• Rights - what individuals and groups are allowed to do in society, as established in law *CAN BE RESTRICTED WHEN JUSTIFIED

• Legal Rights - Creatures of the law

• Freedoms - Right to act and speak

• Constitution - a special set of laws that establish a framework of governance

• Internment - putting a person in prison or other kinds of detention, generally in wartime

• (enemy aliens - Japanese, Ukrainian American people)

Fundamental Freedoms

rights to freedom of conscience and religion; rights to free speech, thought, and association; rights to freedom of the press and other media; rights to peaceful assembly; and rights to association (Summary: opinion, religion, demonstrate)

Democratic rights
The Right to vote for members of the House of Commons and of provincial legislatures. (allowed to vote for every 5 years)

Mobility rights

The right to move anywhere within Canada and earn a living there. (to leave and enter Canada). Restrictions examples can include covid and criminal record

Legal rights

The right to be free of imprisonment, search and seizure without reasons backed by law and evidence. The right to a fair and quick trial by an impartial court that assumes that you are innocent until proven guilty. (police need a reason to search you)

Equality rights

The right to be free of discrimination because of race, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, age or mental or physical disability.

Official Languages Rights

is recognized and administered within federal institutions, and to promote the advancement of English and French in Canadian society.

Minority Language Education Rights

the right of the English or French-speaking minority in a province or territory to have their children educated in the minority language.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of Canada’s constitution, and is the highest law of Canada. The constitution sets out the framework for how Canada is to be governed

The constitution is the highest law of Canada. All other laws must be consistent with it.

Before the Charter, Canada’s provincial and federal government had — and still have — a variety of laws about individual rights. The Charter created constitutional protections for individual rights and freedoms, which apply to laws and governments across Canada.

With the Charter, Canadians can challenge in court laws that restrict their rights. The judicial branch makes decisions about these challenges by interpreting how to apply the Charter. It strikes down laws that restrict rights in an unjustified way.

The Charter says that Canada’s government is justified in restricting rights, if the restrictions are necessary to maintain Canada as a free and democratic society.

These rights and freedoms limit what the government can do. (For example, because of Canadians’ democratic rights, the government cannot ban elections and become a dictatorship.)

Your rights are defined by the charter. The charter sets out rights and freedoms that Canadians believe are necessary in a free and democratic society.

First Nations and the Indian Act: In 1876, the Indian Act was passed by parliament, affecting First Nations who had signed Treaties with Canada. It required them to obtain government permission to wear traditional clothing, banned traditional ceremonies, and prevented political action.

Canadian women campaigned for the right to vote in 1918, with Emily Howard Stowe founding the Toronto Women's Literary Club. Famous suffragettes from England held rallies and were often imprisoned for their views.

• Internment of Ukrainian Canadians: During WWI, 8,000 Ukrainian and German descendants were arrested and sent to camps in Canada under the War Measures Act, with many working without wages. Ukrainians never got an apology like the Italians and Japanese Canadians.

• Internment of Italian Canadians: During WWII, Canada used the War Measures Act to arrest Italian-descendants, resulting in 700 arrests and property seizures. Compensation for affected individuals is still under negotiation.

• Internment of Japanese Canadians: During WWII, Japanese Canadians faced suspicion and forced relocation, with the government selling their homes and possessions. In 1988, Canada apologized to them. 20,000 were interned by canadian government.

The Charter in Canada impacts law making by ensuring that sign language individuals have access to interpreters for proper communication with healthcare workers.

The Lord's Day Act in 1985 prohibited Canadian businesses from operating on Sundays, despite the Christian Sabbath. In 1982, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms became the Canadian constitution, overturning the law.

Restrictions on Flying: In June 2007, Canada's government imposed restrictions on certain individuals from flying due to security concerns, placing them on a "no-fly" list. This is a violation of Mobility Rights (Possibly equality rights too)

The Charter impacts the workplace by ensuring that young people contribute to Canada's economy, and during labor shortages, many of them find employment.

The Ontario Charter of Rights and Freedoms was challenged in 2001, leading to equal pay for women and men, and a 2003 agreement to repay female workers. (POC women got the right to vote in 1950s/60s)