90 Canada Rights, Constitution and Laws

90 What is Justice? – Bell work “Justice consists in giving every man what he deserves. Revenge is a kind of wild justice.” –(Francis Bacon, ) “He has showed you... what is good. And what does YAHWEH require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” –(Jewish prophet Micah, c. 725 BC) These appear to be two very different definitions of justice. Write your own definition and/or description of what justice is.

90 United Nations Human Development Index Canada is ranked 9 th, th in Based on standard of living, life expectancy and literacy. One reason for its rank is that Canada highly values civil rights and freedoms, which limit the power that a government has over its citizens. day-10-worst-human-rights-violations that-will-shock-you day-10-worst-human-rights-violations that-will-shock-you

90 Introduction - Rights Earlies legal codes imposed laws and punishments that most Canadians today would consider cruel. These laws were meant to ensure that those societies would survive. Human rights simply were not an issue. The Magna Carta and later the Bill of Rights helped lay the ground work for modern legal systems. End of 1700 th century many Western and legal moral thinkers believed that human beings had rights to life, liberty and security. Such rights were thought to exist independently of any rights or duties created by a ruler, government, church or society. Those in power felt threatened by these ideas which spread across Europe and North America.

90 Rights & Revolutions In the 18 th century, two significant revolutions took place that contributed to the development of human rights. 1) American Revolution, 1775 U.S. broke away from British rule and issued the Declaration of Independence in In 1791, the U.S. Bill of Rights was added to the American Constitution, which is still their basis of civil rights and freedoms.

90 Rights & Revolutions contd… 2) French Revolution, 1789 Influenced by the ideas of liberty and equality in the American Revolution, the French rose up against their king to end feudalism. A National Assembly was set up with members who were elected by citizens. The concept of "nation-states" came out of these revolutions. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

90 Universal Declaration of Rights During World War II, numerous human rights atrocities were committed. In 1945, shortly after the war ended, the United Nations (UN) was formed. UN Commission on Human Rights produced a list of human rights and freedoms for all people in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Trivia: Who wrote the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

90 UDHR - Excerpts Some of the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: –All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. –Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of the person. –No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile. –Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. –Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

90 Canadian Bill of Rights In 1960, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's government passed the Canadian Bill of Rights. Similar to the UDHR, the Bill of Rights codified many civil rights and freedoms that had been established over many years under common law in Canada. For the first time, Canadians had a list of rights and freedoms to refer to.

90 Bill of Rights - Excerpts Some of the rights in the Bill of Rights: –Freedom of religion, speech, assembly and association, and the press. –The right not to be arbitrarily detained, imprisoned, or exiled. –The right not to receive cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. –The right to be informed promptly of the reason for arrest. –The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. –The right to a fair hearing. –The right to equality before the law and its protection.

90 Constitutional Protection Bill of Rights had two main limitations: 1.It only applied to federal matters. 2.It could be changed at any time by Parliament since it was a statute. In 1982, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau introduced the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms into the Constitution. Because the Charter was a part of our constitution, it applied to every level of government and could only be changed if an amending formula was followed.

90 John Diefenbaker and the Canadian Bill of Rights –Page 25 –Question 1- 4 Review your understanding –Page 26

90 Canada's Constitution - History Canada become an independent country from Britain on July 1, Our first constitution was the British North America (BNA) Act, Britain still controlled our foreign affairs and we needed their permission to change the constitution. The Statute of Westminster, 1931, gave Canada control of its own foreign affairs. In 1982, Trudeau and the premiers (except for Quebec) "patriated" the constitution and introduced the Charter. This gave Canada complete control of our affairs as a nation. Patriation: the process of brining legislation back under the legal authority of the country to which it applies

90 Division of Powers The Constitution Act, 1867, explains the specific powers that our levels of government have as well as what they are responsible for. Our levels of government are federal, provincial, and municipal (which falls under provincial in the constitution). Sections 91 and 92 of the Constitution Act provide each level of government with jurisdiction - power and authority to make laws and pass regulations.

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Cities/Townships Bylaws: the laws that govern the activities of a local community Taber, AB (March 8, 2015) – embarrassing-new-bylaw-in-taber-alberta-outlaws- swearing-restricts-public-assembly.htmlhttp:// embarrassing-new-bylaw-in-taber-alberta-outlaws- swearing-restricts-public-assembly.html Reader’s Digest (January 28, 2016) – strange-canadian-laws-you-never-knew-existedhttp:// strange-canadian-laws-you-never-knew-existed Find some interesting Canadian laws, bylaws or international laws.

90 How Federal Laws Are Passed Federal bills, or laws, are passed by Parliament, which consists of 3 parts: 1.House of Commons 2.Senate 3.Governor General (Queen's representative) Each Member of Parliament (MP) is elected to represent 1 of 338 ridings or electoral districts in Canada. The political party that wins the most seats forms the government and passes laws or if there is a minority, deals are made. Bill: a proposed law, a draft form of an act or statute

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Federal Branches There are 3 federal branches of government that pass laws, interpret them, and ensure they are carried out:

90 How a Bill Becomes Law Overview of how a bill is passed into law: –First Reading Bill is introduced –Second Reading Bill is debated in House of Commons –Committee Stage and Report Stage Bill is studied, revised, or changed –Third Reading Further debate on the amended bill Vote in the House of Commons –Senate (similar process: 3 readings, vote) –Royal Assent (governor general signs bill into law)

90 Provincial & Municipal Laws Provincial The process to pass provincial laws is similar to federal laws. –Differences: no Senate; Queen's representative at the provincial level is the lieutenant-governor who signs bills into law. Municipal Municipal laws are called bylaws. Elected councils (mayor and city councillors) debate and vote on bylaws. If the vote passes, the bylaw is enacted.

90 Assignment Review your understanding –Page 26 –Page 28 –Page 31

90 ISSUE 1.Alternative Dispute ResolutionAlternative Dispute Resolution – qmdSZchttps:// qmdSZc 2.Conflict Resolution – videoConflict Resolution

90 Issue Assignment Page Questions 1-2