Key Vocabulary
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chd06XH
aFgo
 Right
 Freedom
 Inalienable
Rights
 Franchise
 Entrench
 Override
 Invoke
 Notwithstanding
Clause
Puzzle 1 Unscramble these four jumbled words, one letter
to each square to form four vocabulary words.
Kioven
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O
O
o
o
sgirth
o
o
o
Dxetritaon
o
o
Dmofere
Now arrange the circled letters to form the answer to the
question below: What does constitutional law do in
relation to statute law?
 Jumbles:
Invoke
Rights
Extradition
Freedom
Answer to the Question: Overrides
Fill in the numbered clues of three shorter words to help
find the longer word in this “Charter puzzle” (some letters
may be used more than once)
 A)1._2._3._4._5._6._7._8._9._10_
2,10,1,4,-breakfast,lunch,or dinner
7,5,6,9,-viloent public disturbance
9,8,4,3-gossip
 B)1._2._3._4._5._6._7._8._9_
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5,6,3,7,4-bind or restrain
8,3,1,9- secure
2,3,7,8,9,-lift up
 Meal/riot/tale/Ameliorate
 Chain/safe/raise/Franchise
 As
Canadians, we are blessed with incredible
freedom.
 There is also a lot of hardship, evil, and more
and more persecution. Examples:
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Crime and gangs
Abortion
Divorce and the redefinition of family
Pornography
Drugs
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One factor is that as a country, we have pushed God out of
the public square (our courts, Parliament, etc).
We have replaced God with our own standards of right and
wrong.
Pierre Elliott Trudeau
1982 – Charter of Rights and Freedoms
 Becomes part of our constitution (Constitution Act)
 Effectively replaces the Bill of Rights
Rights, Responsibilities, and Privileges
 What is a right?
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◦
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What is a responsibility?
◦
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An entitlement, that comes from someone who has
the authority to give it (e.g. life). Usually it can not
be taken away.
Something which must be performed as an obligation
or duty. Responsibilities are necessary for rights to
exist (e.g. uphold the life of our neighbour).
What is a privilege?
◦
A benefit that comes from a particular position
which can be removed, changed, or increased (e.g.
holidays).
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Right is a legal, moral or social claim that people are
entitled to, primarily from their government.( a person
accused of committing an offense is entitled to a fair trial)
 Freedom is a right to conduct one’s affairs without
governmental interference( one has the right to seek
employment in any part of Canada.)
For thousand of years, people all over the world have
struggled with the concept of human rights. As ideas about
rights evolved and took form from different codes the same
questions came up:
What Rights people should have?
Should rights be absolute( unrestricted)?
Is everyone entitled to the same rights?
What is the power of the sates in creating and enforcing laws?
How can people ensure that governments do not restrict their
rights and freedoms?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otPfwkO
0_C8
Civil rights: the rights of citizens (e.g. to political and social
freedom and equality), which limit the power a government
has over its citizens
 Human rights: rights that protect one from discrimination by
other individuals and in certain areas of one’s life
 Natural rights: rights thought to be inherent, such as the
right of all people to life, liberty, and security; rights that are
independent of rulers, society and governments
 Inalienable rights: guaranteed entitlements that cannot be
transferred from one person to another
 Franchise: the right to vote
 Entrench: to protect and guarantee a right or freedom by
ensuring that it can only be changed by an amendment to the
Constitution
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1833 Slavery is abolished under the British Emancipation
Act
1884 Indian Act is amended to outlaw cultural and religious
ceremonies such as potlatch
1990 Chinese Immigration Act increases $50 head tax to
$100
1900 Dominion Elections Act excludes minorities from
voting in federal elections\
1908 “No stoppage” rule requires immigrants to travel
directly to Canada ,reducing the numberof immigrants
from Canada
1914 Komagata Maru Incident: officials allow only 20 of
the 376 potential immigrants to enter Canada,forcing the
rest to return to India
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1916 Manitoba grants women the right to vote in provincial
elections
1918 Women are granted the right to vote in federal
elections
1919 Women are allowed to stand fro Parliament
1920 Federal Government makes the franchise universal,
except for some minorities and Status Indians
1921 Quebec Court upholds the right of a theatre owner to
refuse to allow a black patron to sit in the orchestra seats
1927 Indian Act is amended to make it illegal for Aboriginal
people to hire lawyers to pursue land claims without the
consent of the superintendent general of Indian Affairs
1928Alberta passes the Sexual Sterilization Act, ordering
the sterilization of patients in psychiatric hospitals
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1928 Supreme Court of Canada decides that word “person”
does not apply to women
1929 Famous Five –Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta
Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney ,and Irene Parlby appeal
“person decision” to the Privy Council in England, which
rules that women are persons
1934 People libelled because of race or creed can get a
court order to stop the libel
1940 Communist party is outlawed under the War Measures
Act
1942 Hutterites, Doukobhors and enemy aliens are barred
from buying land
1942 Japanese Canadians are forcibly removed from their
homes and sent to detention camps
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1945 Covenant Restraining the sale of land to Jews is
struck down
1947 Saskatchewan Bill of Rights Act is the first broad,
human rights statute passed in Canada
1948 People of all races, except for Status Indians, are
given federal franchise
1950 Supreme Court of Canada rules that Jehovah’s
Witnesses can distribute religious pamphlets.
1953 Fair Employment Practices Act
1956 Female Employees Equal Pay Act
1960 Status Indian are granted the right to vote in federal
elections
1960 Canadian Bill of Rights
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1215 Magna Carta (England)
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1776 Declaration of Independence (United States) recognized that all
people have natural rights and provided for individuals’ inalienable rights
to equality and liberty
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1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man (France)
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1833 Slavery is abolished under the British Emancipation Act
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1865 Slavery is abolished in the United States with the 13th
amendment to the U.S. Constitution
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1869 Bill of Rights (Britain) gave British parliament supremacy over the
monarchy and extended certain civil and political
rights such as free elections, reasonable bail and fines, and
freedom from cruel or unusual punishment
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1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations) In
addition to recognizing the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family, it provides for fundamental
freedoms of thought, opinion, expression, conscience, religion,
and peaceful assembly. It also declares the equal rights of men
and women, equality before the law, the right to be presumed
innocent until proven guilty, education rights, and freedom from
torture or inhumane punishment.
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1960 The Canadian Bill of Rights
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1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is entrenched in
the Constitution Act, 1982
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· Magna Carta (1215)
Limited the monarch’s power
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American Revolution 1775-1783
13 colonies fighting for independence from Britain
Laws suited Great Britain not its colonies – people were angry
No elected representatives in British Parliament
British ignored American demands
1776 Declaration of Independence
War raged on until 1783
American Constitution became law in 1788
Did not include a Bill of Rights
Feared that giving rights to common people might lead to “mob rule”
1791 – 10 amendments were made to the Constitution and became the Bill
of Rights
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· French Revolution
In the 1700s a group of French thinkers known as the philosophers wrote
books and pamphlets attacking the power of the French king, nobles, and
the Church.
Wanted more freedom for the French people and an end to the feudal
system
1789 – French people rose up to overthrow their rulers
Thousands and thousands of people died
Feudalism and the privileges of rulers and Church were abolished
A National Assembly (similar to the House of Commons) was set up
Members elected by the people
August 26, 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens
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Abolition of Slavery
Slaves continued to be legally defined as “property” not as “humans” or
“citizens”
Over a 300 year period 15 million people had been captured in Africa to be
traded as slaves in Europe and North America
Seen only as a source of labour
1833 – Slavery Abolished under the British Emancipation Act
US Civil War
Abraham Lincoln became president in 1861 on a platform of opposing the
spread of slavery
Civil war broke out (1861-1865)
Northern or Union forces fought to abolish slavery
Southern or Confederate forces fought to keep slavery legal
Northern Forces won in 1865
13th amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights
United Nations formed after WWII
Universal Declaration of Human Rights signed on December 10, 1948
First time nations from around the world had signed a formal agreement on specific rights and
freedoms for all human beings
For billions of people these guarantees are unfulfilled
Canadian Bill of Rights
Canadian law is based on English Common law – unwritten
Canadians had legal rights that were not written down but simply understood to exist
After WWII, many Canadians came to believe that legal rights had to be written down
John Diefenbaker became leader of the Progressive Conservative party
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1957-1958 Federal election – promised a bill of rights
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August 10, 1960 – Canadian Bill of Rights was passed in a non-Non revolutionary method
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Set down legislation the rights and freedoms that Canadians already enjoyed under the common
law.
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“Dissatisfied minority groups, corporations, criminals
,and their lawyers are the only people who have
benefited from the Charter”
Write an argumentative five hundred word essay ,either agreeing
or disagreeing with the quote. In your essay include information
about the Charter, relevant cases, and Supreme Court decisions.
Assignment is due April,6