Rights – Individual and Collective TOP TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Relation to liberalism 1 Essential for liberal society Human vs Civil

Enlightenment 2 Hobbes: give up individual rights in return for security Locke: individual rights (especially for property) essential, but some must be sacrificed for security Rousseau: group rights should be decided by individuals, but then followed by the group

Legislation 3 Codification – to organize laws into one place Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Entrenched US Bill of Rights UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Case Studies U.S. Declaration of Independence French Revolution – Declaration of the Rights of Man Evolution of workers rights Working conditions, protection for unions, wages, working hours (John Stuart Mill) Evolution of women’s rights Suffrage, “Persons Case”

Collective Rights 4 Rights that are given to a group of people (often to protect their culture) As opposed to individual rights that are granted to everyone (e.g. equality rights) In Canada: Francophone (and Anglophone) language rights Aboriginal Treaty Rights Not the same as compensation for Residential Schools and other mistreatment

Aboriginal Collective Rights 5 1763 Royal Proclamation – this is Aboriginal land and government must sign a treaty to release that land to non-Aboriginal Canadians Rent analogy Includes rights for reserved land, financial assistance, education, health care, hunting and fishing rights, self-determination

Issues 6 Treaty rights not always respected/enforced Many reserve lands not self-sustaining Culture of dependency Clashes with non-Native populations

Francophone Collective Rights 7 British control (Battle of Plains of Abraham) but French majority, so rights established to protect culture US Revolutionary War = Loyalists move north and become majority in colony – demand end to special rights for the French Over time treated as 2nd class citizens E.g. Catholics cannot participate in government, most businesses owned by Francophones

Quiet Revolution 8 Demand to be treated equally Demand to be treated as a distinct society Fear of being assimilated Je me souviens Right to education in Manitoba, Alberta

Francophone language rights 9 Bill 101 (Charter of the French Language) Overrides the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Classical vs Modern Liberal Views 10 Both support the idea of individual rights – everyone should be treated the same Modern liberals support idea that some minority groups need extra support from government to catch up to opportunities already being enjoyed by majority Often to right wrongs of the past