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CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Gloria Steinem and Marlo Thomas called Canada's Women and girls the bravest in the world back in our days of 60s, 70s and 80s- and we raised our sons 2 treat women and children better- Please don't let us down- March 8- International Women's Day is everyday- no more excuses students- no more excuses- Loretta Saunders 4 u/Rita MacNeil Warrior Woman/BLOGS /DAILY UPDATES /SEP 22, 2014 - JUSTICE 4 REHTAEH PARSONS- one of abusers pleads guilty- One Billion rising
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2013
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ONE BILLION RISING- Breaking the Chains- when women equal men via UNITED NATIONS- there will be no wars and children will be free of abuse- WOMEN IN MILITARY- and global girl power rising
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ONE BILLION RISING- break the chains/ PAEDOPHILE HUNTING- Movie -TRUST with Clive Owen will break your heart- FAMILIES of abused internet paedophiles- after, coping, repairing their lives
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ONE BILLION RISING- Breaking the Chains of abuse-girls-women-boys/CANADA- F**KING PAEDOPHILE HUNTING/POLYGOMY/poster HUMILIATES WOMEN- NOT MEN RAPISTS!!-Shame shame Canada-GOD BLESS ANONYMOUS -master paedophile hunters
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ONE BILLION RISING- Breaking the chains- of excuses and abuses- If Canadians truly see no issue with raping grls in 2013- how can Canada protect Malalas and Nedas in the hard parts of the world?? UNITED NATIONS scoffs at girls and women- git on ur knees- WE R BETTER THAN THAT CANADA- right????
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BLOGGED: 2013
CANADA MEN AND BOYS MAN UP against Sexual Assault, Bullying and Abuse of Girls and Women- ONE BILLION RISING- breaking the chains -WHITE RIBBONS
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CANADA- MEN STEPPING UP AGAINST ABUSE OF GIRLS-WOMEN- Canada is Manning Up- WHITERIBBON.CA- real men and boys stepping up 2 break the chains of abuse of women all over the world- empowering men and boys- no more excuses - no more abuses- pictures videos-Oct 04 2013
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Rights and Freedoms in Canada
In Canada, the Constitution, as well as federal, provincial and territorial laws, protect our human rights and fundamental freedoms.The Canadian Bill of Rights, passed in 1960, was the first federal human rights law in Canada. It guarantees many basic rights and freedoms, including the “right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property” and the right not to be deprived of any of those rights except in accordance with “due process,” meaning basic procedural fairness.
The Canadian Human Rights Act, passed in 1977, also protects human rights in the federal public and private sectors (for example, banking, rail, telecommunications, inter-provincial transportation), particularly the right to equality and non-discrimination in the areas of employment, housing and the provision of services.
All provinces and territories also have human rights legislation which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and in providing goods, services, and facilities to the public. Some provincial and territorial laws protect a broader range of rights and freedoms. But like any legislation, these laws can be repealed or changed, so their protection can be limited. It was only with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedomsthat human rights in Canada were protected in the written Constitution.
The interests of society must always be balanced against the interests of individuals to see if limits on individual rights can be justified.
What does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms say?
The Constitution says that the Charter takes priority over all other legislation in Canada because it is part of the “supreme law of Canada.” It applies to all government action, meaning to the provincial legislatures and Parliament, and to everything done under their authority. This means that governments must take the Charter into account in developing all laws and policies. It also means that when an individual goes to court because he or she believes that Parliament or a legislature or a government official has violated rights or fundamental freedoms guaranteed in the Charter, the court may declare the law invalid if it conflicts with the Charter or provide any other “appropriate and just” remedy.However, section 1 of the Charter also recognizes that even in a democracy, rights and freedoms are not absolute. For example, no one is free to yell “fire” in a crowded theatre, to slander someone, to engage in religious practices which cause harm to others, to spread child pornography or hate propaganda or to enter or leave Canada without any restrictions whatsoever. Parliament or a provincial legislature can limit fundamental rights, but only if it can show that the limit
- is set out in a law; pursues an important goal which can be justified in a free and democratic society; and
- pursues that goal in a reasonable and proportionate manner.
Under the Constitution, both Parliament and the provincial legislatures still have a limited power to pass laws that may violate certain Charter rights. However, this can only be done if Parliament or a provincial legislature specifically declare that it is passing a law notwithstanding certain provisions of the Charter. This declaration must be reviewed and re-enacted at least every five years or it will not remain in force. The declaration informs Canadians of the limits being imposed on Charter-protected rights or freedoms. It also requires the government to explain itself, to accept full responsibility for its actions, and to take the political consequences. So far, Parliament has never used the notwithstanding clause.
What rights does the Charter protect?
The Charter protectsIt also recognizes and affirms Aboriginal and treaty rights.
Fundamental freedoms
- Everyone in Canada is free to practise any religion or no religion at all.
- We are free to think our own thoughts, speak our minds, to gather peacefully into groups and to associate with whomever we wish, as long as we do not infringe valid laws which protect the rights and interests of others.
- The media are free to print and broadcast news and other information, subject only to reasonable and justifiable limits set out in law.
Democratic rights
- Every Canadian citizen has the right to vote in elections for Members of Parliament and representatives in provincial and territorial legislatures, and to seek election themselves, subject to certain limited exceptions (for example, minimum voting age), which have been found to be reasonable and justifiable.
- Our elected governments cannot hold power indefinitely. The Charter requires governments to call an election at least once every five years. The only exception is in a national emergency, such as war, if two-thirds of the Members of the House of Commons or a legislative assembly agree to delay the election.
- Every citizen has the right to have their elected representatives sit at least once a year in Parliament and legislatures, so Parliament and government are held to account.
Mobility rights
- Canadian citizens have the right to enter, remain in, or leave the country.
- Canadian citizens and permanent residents have the right to live or seek work anywhere in Canada. Governments in Canada can’t discriminate on the basis of someone’s current or previous province of residence. For example, if a person is a qualified professional, such as an accountant, in one province, another province cannot prevent him or her from working there because that person does not live there.
- However, laws can set reasonable residency requirements for certain social and welfare benefits. Provinces with an employment rate below the national average may also set up programs for socially and economically disadvantaged residents, without having to extend them to non-residents.
Legal rights
- The Charter also protects the basic human rights to life, liberty and physical and psychological safety (or “security of the person”).
- No one can be deprived of these rights except through fair legal procedures and based on clear, fair laws.
- The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty is a basic constitutional guarantee.
- The Charter also protects everyone’s reasonable expectation of privacy in their homes, private spaces and personal information. This includes protection against unreasonable searches and seizures by police and other government authorities, who generally need a judge-approved warrant to enter your home or take other actions which interfere with your privacy.
- Everyone is also protected against being detained or arrested arbitrarily. A police officer must have reasonable grounds to believe that you have committed a crime before holding you in custody. The right to challenge the legality of your detention (also called “habeas corpus”) is expressly guaranteed in the Charter.
- The Charter also protects against random or arbitrary actions by law enforcement agencies. For example, you have the right to be told why you are being arrested or detained, to consult a lawyer without delay, to be informed of this right, and to have a court determine quickly whether this detention is lawful.
- Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual punishment, including torture, excessive or abusive use of force by law enforcement officials and sentences of imprisonment which are “grossly disproportionate” to the seriousness of the crime committed.
- If you are charged with an offence under federal or provincial law you also have the right:
- to be told promptly of the offence;
- to be tried within a reasonable time;
- not to be compelled to testify at your own trial;
- to be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal;
- not to be denied reasonable bail without cause;
- to be tried by a jury for serious charges;
- to be convicted only for an act or omission that was a crime at the time it was committed;
- not to be tried or punished twice for the same offence;
- to the benefit of the lesser punishment if the punishment for a crime changes between the time you committed the offence and the time you are sentenced;
- Everyone has the right, as a witness in legal proceedings, not to have any incriminating evidence you give used against you in later proceedings, unless you are charged with perjury (lying during legal proceedings).
- Everyone has a right to an interpreter in legal proceedings if you do not understand the language or are hearing-impaired.
Everyone, regardless of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability, is equal before the law.
Equality rights
Equality rights are at the core of the Charter. They are intended to ensure that everyone is treated with the same respect, dignity and consideration (i.e. without discrimination), regardless of personal characteristics such as race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, marital status or citizenship.- This usually means that everyone should be treated the same by law and that everyone is entitled to the same benefits provided by laws or government policies. However, the Charter does not require that government always treat people in exactly the same way. For example, sometimes protecting equality means that rules or standards must be reasonably adapted to take account of people’s differences, including by allowing people to observe different religious holidays without losing their job, or putting specific supports in place to enable people with visual disabilities or hearing impairments to access government services.
- It is also constitutional to create special programs aimed at improving the situation of individuals who are members of groups that have historically experienced discrimination in Canada, including on the basis of the grounds listed above.
Language rights
English and French are Canada’s official languages, according to the Charter. Both languages have equality of status and equal rights and privileges to be used in all institutions of Parliament and government of Canada.- Everyone has the right to use English or French in any debates and other proceedings of Parliament.
- The statutes, records and journals of Parliament must be printed and published in both languages and both language versions have equal authority.
- Everyone has the right to use English or French in proceedings before any court established by Parliament.
- Members of the public have a right to communicate with and receive services in English or French from any head office of an institution of Parliament or government of Canada. They have this same right from any office of an institution where there is a significant demand. Depending on the nature of the office, it might also be reasonable that communications and services be available in both English and French.
- Similar rights apply in New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province in Canada. In fact, people in New Brunswick have the right to communicate and obtain services in either English or French from any office of an institution of the legislature or government of New Brunswick. Under section 16 of the Charter, the English and French linguistic communities in New Brunswick also have equality of status and equal rights and privileges, including the right to distinct educational institutions and cultural institutions that are needed to preserve and promote those communities.
- The Constitution Act, 1867and the Manitoba Act also grants people in Quebec and Manitoba the right to use English and French in debates and proceedings of the legislatures and the courts of those provinces. These provisions also require that provincial laws be enacted and published in both languages, and that both languages be used in the Records and Journals of their legislatures.
Minority-language educational rights
Everyone has the right to use English or French in the debates and proceedings of Parliament.
- Every province and territory has official language minority communities (French-speaking communities outside Quebec and English-speaking minorities in Quebec).
- Outside Quebec, citizens whose mother tongue is French, or who have attended French primary or secondary schools in Canada, have a constitutional right to have all their children receive primary or secondary instruction in that language. This is also true if their children are, or have, attended French primary or secondary schools in Canada.
- In Quebec, citizens who received their primary education in English in Quebec, or who have a child who was or is being taught in English in Quebec, have the constitutional right to send all their children to English-language schools.
This right to minority-language instruction applies where numbers warrant, and can include the right to receive that instruction in minority-language educational facilities provided out of public funds.The Charter and the Constitution protect the rights of the Aboriginal peoples (Indian, Inuit, and Métis) of Canada.
Aboriginal and treaty rights
As noted earlier, Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of Aboriginal peoples. The Charter cannot take away or diminish those rights, or any other rights or freedoms that Aboriginal peoples may acquire in the future (for example, from the settlement of land claims).Other rights
The Charter guarantees many basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. But we all have other rights that come from federal, provincial, territorial, international, and common law. Also, Parliament or a provincial or territorial legislature can always add to our rights.Canada's System of Justice
http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/just/06.html
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Canada’s commitment to gender equality and the advancement of women’s rights internationally
These goals will only be achieved if women are able to participate as equal partners, decision makers, and beneficiaries of the sustainable development of their societies. This is explicitly recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The UDHR was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, of which Canada is a member, in 1948. Canada ratified the CEDAW Convention in 1981.
The adoption of CEDAW set new benchmarks for governmental accountability and international action. This firm legal foundation, complemented by increasing emphasis by the UN on the promotion and protection of human rights, has enabled significant advances in gender equality and women’s human rights internationally. However, the struggle is far from over.
The UN World Conferences on Women have been important catalysts in moving the agenda forward on gender equality and women’s human rights. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing) resulting from the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, and the reviews held every five years since then, are far-reaching in their goals for the achievement of gender equality and for the advancement and empowerment of women.
The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meets every year to evaluate progress on gender equality and identify areas where challenges remain. Following the adoption of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, every five years the CSW annual meeting has reviewed Beijing and reaffirmed the international community’s commitment to its full and accelerated implementation.
Women’s Human Rights
Protection and advancement of women’s human rights remains a central foreign policy priority for Canada, both in bilateral discussions and in multilateral fora. At the United Nations (UN), Canada has worked to make women’s human rights a strong focus of the Commission on the Status of Women and the Human Rights Council. Canada actively promotes the integration of women’s human rights throughout the UN system.Canada was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which set international standards for eliminating gender discrimination. In 2002, Canada ratified the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW, which was adopted by the UN General Assemply in December 2000. The Protocol provides an international remedy for violations of women’s human rights through a communications and an inquiry procedure. The communications procedure allows individual women or groups of women to submit complaints to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women after having exhausted all national remedies. The inquiry procedure entitles the Committee to conduct investigations and inquiries into grave or systemic violations of the Convention.
Canada participated in the development of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action in 1993, which affirmed that “women’s rights are human rights” and called for action to integrate the equal status and human rights of women in the mainstream of UN system-wide activity. Canada also played a key role at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, which identified 12 critical areas of concern and set out a course of action to ensure comprehensive protection and advancement of women’s rights around the world.
Women in Decision Making
In 1995 Setting the Stage: the Federal Plan for Gender Equality, the federal government of Canada established the incorporation of women’s perspectives in governance as a central priority in foreign and domestic policy on gender equality and women’s rights.
Internationally, Canada is working with like-minded governments to ensure the UN attains its goal of equal representation for women and men within the UN system. Canada promotes similar efforts in other international fora such as the Commonwealth, the Francophonie (in French only), the Organization of American States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Foreign Policy Priorities
Canada’s foreign policy priorities include the elimination of violence against women, ending child, early and forced marriage, improving maternal, newborn and child health, the full and equal participation of women in decision-making, and the mainstreaming of a gender perspective. Canada pursues these priorities in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, in bilateral discussions with individual countries, and through the development cooperation programm delivered by Global Affairs Canada. Canada supports an inclusive and representative approach to international diplomacy which gives a greater role to non-governmental organisations, such as those working for gender equality. All in all, Canada supports a broad range of projects which encourage an enhanced decision-making role for women in developing countries.For information on how Canada integrates gender equality analysis into its international development programs, see Development Challenges and Priorities: Gender Equality.
Canada’s work internationally complements efforts at the domestic level. Status of Women Canada is the federal government agency responsible for promoting gender equality and women’s rights.
http://www.international.gc.ca/rights-droits/women-femmes/equality-egalite.aspx?lang=eng
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ONE BILLION RISING CANADA-VOTING- Canada's history- Women and the right 2 vote- country by country- Please honour those women who sacrificed so much 4 ur privilege 2 vote - pls honour us
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2013/07/one-billion-rising-canada-women-and.html-------------------------
Timeline of Canadian Women's History
The Twelfth to Eighteenth Centuries
- 1007- The first European woman to inhabit and colonize the new world: Gudrir, a member of the Viking expedition to Vinland.
- 1602- Francoise Marie Jacqueline de la Tour was the first European woman to make a home in Acadia.
- 1634- Between 1634 and 1662, 250 Filles du Roi, young French women were recruited by religious communities and agents of the One Hundred Associates with the intent of marrying them to men in the colony of New France in order to stabilize and increase the population of the colony. By 1663, there were 6 bachelors for each girl who reached puberty.
- 1639- The convent of the Ursulines de Quebec was founded by Marie de l’Incarnation.
- 1641- Jeanne Mance arrived in New France and began establishing a hospital in Montreal.
- 1649- Sister Marie Morin, the first nun born in New France. Her mother, Helene Desportes was the first child born in Quebec.
- 1653- Marguerite Bourgeoys, the first school teacher in Montreal, arrives from France.
- 1658- Marguerite Bourgeoys establishes the Congregation of Notre Dame, the first uncloistered order of nuns in North America. In April, the first students arrive at the school she built.
- 1683- The wife of the Hudson Bay Company Governor Sergeant, her companion, Mrs. Maurice, and a maidservant were the first English women to come to James Bay.
- 1722- On February 6, the death penalty becomes legal for women in New France who conceal their pregnancies and leave their babies to perish.
- 1733- Genevieve Millet becomes the first woman convicted of adultery between 1700 and 1760. She is whipped in the public square in Quebec and locked up with prostitutes at the Hopital General.
- 1737- Marguerite d’Youville and some friends begin taking in the poor and educating abandoned children. In 1747 they become the Sisters of Charity or the Grey Nuns of Montreal.
- 1738- Esther Brandeau is the first Jewish woman to arrive in Canada. Eventually she is deported to France for failing to abide by Catholic orthodoxy.
- 1758- Despite threats of jail and hanging, poor women in New France protest the continuing food shortages caused by the war in England.
- 1791- New Brunswick passes a law excluding women from the right to vote.
- 1809- Women in Quebec exercise their right to vote until 1834.
- 1829- Shawandithit, the last member of the Beothuk tribe, who was captured in 1823 by fur traders, dies of tuberculosis.
- 1836- Women excluded from the vote in P.E.I.
- 1837- The government of Upper Canada passes legislation recognizing the disgrace and wounding of parental feelings when a young woman is seduced.
- 1849- The Reform government bans women from voting.
- 1850s- Ruth Addams invents a cook stove and becomes the first woman to receive a patent.
- 1850s- Mary Bibb, Mrs. J.E. Grant, Matilda Nichols, Mary Ann Shadd, Sarah and Mary Anne Titre are the first black women teachers in Canada West.
- 1851- Mary Ann Shadd forms the Anti-Slavery Society in Toronto. She also becomes known for her establishing of schools, her advocation of rights for women, and because she will be the first female law student at Howard University in Alabama.
- 1851- Women are excluded from the vote in Nova Scotia.
- 1851- It becomes a criminal offense for a woman to obtain an abortion in Nova Scotia.
- 1855- The definition of "person" in Quebec and the rest of Canada does not include women.
- 1857- The British Matrimonial Causes Act is adopted in Canada making divorce possible for women on the grounds of adultery.
- 1859- The first Upper Canada legislation to grant married women certain property rights is "An Act to Secure to Married Women Certain Rights of Property.
- 1862- Mount Alison University is the first to admit women as students, followed by Acadia University in 1880, and Dalhousie University in 1881.
- 1867- Dr. Emily Stowe graduates in medicine from New York State University, but is not allowed to practice in Canada until 1880, when she becomes registered as a member of the Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
- 1869- The Roman Catholic Church considers that abortion is murder and imposes excommunication on anyone who procures an abortion.
- 1869- A clause in Section 6 of the Act for Gradual Enfranchisement of Indian states that " any Indian woman marrying other than an Indian shall cease to be an Indian, as will be the children of such marriage."
- 1871- Under Manitoba’s Act Respecting Married Women, any property a wife holds in her own name is free from her husband’s control and debts, but her earnings were his. If he was cruel or insane, she was entitled to her own earnings.
- 1872- The Ontario Legislature passes the Married Women’s Property Act, which gives a married woman the right to her own wage earnings free from her husband’s control.
- 1872- The Public Lands of the Dominion Statute gives homestead land to a woman only if she has no husband but has dependents under the age of majority.
- 1872- The women of British Columbia are the first to win the right to vote in municipal elections as a result of "An Act to Extend the Rights of Property of Married Women".
- 1875- Grace Anne Lockhart is the first woman graduate of a Canadian college, earning her B.Sc. from Mount Allison College. She is also the first woman to receive a baccalaureate in Canada and in the British Empire.
- 1875- Married women’s property legislation is passed in Manitoba.
- 1875- Dr. Jennie Trout is the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Ontario.
- 1876- The Toronto Women’s Literary Society is founded by Dr. Emily Stowe. It is a forerunner of the major suffrage group of Canada and its name disguises its real purpose of obtaining equal rights for women.
- 1876- The British North America Act states that "women are not persons in matters of rights and privileges".
- 1881- The YWCA introduces a course in typewriting for ladies and they are called "well-meaning but misguided ladies who made an error in judgement: the female mind and constitution could not possibly withstand the strain of the 6-month course".
- 1882- The Ontario legislature passes a law permitting unmarried women with property qualifications to vote in municipal by-laws, under the pressure of the Toronto Women’s Literary Society.
- 1883- The Toronto Women’s Literary Society disbands and reorganizes as the Toronto Woman’s Suffrage Association.
- 1883- Augusta Stowe Gullen (daughter of Emily Stowe) is the first woman to receive a medical degree from a Canadian university.
- 1884- Married women’s property legislation is passed in Nova Scotia.
- 1884- Ontario grants married women the right to own property and deal with it and sell it without consulting her husband.
- 1884- Married women’s property legislation is passed in Nova Scotia.
- 1884- Ontario grants married women the right to own property, to deal with it and sell it without consulting her husband.
- 1886- Married women’s property legislation is passed in the Northwest Territories.
- 1887- In Manitoba, single or married women are allowed to vote municipal elections, but are not eligible for municipal office until 1917.
- 1889- The Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement Association is formed to incorporate all suffrage groups in the country. In 1907, it becomes the Canadian Suffrage Association.
- 1890- The first Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement Association convention is held in Toronto on June 12-13.
- 1890- Laws of the North West Territories state that a father is the sole guardian of children under 14. Female adulterers have no legal right to their children while male adulterers do.
- 1890s- Icelandic women, led by Margaret Benedictsson start the first suffrage movement in the west, thus giving Manitoba an early lead in winning the vote for women.
- 1891- The Women’s Christian Temperance Union officially endorses the suffrage cause.
- 1892- The Ontario Mines Act prohibits women from working in and around mines.
- 1892- Section 179 of the Criminal Code reads: "Everyone is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to two years imprisonment who knowingly, without lawful excuse or justification, offers to sell, advertises, publishes an advertisement of or has for sale or disposal any medicine, drug or article intended or represented as a means of preventing contraception or causing abortion.". This law remains unchanged until 1969.
- 1893- The National Council of Women of Canada is formed to coordinate the various artistic, religious, political reform, and literary associations across Canada, enabling women to speak on matters of public interest. Ishbel, Lady Aberdeen (the wife of the Earl of Aberdeen, the Governor-General) is the first president.
- 1893- The House of Assembly refuses a suffrage bill for women property holders in Nova Scotia.
- 1894- In the North West Territories, unmarried women are permitted to vote in municipal elections but cannot hold office.
- 1894- Dr. Amelia Yeomans becomes president of the Manitoba Equal Franchise Club, the first English-speaking suffrage group formed west of Ontario. Nellie McClung initiates its educational campaign with a Mock Parliament.
- 1895- The Law Society of Upper Canada admits women as barristers.
- 1897- The Victorian Order of Nurses is set up to serve sparsely populated communities.
- 1900- The Married Women’s Property Act makes a wife responsible for her own property, wages, profits, etc. She is also jointly responsible for the support of her children.
- 1900- Teaching is the only profession open to women that leads to a pension.
- 1900s- Women are allowed to enter most forms of sport except those where bodily contact is possible.
- 1902- Under a section of the Revised Statutes of Manitoba, the widow of a man who dies without a will is entitled to one third of the estate if she has children and the entire estate is she has no children.
- 1902- The first Canadian degree course in Household Science is given at the University of Toronto.
- 1903- Emma Baker is the first woman to receive a Ph.D. from a Canadian University.
- 1907- Married Women’s Property Legislation is passed in Saskatchewan.
- 1909- The Canadian Suffrage Organization, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and many others organize a delegation of 1000 to the Ontario Legislature on March 14. A petition of 100,000 names of people supporting suffrage is presented.
- 1909- The International Congress of Women is held in Toronto, including delegates from Europe, the United States, and Australia.
- 1910- Emily Murphy convinces the Alberta legislature to pass the Married Women’s Relief Act, which authorizes the court to give a widow part of her husband’s estate if he did not adequately provide for her.
- 1911- The Saskatchewan Deserted Wives’ Maintenance Act requires husbands to pay support if they deserted their wives or forced them to leave.
- 1912- The Manitoba Illegitimate Children’s Act provides that an unwed mother can bring court action against the alleged father, if her claims are substantiated, he can be forced to pay support and expenses.
- 1912- Carie Derick is the first woman in Canada to become a full professor, becoming a professor of Morphological Botany at McGill.
- 1913- On July 31, Alys McKey Bryant is the first woman to pilot an airplane in Canada.
- 1913- In February, a women’s court is established in Toronto.
- 1914- On January 28, Nellie McClung and the Political Equality League stage a mock "Women’s Parliament" in the "Walker Theatre" in Winnipeg.
- 1915- Nurse Elizabeth Smellie is the first woman appointed Colonel in the Canadian Army, becoming head of the Canadian Army Nursing Corps.
- 1916- On January 29, Manitoba is the first province to extend the franchise to women.
- 1917- On September 20, the Military Voters Act extends federal enfranchisement, until the end of the war, to women in the services and to those women who had close relatives in the armed services of Canada or Great Britain.
- 1917- Roberta MacAdams and Louise McKinney are the first women elected to a provincial legislature, being elected to the Alberta Legislature on June 7.
- 1917- In April, British Columbia women are given the vote.
- 1917- Alberta is the first province to adopt a minimum wage law for women.
- 1917- Under the Military Voters Act, nurses in the armed forces are given the vote.
- 1918- On April 26, Nova Scotia women are given the right to vote and hold public office.
- 1918- On May 24, The Women’s Franchise Act is passed federally.
- 1919- On April 17, the women of New Brunswick are given the right to vote in provincial elections.
- 1920- In the Dominion Elections Act, uniform franchise is established and the right for women to be elected to parliament is made permanent.
- 1921- Agnes MacPhail is the first woman elected to the House of Commons.
- 1921- In British Columbia, the first maternity leave legislation is passed granting women 6 weeks leave.
- 1925- In Newfoundland, women over 25 are given the right to vote and hold provincial office.
- 1925- The Federal Divorce Law allows women to obtain a divorce on the same grounds as men, simple adultery.
- 1928- Chatelaine Magazine first appears on March 28.
- 1928- The first time Canada’s Olympic team includes women.
- 1929- On October 18, the British Privy Council decreed that Canadian women are "persons".
- 1932- The first family planning clinic in Canada is established in Hamilton under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw.
- 1939- To encourage women to join the labour force during World War II, child care centers and tax incentives are provided. These promptly disappeared at the end of the war while unequal pay remained.
- 1939-1945- Women joined traditionally male fields of employment in record numbers as part of the war effort.
- 1940- On April 25, Quebec women are granted the right to vote.
- 1948- Barbara Ann Scott is the first Canadian woman to win the World Figure Skating Championship.
- 1951- The first woman to become mayor of a major city is Charlotte Whitton, the mayor of Ottawa.
- 1952- Elsie Knott, member of the Objibwa tribe, is the first Native woman elected chief.
- 1955- Restrictions on the employment of married women in the federal public service are removed.
- 1957- Ellen Fairclough is the first woman to become a federal cabinet minister, being sworn in as Secretary of State in the Conservative government.
- 1960- Native men and women are granted complete franchise on July 1.
- 1960- In December, birth control pills are available for sale.
- 1967- The United Nations adopts the Declaration of Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
- 1967- Dr. Henry Morgentaler urges the repeal of the abortion laws and later opens an abortion clinic in Montreal.
- 1968- The new Federal Divorce Act establishes a uniform divorce law, allowing for divorce on the basis of marital breakdown as well as for adultery and mental or physical cruelty.
- 1969- The Criminal Code is amended to permit abortions under certain circumstances. In some hospitals, therapeutic abortion committees are formed.
- 1969- The Criminal Code and Food and Drug Acts is amended, allowing contraceptive devices and certain drugs to be manufactured, sold, and advertised under the supervision of the Food and Drug Directorate.
- 1970s- Radical and Socialist feminism have a major impact on Women’s Studies as the field develops in Canada.
- 1971- Gwen Landolt forms "The Right to Life", an anti-abortion organization.
- 1971- Amendments to the Canadian Labour Code include: prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sex and marital status, strong reinforcement of the principle of equal pay for equal work, and the provision of 17 weeks of maternity leave.
- 1972- Rosemary Brown is the first black woman elected to a provincial legislature as a member of the NDP in Vancouver.
- 1972- The Income Tax Act allows the deduction of the cost of child care from the income of working mothers.
- 1973- The Ontario Advisory Council on the Status of Women is set up with Laura Sabia as chair.
- 1973- The first Canadian lesbian journal, Long Time Coming is published by the group Montreal Gay Women.
- 1973- The National Native Women’s Association is established in Winnipeg.
- 1978- The Canadian Human Rights Act ensures equal pay for work of equal value. It also prohibits discrimination on grounds including sex, disability, and race.
- 1978- The Canadian Advisory Council for the Status of Women reports that 43 of 122 recommendations of the Royal Commission of the Status of Women, that fell within the jurisdiction of the federal government, are fully implemented. 53 are partially implemented, 24 remain untouched, and 2 are unapplicable.
- 1978- In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Canada grants half the property acquired in her husband’s name to Saskatchewan farm wife Helene Marie Rathwell.
- 1978- The Omnibus Bill is passed, eliminating pregnancy as a basis for layoff or dismissal.
- 1978- Judy Cameron is the first woman pilot hired by Air Canada.
- 1979- The Feminist Party of Canada is launched in Toronto on June 10.
- 1979- The Canadian Association for Repeal of the Abortion Law protests reduction in federal grants for family planning.
- 1980- Jeanne Suave is the first woman Speaker of the House of Commons.
- 1980- Fishermen’s wives get jobless benefits as unemployment insurance is granted to 10,000 women working with their husbands.
- 1982- Bertha Wilson is the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court.
- 1987- The Supreme Court states that sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination and that employers who tolerated it would be held responsible.
- 1988- Sheila Hellstrom is the first woman Brigadier-General in the Canadian Armed Forces.
- 1988- Men with less than a grade 8 education earn, on average, $22,387 annually while women college graduates on average earn less than $20,000 annually.
- 1988- Ethel Blondin us the first Native woman to sit in the House of Commons.
- 1989- The Canadian Human Rights Commission defined a homosexual couple as a family.
- 1989- Chantal Daigle of Chibougamou, Ouebec has an abortion, despite her former boyfriend’s seeking of an injunction preventing the abortion which was upheld by the Quebec Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court overturned the case in favor of Daigle.
- 1989- The PC Government introduces a bill to re-criminalize abortion.
- 1989- Audrey McLaughlin, of the New Democratic Party, is the first woman federal leader of a Canadian political party.
- 1989- On December 6th, 14 female engineering students at the Ecole Polytechnique were massacred by a man shouting his opposition to feminism. He then committed suicide.
- 1990- Dr. Roberta Bondar is the first Canadian woman astronaut, being selected by NASA to participate in a flight of the space shuttle in December 1991.
- 1990- Kim Campbell is the first woman federal Minister of Justice. She is also attorney-general.
- 1990- Canada wins the first Women’s World Hockey Championship.
- 1990- The Supreme Court rules that battered wife syndrome is a legitimate defense against a murder charge.
- 1991- Rape victim Jane Doe sues the Metro Toronto police for neglecting to warn and protect her against a serial sex criminal, police believed women would become hysterical if warned about a serial rapist. The Court of Appeal allows her to proceed with her $600,000 lawsuit.
- 1991- The Supreme Court reaffirms that a fetus is not legally a person until after it has been born alive.
- 1991- Louise Frechette is the first Canadian woman ambassador to the United Nations.
- 1991- Manon Rheaume, 19, is the first woman to play for a major junior hockey team as goalie for the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs.
http://people.stfx.ca/nforeste/308website/women'shistorytimeline.html
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1989
Heather Erxleben
became Canada's first acknowledged female combat soldier.
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back in our days of 60s, 70s and 80s- and …
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saving- especially those isolated - it's time …
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RISING CANADA-VOTING- Canada's history- Women and the right 2 vote- country by country- Please
honour those women who sacrificed so much 4 ur …
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2014-06-16 · CANADA: True Patriot Love Foundation launches Highway ... 2009- WE ARE ALL NEDA- ONE BILLION RISING- no ... http://nova0000scotia.blogspot…
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... Nova Scotia Domestic Violence Shelters ... One Billion rising- breaking the chains- no ... http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2013/07/one-billion-rising ...
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- 1989- The Canadian Human Rights Commission defined a homosexual couple as a family.
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QUOTE:
Equality and the Law
Throughout the brief 200-year history of the Women's Movement, women have sought equality with men. Until relatively recently equality has meant being treated the same as men, being accorded the same rights as men. All the achievements of the first phase of feminism were directed toward this goal. The Report of the Royal Commission on theSTATUS OF WOMEN IN CANADA in 1970 re-affirmed that desire, and changes to the law until the mid-1980s followed this "sameness" philosophy.Women and the Law
Women have looked to the law as a tool to change their
circumstances, while at the same time the law is one of the instruments which
confirms their dependent status as citizens (seeSTATUS OF WOMEN).
Women and the Law
Women have looked to the law as a tool to change their circumstances, while at the same time the law is one of the instruments which confirms their dependent status as citizens (seeSTATUS OF WOMEN). The first phase of the Women's Movement, in proclaiming that women were capable of reason as well as reproduction and nurturing, claimed a place for women in the public sphere, while also relying upon the concept of "separate spheres" to delineate their areas of strength and competence.Historical Changes in Women and the Law
Laws 200 years ago excluded women generally from public life. They did not enjoy the right to advanced education, to hold public office, to vote or to sit on a jury, to name but a few. In areas of private law, married women could not own property and mothers could not claim custody of their children, among many things. Major accomplishments of the first phase of the WOMEN'S MOVEMENT were the entrance of women into higher education, the gaining of the vote for many, the inclusion of women in the definition of persons for the purposes of the Senate Act and abolition. Although the latter proved unpopular and unworkable, during the course of the TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT women identified family violence as directly related to alcohol consumption, bringing the issue of FAMILY VIOLENCE into public awareness.
Women and the Vote
By the end of the 19th century, many women and some men were questioning the severe restrictions of rights for female citizens. A loophole in the law allowing some women, particularly in LOWER CANADA, to exercise the franchise had been specifically removed by the 1850s throughout Canada. Feminists argued for fuller participation of women in public life, on the grounds both of moral justice and because "feminine virtues" might well bring about needed reforms. After a lengthy campaign, women in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan gained the right to vote in 1916, and in Ontario and BC, the following year. On the federal level, the vote was first given to relatives of enlisted men in 1917 and then broadened to all women in 1918. The other provinces followed suit by 1922, with the exception of Québec, where women were denied the vote until 1940. First Nations women did not earn the right to vote until the 1960s.Women in the Legal Profession
Under the French regime, important posts in the army and the government were, by custom, granted only to men. Under the British regime, women were usually excluded by law from holding public office until the beginning of the 20th century. After their earlier successes, women began to seek public office, and through the first half of the 20th century, a few women succeeded in being elected to the federal Parliament and the provincial legislatures. They were generally marginalized, even when in positions of power. For instance, Irene PARLBY, the first woman elected to the Alberta legislature, was minister without portfolio, when her qualifications suited her well to other ministries. Although in 1929 women gained recognition as persons for the purposes of appointment to the Senate, in the intervening years relatively few women have been appointed to that body. Through 1995, 342 appointees were men, while 38 were women, or 10% of the total. Twenty-three percent of the 1996 Senate are women (seeWOMEN'S SUFFRAGE).Clara MARTIN led the way for women of the British Commonwealth to enter the legal profession. In 1897, after a lengthy and difficult struggle, she was admitted to practise law by the Law Society of Upper Canada. As with most female pioneers in the profession, she chose to remain unmarried in order to continue her career. Women have been slow to enter the legal profession. By the 1990s half the graduates from law schools are female, but they comprise only 20% of the practising bar. They are noted for leaving the profession in higher proportion than men and working more for corporations and governments. In large firms they comprise a small proportion of the partners. Women form about 19% of the law teaching faculty in the 19 Canadian law schools.
In 1916 Emily MURPHY was appointed a magistrate by the Alberta government, the first woman to be appointed to the Bench in the British Commonwealth. Since then there have been appointments at all court levels. In 1982 Bertha WILSON was appointed as the first woman to the Supreme Court of Canada, followed by Claire L'Heureux-Dube in 1987. In 1990 Catherine Fraser was appointed chief justice for the Province of Alberta, and now half the Court of Appeal in that province is comprised of women. Women achieving positions of power within policy-making bodies such as the civil service have been less successful.
Equality and the Law
Throughout the brief 200-year history of the Women's Movement, women have sought equality with men. Until relatively recently equality has meant being treated the same as men, being accorded the same rights as men. All the achievements of the first phase of feminism were directed toward this goal. The Report of the Royal Commission on theSTATUS OF WOMEN IN CANADA in 1970 re-affirmed that desire, and changes to the law until the mid-1980s followed this "sameness" philosophy.Women and Property
Accordingly, the Matrimonial Property Acts passed in most provinces near the end of the 1970s provided for equal division of property on dissolution of marriage. Passage of these acts followed the uproar caused by the MURDOCH CASE, whereby Mrs Murdoch was awarded very little following 25 years of marriage as an Alberta farm wife. This case exemplifies the impression that in the area of family law women have been treated most clearly as dependants.In New France, where 25 was the legal age of majority, a woman usually passed from the control of her father to that of her husband when she married. A husband's permission was necessary for a wife to engage in business or even to administer or sell property which she had owned before marriage. French law, however, provided that half of the common property belonged to the wife and her heirs on marriage dissolution, whereas British law gave a husband wide authority over his wife's property and made no provision for division of assets. Although Married Women's Property Acts were passed in the late 19th century in most common-law provinces giving women the right to control their own property, the laws made no provision for the equitable division of property held by the spouses in case of marriage breakdown or death. Nor did they improve the economic situation of women and children (seeWOMEN IN THE LABOUR FORCE).
It has taken 15 years for it to become apparent that the impact of these matrimonial property acts has been, in many cases, to deprive women of income and security. Statistics indicate that women do not fare as well economically as men upon dissolution of marriage (seeMARRIAGE AND DIVORCE). There are many and complex reasons for this, but it is now being seen that the uneven economic circumstances of men and women, the undervaluing of housework and child care, the disruption of women's careers for childbirth and child rearing, the fact that women are often the custodial parent and other factors should be considered in the division of property.
Women in the Labour Force
By the 1970s approximately one-half of Canadian women were in the paid labour force, though, overall, women in 1996 earned 66% of what men earned. In a drive for fairer labour legislation, especially legislation recognizing equal pay for work of equal value, women's groups and unions proposed affirmative action programs to counteract employment policies that were intentionally or inadvertently discriminatory to women. Parental and pregnancy benefits became an important issue as, increasingly, women remained in the paid work force during childbearing years.After 1971 Canada's unemployment insurance scheme provided for limited pregnancy benefits for workers. The Bliss case (1979) showed how problematic are equality claims based on women's sameness to men. In Bliss, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that if a worker, otherwise entitled, were denied benefits because of pregnancy, it was not because she was a woman. In 1983 amendments were made to the Unemployment Insurance Act changing pregnancy to parental benefits in order to eliminate this problem. In the 1990s the Supreme Court of Canada again faced with a claim of a woman while on pregnancy leave found that equality claims did not have to be measured against whether a man could become pregnant or not.
Women's Legal Rights
In the 1970s women became more conscious of their legal rights, or lack of them, than ever before. As courts and lawyers are prohibitively expensive for most women, the federal and provincial human rights commissions proved to be an alternate and less expensive way of dealing with individual complaints of discrimination. The Bliss case as well as the earlier LAVELL and Bedard cases, dealing with discrimination against female INDIANS on the basis of their sex, pointed out to Canadian women how inadequate were the existing constitutional guarantees against sexual discrimination. Cases such as these, as well as a growing consciousness of the need for stronger legal measures against discrimination, fuelled the successful drive by women for better guarantees in the new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982).Section 15 of the charter attempted to provide the broadest possible definition of equality rights. The Charter, women hoped, would provide a new standard of equality against which laws in Canada could be measured. In 1983, the Constitution Act guaranteed ABORIGINAL RIGHTS to male and female persons. Section 12 of the INDIAN ACT (female loss of status upon marrying a non-Indian) was repealed in 1985 (see alsoABORTION; MEECH LAKE ACCORD; MEECH LAKE ACCORD: DOCUMENT; NATIVE PEOPLE, LAW; PORNOGRAPHY).
LEAF
The Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) was formed to argue s15 Charter cases and to bring before the courts the concept that equality must be considered within the context of the lived experience of the claimants and not measured against some apparently neutral but usually male standard. LEAF has intervened in many major and controversial cases, and has influenced the way equality is viewed under the law. As intervenors at the Supreme Court of Canada, LEAF has argued that pornographic representations of sex combined with violence are discriminatory to women and that women who murder their husbands who battered them may have a defence of battered women's syndrome.Women and Violence
Rape and Sexual AssaultIn the 1970s and 1980s the issue of violence claimed public attention, particularly among women. The double sexual standard was mirrored dramatically in the Criminal Code laws on RAPE, which permitted questions as to the victim's, but not the accused's, previous sexual history and encouraged defence counsel to argue that women had consented to sexual intercourse. In 1982 major changes to the Criminal Code addressed the situation where the victim of a sexual assault was, in effect, put on trial along with the accused. The legal concept of rape was replaced by one of SEXUAL ASSAULT and violence.
In the 1990s changes to the Criminal Code clarified the consent issues. Domestic violence, which is almost always against women and children (seeCHILD ABUSE), has long been considered a private matter in Canada. Although wife beating is a form of assault and punishable under the Criminal Code, social attitudes and prejudices have meant that police were reluctant to intervene in domestic disputes. The courts hesitated to find a husband guilty of beating his wife without a third-party witness. In the late 1970s Women's Organizations drew public attention to wife and child battering and to the fact that laws on the books were not being applied. Across Canada, law enforcement agencies began to intervene in cases of domestic assault. It soon became evident, however, that simply punishing the offenders was not in itself a long-term solution. In many cases, the woman was dependent on the man and feared for the welfare of the family if he was sent to prison. Women's shelters, therapy and public campaigns against family violence were some of the alternate approaches developed. In the mid-1990s, books have appeared profiling the batterer, shifting the focus from the victim. In 1996, the Alberta Legislature passed an act concerning domestic violence.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment on the job was first considered by federal and provincial human rights commissions in the 1970s and, by the early 1980s, unions began to insist that employers enforce policies against it. In 1984 legislation providing redress for victims of sexual harassment was introduced into Canada's Labour Code.Conclusion
Many believe that more women in the practice of law, the judiciary and government will alter women's status before the law. Although many changes have been made, there are still areas of law which treat women differentially, to their disadvantage.
Suggested Reading
·
Kim Brooks & Carissima Mathen, Women,
Law, and Equality: A Discussion Guide (2010); Fay Farady, Margaret Denike,
& M. Kate Stephenson, eds., Making Equality Rights Real: Securing
Substantive Equality under the Charter (2009).
Links to other sites
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1.
www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/.../Policy/$file/Policy-on-Gender-Equality-EN.pdfPDF file
Gender
equality means that women and men enjoy the same ... women become aware of
... and political processes is essential to achieving gender equality. Equal ...
2014-2015- One Billion Rising- Status of Women Minister Kellie Leitch led a trade group of Canadian businesswomen on a tour of Brazil over the weekend. FRED CHARTRAND
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Aboriginal Rights
What are Aboriginal rights?
Aboriginal rights are collective rights which flow from
Aboriginal peoples’ continued use and occupation of certain areas. They
are inherent rights which Aboriginal peoples have practiced and enjoyed
since before European contact. Because each First Nation has
historically functioned as a distinct society, there is no one official
overarching Indigenous definition of what these rights are. Although
these specific rights may vary between Aboriginal groups, in general
they include rights to the land, rights to subsistence resources and
activities, the right to self-determination and self-government, and the
right to practice one’s own culture and customs including language and
religion. Aboriginal rights have not been granted from external sources
but are a result of Aboriginal peoples’ own occupation of their home
territories as well as their ongoing social structures and political and
legal systems. As such, Aboriginal rights are separate from rights
afforded to non-Aboriginal Canadian citizens under Canadian common law.
It is difficult to specifically list these rights, as
Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian government may hold differing views.
Some rights that Aboriginal peoples have practiced and recognized for
themselves have not been recognized by the Crown. In a move towards
addressing this gap, in 1982 the federal government enshrined Aboriginal
rights in Section 35
of the Canadian Constitution, and in Section 25 of the Charter of
Rights in Freedoms, the government further ensured that Charter rights
cannot “abrogate or derogate” from Aboriginal rights. Yet the ensuing
First Ministers’ Conferences could not reach a consensus on what
specifically qualifies as an Aboriginal right, and the federal
government has since recognized that, while Aboriginal rights exist,
what these specific rights are will have to be determined over time
through the court system.
A history of Aboriginal rights and the Crown
During settlement and colonization, treaties were
negotiated between the Crown and local Aboriginal populations, guided by
the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The Proclamation was a British Crown
document that acknowledged British settlers would have to address
existing Aboriginal rights and title in order to further settlement.
During treaty negotiations, the Crown guaranteed certain rights to the
local First Nations. There has since been much debate in and out of the
courts over whether or not these agreements extinguished Aboriginal
rights for the rights set out in the treaty. For many First Nations,
this debate is ongoing.
Many of these rights, treaty and otherwise, have been
infringed upon since the arrival of European settlers in what is now
Canada. Aboriginal peoples have consistently asserted their rights since
the arrival of settlers, but have received little to no recognition by
the colonial institutions that facilitated these infringements.
Historically, some non-Aboriginal politicians claimed to support the
petitions and other actions Aboriginal peoples took in their fight to
have their rights recognized. However, many non-Aboriginal politicians
did not consider the question of Aboriginal rights to be a government
priority and followed the general belief that the Crown’s sovereignty
extinguished any existing Aboriginal rights and title. In part due to
this colonial mentality stemming from the Doctrine of Discovery— an
assertion in international law that a European colonial power could
claim title to newly discovered territory-- Canadian legal and
governmental institutions were not set up to address Aboriginal rights.
Legal scholar Brian Slattery makes a distinction between specific and generic Aboriginal rights.
Generic rights are held by all Aboriginal peoples across Canada, and include:
- Rights to the land (Aboriginal title)
- Rights to subsistence resources and activities
- The right to self-determination and self-government
- The right to practice one’s own culture and customs including language and religion. Sometimes referred to as the right of “cultural integrity,”
- The right to enter into treaties.
Specific rights,
on the other hand are rights that are held by an individual Aboriginal
group. These rights may be recognized in treaties, or have been defined
as a result of a court case. For example:
- The Sparrow decision found that the Musqueam Band in Vancouver, B.C. had an existing Aboriginal right to fish. This right may not continue to exist for other First Nations.
- The Powley case ruled that Métis peoples of Sault Ste Marie have an existing Aboriginal right to hunt—but this right does not apply to other Métis groups.
(Slattery, Brian. “A Taxonomy of Aboriginal Rights.” In Let Right Be Done: Aboriginal title, the Calder Case, and the Future of Indigenous Rights. Hamar Foster, Heather Raven, and Jeremy Webber, eds. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007. 111-128.)
Many
Aboriginal peoples understand their relationship to the Crown as a
nation-to-nation relationship, and therefore understand their rights as
falling within the domain of international law. Throughout periods of
European colonization and settlement, Aboriginal leaders and delegations
have taken their concerns to international forums such as the United
Nations (UN) in order to argue against the British Crown’s imposition of
its own laws and regulations onto existing Aboriginal legal systems and
institutions. Canada is bound by the UN Charter (1945) to foster
“friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of
equal rights and self-determination of peoples.”1
However, Canadian governments have been hesitant to acknowledge the
Aboriginal right to self-determination due to uncertainty over what it
would mean for Canada. In response to these concerns, many Aboriginal
groups have assured the Canadian government that they would remain a
part of Canada but with their own systems of governance.
Colonial governments in Canada initially practiced a
policy of extinguishment, which meant that Aboriginal peoples’ rights
would be surrendered or legislated away, often in exchange for treaty
rights. Treaties were negotiated between Canada and Aboriginal leaders
in respect of the aforementioned nation-to-nation relationship. While
each treaty differed, many historical treaties guaranteed that
Aboriginal peoples would receive certain payments and rights, such as a
right to hunt or fish, and rights to education. Over time, however, many
Aboriginal people found that the Canadian state continued to subjugate
them and infringe upon the very rights they thought would be respected.
Many Aboriginal leaders and activists brought their concerns to the
government, yet the Canadian government continually silenced Aboriginal
peoples by obstructing the avenues in which they might seek recognition
and redress. For example, the government added specific pieces of
discriminatory legislation in the Indian Act that made it illegal for
Aboriginal people to organize politically or to hire legal counsel to
further land claims. The government did not repeal these discriminatory
pieces of legislation until 1951. The repealing of these laws finally
enabled Aboriginal peoples to pursue their legal and political interests
in ways that had before only been available to non-Aboriginals. This,
along with other events in the 1950s and 1960s such as the White Paper
policy proposal, contributed to a surge of Aboriginal political
organizing and activism toward recognizing Aboriginal rights. Many
Aboriginal peoples have since returned to the court system to address
grievances related to infringements of their rights.
How the court system is addressing Aboriginal rights
In the early 1980s, Canada was preparing to create a
Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as patriate the Constitution.
During this time, Aboriginal leaders and organizations such as the Union
of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) lobbied for the inclusion of Aboriginal
rights with the hope that its recognition in the Constitution would
contribute to the protection of these rights. After a long struggle
with much debate, discussion and revisions, in 1982 the Canadian
government formally recognized Aboriginal rights and enshrined them in
Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. The Constitution, however, does
not define specifically what these rights are. The government
stipulated that these rights were to be defined in the courts on a
case-by-case basis.
There have since been a number of court cases that
have contributed to this definition. The 1990 R v Sparrow decision, for
example, created the “Sparrow test” which defined the scope of what
constitutes an Aboriginal right and defined to what degree the Canadian
government can reasonably infringe upon, or limit, it. This case was
instrumental, albeit very controversial, in that it confirmed Aboriginal
rights are not absolute. The 1996 R. v. Van der Peet decision created
the “Van der Peet test” which further set parameters for the courts to
determine what constitutes a valid Aboriginal right. These “tests” have
come under criticism from both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people who
claim that, in trying to achieve “certainty” over what constitutes an
Aboriginal right, the courts may have instead limited the flexibility
and fluidity of Aboriginal rights. For example, the Van der Peet test
only recognizes as valid Aboriginal rights that were practiced prior to
European contact. Some scholars and legal experts caution that this test
then “freezes” Aboriginal rights in a post-contact era without
accounting for the necessity of Aboriginal societies to adapt over time.
Some scholars and legal experts, such as political scientist Avigail
Eisenberg, argue that the perception of “legitimate” rights as only
those that existed pre-contact is ethnocentric, as it is not equally
applied to non-Aboriginal rights.2
Aboriginal rights as inherent
Although the court system has further defined Aboriginal
rights, enabling the government to address Aboriginal rights within more
clearly defined parameters, Aboriginal rights do not exist because the
courts or the Crown has recognized them. The Crown cannot bestow
Aboriginal rights upon a people who enjoyed these rights prior to the
Crown’s existence. Rather, these cases can be seen as a means by which
the government and the legal system have attempted to accommodate
Aboriginal peoples’ rights within a system that had not been initially
designed to recognize them.
Aboriginal perspectives on government-defined Aboriginal rights
Some Aboriginal leaders and key figures oppose the
government’s methods of defining Aboriginal rights. Mildred C. Poplar,
formerly with the UBCIC, claims that section 35 distracts Aboriginal
peoples from asserting a more meaningful definition of Aboriginal rights
that does not rely upon colonial government structure:
Instead of cooperating with the government we have to remember that we are Nations of people, and remember what it was we were fighting for in the first place. We were never fighting for section 35, we were fighting to preserve our Nation-to-Nation relationship, for recognition as Sovereign Nations, and to Decolonize Our People. In some ways, section 35 has diverted our people, and the new leadership instead of fighting for our rights, is negotiating to help Canada and the provinces define them… Section 35 might be one more tool to uphold the fiduciary duty that the Crown owes to Our People, but our real fight is to rebuild our Nations and to gain recognition at the international level.3
In a similar vein, Mohawk scholar Taiaiake Alfred
cautions that Indigenous leaders who use the court system to legitimize
their rights in the eyes of the Crown “cannot hope to protect the
integrity of their nations.” He explains:
To enlist the intellectual force of rights-based arguments is to concede nationhood in the truest sense. ‘Aboriginal rights’ are in fact the benefits accrued by indigenous peoples who have agreed to abandon their autonomy in order to enter the legal and political framework of the state. After a while, indigenous freedoms become circumscribed and indigenous rights get defined not with respect to what exists in the minds and cultures of the Native people, but in relation to the demands, interests, and opinions of the millions of other people who are also members of that single-sovereign community, to which our leaders will have pledged allegiance.4
On the other hand, some scholars and leaders, such
as law professor John Borrows, understand the use of court system as a
means to work towards regaining the power of self-determination by
legitimizing Aboriginal rights within Canadian legal institutions.5
Borrows further emphasizes that the Canadian legal system is not
strictly a colonial construct, incompatible with Aboriginal law, as is
commonly perceived, but has been built upon a foundation of British,
American, and Aboriginal law.6
Indigenous philosopher and scholar Dale Turner has
suggested that Aboriginal peoples must be central in defining their own
rights if Aboriginal rights discourse is to become appropriately
incorporated into the Canadian legal landscape. In the meantime, cases
will continue to be brought before the court and will further contribute
to definitions of Aboriginal rights, undoubtedly sparking further
debate and discussion.
By Erin Hanson.
Discussion Questions & Topics to Consider
How does the current federal government address Aboriginal rights? How about your provincial government?
This section refers exclusively to Aboriginal rights in Canada. How are Aboriginal rights addressed in the United States?
How do other nation-states acknowledge Aboriginal rights within their borders?
What are some recent court cases addressing Aboriginal rights? Examine one carefully. What was the final decision? What were the main arguments from either side? What implications might this decision have (for the First Nation, for the government, for the public)?
What are some of the ways in which Aboriginal peoples assert their rights?
Have there been any recent events or situations where Aboriginal groups have publicly asserted their rights? Who were the groups involved? Why do you think this right is important for them? What would be the implications of losing this right?
Despite some protections, Aboriginal rights can be overridden. Under what circumstances can a government legally infringe upon an Aboriginal right?
Recommended Resources
Asch, Michael. Home and Native Land: Aboriginal Rights and the Canadian Constitution. Agincourt: Methuen, 1984. 30.
Borrows, John, “Tracking Trajectories: Aboriginal Governance as an Aboriginal Right” (2005), 38 UBC Law Review 285.
----- Recovering Canada: The Resurgence of Indigenous Law (U. of Toronto Press 2002).
Foster, Hamar, Heather Raven, and Jeremy Webber, eds. Let Right Be Done: Aboriginal title, the Calder Case, and the Future of Indigenous Rights. (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007).
Henderson, James Sákéj Youngblood. “Postcolonial Ledger Drawing.” In Marie Battiste, ed., Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision. (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2000.) 161-171.
Mainville, Robert. An Overview of Aboriginal and Treaty Rights and Compensation for their Breach. (Saskatoon: Purich Publishing Ltd., 2001.)
Monture-Angus, Patricia. “A First Journey in
Decolonized Thought: Aboriginal Women and the Application of the
Canadian Charter.” In Thunder in My Soul: A Mohawk Woman Speaks. (Halifax: Fernwood, 1995). 131-151.
----- “Constitutional Renovation: New Relations or Continued Colonial Patterns?” In Thunder in My Soul: A Mohawk Woman Speaks. (Halifax: Fernwood, 1995). 152-168.
Newman, Dwight G. “You Still Know Nothin’ ‘Bout Me: Towards Cross-Cultural Theorizing of Aboriginal Rights.” McGill Law Journal 52 (2007): 725-756.
Slattery, Brian. “Understanding Aboriginal Rights.” The Canadian Bar. 66 (1987): 727.
----- “What are Aboriginal Rights?” CPLE Research Paper, 2007.
----- “A Taxonomy of Aboriginal Rights.” In Let Right Be Done: Aboriginal title, the Calder Case, and the Future of Indigenous Rights. Hamar Foster, Heather Raven, and Jeremy Webber, eds (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007. ) 111-128.
Tennant, Paul. Aboriginal People and Politics: The British Columbia Indian Land Question, 1849-1989 (Vancouver: UBC Press 1990).
Thom, Brian. "Aboriginal Rights and Title in Canada
after Delgamuukw: Part Two, Anthropological Perspectives on Rights,
Tests, Infringement & Justification" Native Studies Review. 14.2 (2001): 1-42.
Walkem , Ardith and Halie Bruce, eds., Box of Treasures or Empty Box? Twenty Years of Section 35. (Vancouver: Theytus Books Ltd, 2003.)
Endnotes
1 Article 1(2) of the United Nations Charter, http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml.
Manitoba, Justice Institute. “Aboriginal And Treaty Rights.” http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volumel/chapter5.html#9.
Manitoba, Justice Institute. “Aboriginal And Treaty Rights.” http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volumel/chapter5.html#9.
2 Avigail Eisenberg, “Reasoning about the Identity of Aboriginal People.” Stephen Tierney (ed.), Accommodating Cultural Diversity. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2007, 80-1.
3 Mildred C. Poplar, “We were Fighting for Nationhood, not Section 35.” 27-8. In Ardith Walkem and Halie Bruce, eds,. of Treasures or Empty Box? Twenty Years of Section 35. Vancouver: Theytus Books Ltd, 2003.
4 Taiaiake Alfred. Peace Power Righteousness: An Indigenous Manifesto. Second Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2009. 176.
5
John Borrows, “Measuring a Work in Progress: Canada, Constitutionalism,
Citizenship and Aboriginal Peoples.” In Walkem and Bruce, 223-262.
6 John Borrows. “With or Without You: First Nations Law (in Canada.)” (1996) 41. McGill Law Journal, 634.
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www.tjeffersonlrev.org/sites/tjeffersonlrev.org/files/27-01-02...PDF file
REFUSES TO RATIFY THE WOMEN’S CONVENTION ... Charter of the United Nations2 and treaties it has
ratified, ... Issues of gender
equality raise
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USA STILL HAS NOT RATIFIED EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN UNDER LAW-
Equal Rights Amendment
Constitutional Equality and Justice for All?
Updated December 01, 2014.
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would guarantee equality under the law for women. It was introduced in 1923. During the 1970s, the ERA was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification, but ultimately fell three states short of becoming part of the Constitution.What the ERA Says
The text of the Equal Rights Amendment is:Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
History of the ERA: 19th Century
In the wake of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment eliminated slavery, the 14th Amendment declared that no state could abridge the privileges and immunities of U.S citizens, and the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race. Feminists of the 1800s fought to have these amendments protect the rights of all citizens, but the 14th Amendment includes the word "male" and together they explicitly protect only men's rights.History of the ERA: 20th Century
In 1919, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, giving women the right to vote. Unlike the 14th Amendment, which says no privileges or immunities will be denied to male citizens regardless of race, the 19th Amendment protects only the voting privilege for women.In 1923, Alice Paul wrote the "Lucretia Mott Amendment," which said, "Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction." It was introduced annually in Congress for many years.
In the 1940s, she rewrote the amendment. Now called the "Alice Paul Amendment," it required "equality of rights under the law" regardless of sex.
The 1970s Struggle to Pass the ERA
The ERA finally passed the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in 1972. Congress included a seven-year deadline for ratification by three-fourths of the states, meaning that 38 of the 50 states had to ratify by 1979. Twenty-two states ratified in the first year, but the pace slowed to either a few states per year or none. In 1977, Indiana became the 35th state to ratify the ERA. Amendment author Alice Paul died the same year.Congress extended the deadline to 1982, to no avail. In 1980, the Republican Party removed support for the ERA from its platform. Despite increased civil disobedience, including demonstrations, marches, and hunger strikes, advocates were unable to get an additional three states to ratify.
Arguments and Opposition
The National Organization for Women (NOW) led the struggle to pass the ERA. As the deadline neared, NOW encouraged an economic boycott of states that had not ratified. Dozens of organizations supported the ERA and the boycott, including the League of Women Voters, the YWCA of the U.S., the Unitarian Universalist Association, the United Auto Workers (UAW), the National Education Association (NEA), and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).The opposition included states' rights advocates, some religious groups, and business and insurance interests. Among the arguments against the ERA were that it would prevent husbands from supporting their wives, it would invade privacy, and it would lead to rampant abortion, homosexual marriage, women in combat, and unisex bathrooms.
When U.S. courts determine whether a law is discriminatory, the law must pass a test of strict scrutiny if it affects a fundamental Constitutional right or a "suspect classification" of people. Courts apply a lower standard, intermediate scrutiny, to questions of sex discrimination, although strict scrutiny is applied to claims of racial discrimination. If the ERA becomes part of the Constitution, any law discriminating on the basis of sex will have to meet the strict scrutiny test. This would mean a law that distinguishes between men and women must be "narrowly tailored" to achieve a "compelling government interest" by the "least restrictive means" possible.
The 1980s and Beyond
After the deadlines passed, the ERA was reintroduced in 1982 and annually in subsequent legislative sessions, but it languished in committee, as it had for much of the time between 1923 and 1972. There is some question as to what will happen if Congress passes the ERA again. A new amendment would require the two-thirds vote of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures. However, there is a legal argument that the original thirty-five ratifications are still valid, which would mean only three more states are needed. This "three-state strategy" is based on the fact that the original deadline was not part of the amendment's text, but only the Congressional instructions.How the States Voted or Failed to Vote
The thirty-five states that ratified the amendment are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.Five of those states rescinded their ratifications for various reasons. There is some question as to the legitimacy of the rescissions. This is partly due to the question of whether the states were only rescinding incorrectly worded procedural resolutions but still ratifying the amendment, and partly due to the issue of whether ERA questions are moot because the deadline has passed. The five states that rescinded their ratifications are: Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, and South Dakota.
The states that have not ratified the ERA are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/equalrightsamendment/a/equal_rights_amendment_overview.htm
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UNITED NATIONS- REFUSES TO EVEN ACKNOWLEGE LET ALONE DISCUSS
GENDER EQUALITY.... 2016
colfa.utsa.edu/.../docs/...Gender_Equality__Women_Empowerment.pdfPDF file
Gender
Equality & Women Empowerment ... refuses to even acknowledge gender ... 70 world leaders arrived at the United Nations in New York to discuss gender equality ...
www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/IOS/temp/HRGE
Ha…PDF file
UNEG Human Rights and Gender Equality Task Force for their tireless efforts to produce ...
United
Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of ...
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