HUMAN RIGHTS IN CANADA

CANADIAN BILL OF RIGHTS, 1960 PM was John G. Diefenbaker Goal was to establish written protection of rights and freedoms

LIMITATIONS OF CAN BILL OF RIGHTS 1. Very narrow interpretation of equality E.g. Lavell Case-Native female who lost native status b/c she married a non-native man (not the same for native men who marry non native women). Supreme Court held that there was no violation of the equality provision under the Bill of Rights 2. Was an ordinary federal statute that could be amended or revoked 3. Did not apply to provincial or territorial governments 4. Was not a part of any constitutional document 5. Did not confer any ability to create new rights

CANADIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACT, 1977 Applies to federal government departments E.g. postal service, banks, airlines, etc… Is similar to provincial and territorial human rights legislation

ONTARIO HUMAN RIGHTS CODE, 1962 Strongly influenced by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Protects everyone from discrimination and harassment in Ontario All legislation in Ontario must be consistent with the provisions of the code Complaints are filed with the Ontario Human Rights Commission Equal rights apply to 5 areas under the code 1. Access to service, goods and facilities 2. Right to contract 3. Occupational Associations 4. Employment 5. Accommodations

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Wordle Word Cloud