CHALLENGES TO
LIBERALISM
Other Ways of Thinking
ABORIGINAL WAYS OF
THINKING



Belief that collective interest is more important than
the individual
This challenged some European-led government
policies
This changed with the Constitution Act of 1982
 Aboriginal
collective rights were specifically included in
Sections 25 and 35



This shift in thinking and government policy has led
to legal grounds to challenge the denial of their
rights by government
Aboriginal peoples have gone to the Supreme
Court to rule over disputes in land, fishing, hunting,
and logging
A number of land claims have been settled by
Aboriginal groups and the Canadian government


Settled land claims show a new respect towards the
Aboriginals from the Canadian government
Métis have been working on having their collective
rights recognized
 Proving
more difficult because Métis don’t have the
same historic treaties as First Nations
 Métis have had success in Alberta with the Métis
Settlements Accord
 Transfer
of land to Métis people and provisions for selfgovernance
Aboriginal Self- Government




Means having some independence in decision
making
Wouldn’t be the same in every community
Decisions regarding: their economy, education,
culture, use of natural resources, and other areas of
well - being
Aboriginal groups and the governments in Canada
(fed. and prov.) have not come to an agreement on
what self-government means
Self-Government

The Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement (2005)
 Recognizes
the collective rights and identities of the
Labrador Inuit by confirming their rights to land
ownership in northern Labrador, self-government, and
resource sharing
 Includes: recognized Inuit people’s rights related to
traditional land use (land, ocean, coastal communities),
self-government, National Park Reserve, transfer of
$140 million to the Inuit people for implementation of
the agreement
RELIGIOUS WAYS OF
THINKING
The Doukhobors




Russian language speaking dissenters who rejected
the authority of Church and state
Came to Canada and US to escape persecution in
the early 1900s
Believed that individual rights needed to be
balanced with the rights of the community as a
whole
Doukhobors owned and worked land as a
community rather than owning private property

A smaller group of Doukhobors, the Sons of Freedom
had more radical ideas



Accused by government of engaging in arson to protest
compulsory education, taxation, and land seizures by
government
Sons of Freedom believed in living the simplest life
possible – rejected materialistic ways of thinking
Leader was killed in an explosion that many felt was a
murder
Protested this action by not allowing their children to go to
school
 Government responded by taking away their belongings

Use of Religious Law


Recent challenges to liberalism in Canada has been
the request by religious groups to use religious laws
to settle legal disputes
2005 – Ontario decided against the use of
religious arbitration, regardless of the denomination
(Muslim, Jewish, Christian)
ENVIRONMENTALIST WAYS
OF THINKING



Concern over environment versus the desire for
consumption (key component of liberalism –
economic freedom)
Environmentalists are concerned about the rate of
consumption / growth in the economy
Want governments to get involved and increase
taxes on manufacturers, require manufacturers to
collect their products from consumers when they are
no longer useful, encourage individuals to use less