assignment.
Create a pictograph timeline illustrating the important events that have occurred in Metis history.
Be specific to include examples of views and perspectives that had an impact on the recognition of Metis rights over time and the ways Metis have used section 35 of the constitution in exercising their rights.