Sources of Rights in Canada Canada is admired around the world for the rights and freedoms that its citizens enjoy – United Nation human Development Index UN Human Dev. Index What rights or freedoms do you think are the most important for Canadians? Which one is absolutely the most important one?

Sources of Rights in Canada Examine the two examples below -- what is the main difference between the rights violations: A) A highly qualified engineer complains that a company chose not to hire him because he is a Muslim. B) A woman complains that the police searched her backpack in an unreasonable way and that the drug charges against her should not apply because her rights were violated.

The Rights of Canadian Citizens Human Rights Acts in each province protect Canadians from discrimination by other citizens ie) hiring, firing, renting The Charter of Rights protects Canadians from unreasonable laws and actions by government ie. arrest, search Sources of Rights in Canada

Testers: Identify the Source – Human Rights or Charter Rights? 1. A 20 year-old man complains that insurance companies discriminate against young males by charging higher fees for insurance. 2. A woman complains that new federal laws regulating medicinal marijuana affect her right to security of her body; and limit her right to live pain free. 3. A family complains that a landlord chose not to rent them an apartment because of their ethnicity. 4. The Supreme Court rules that abortion laws infringe on the rights of women to have “security of the person” and the law is struck down.

Developments in Human Rights in Canada Turn to page in your law textbook and examine the wavy timeline across the bottom Make a T chart and record your three MOST positive developments and your three MOST negative developments PositiveNegative Positive Developments Negative Developments

: Injustices committed in Canada during World War II. For example, the rights of Japanese Canadians were suspended (internment camps) : In 1945 (after WWII), the United Nations was created. In 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1960: A new social justice movement. In Canada, a number of groups, such as women, Aboriginals and visible minorities were being discriminated against and felt excluded from society 1960: The Canadian Bill of Rights was adopted. It had weaknesses. For example, it was just a statute and was not part of the Canadian Constitution. Influences on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms