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The Underground Railroad
Through the Underground Railroad, many slaves from America fled to Canada because they would become free upon arrival, an entire underground system was designed to allow escape for up to 40,000 African American people. although it was not officially sanctioned by the Canadian government this advanced human rights in Canada as we were actively fighting for the right to freedom of those who were not even Canadian citizens. -
Slavery Abolished
Slavery in Canada ended on August 1, now known as Emancipation Day. This event freed 800,000 slaves throughout the British Empire, including Canada This advanced human rights in Canada as it was a major step in our country becoming as diverse as it is today. -
Canadian Independence
On July 1st, 1867, Canada became a separate dominion of Britain and our own country. This brought the Canadian Constitution into effect and gave us our basic rights such as the right to expression, assembly, and religion. This advanced Canadian human rights because it allowed us to create our own rights for the first time and help our people. -
The Indian Act
The Indian was an act passed in 1876 that affected status Indigenous people and aimed to transfer all of them to Euro-Canadian culture. The act has been amended many times, most famously in 1985, when the changes aimed to remove the discriminatory parts of the act and move past that. While the Indian Act has been amended to be more inclusive, it is still perpetuating human rights in Canada as it was created with the idea of taking the right to religion and expression away from Indigenous people -
Chinese Head Tax
The Chinese head tax went into effect after the construction of the CPR. This was done to limit the amount of Chinese people coming to Canada and the initial cost was $50, it was later raised to $100 then $500. This would cost about $8500 per person today. The Canadian government collected over $40,000,000 which would be $700,000,000 from the head tax. The Chinese head tax perpetuated human rights because no other group has had to pay to get into Canada based solely on their country of origin. -
Johnson v. Sparrow
This case was about a black bellboy who had acquired tickets to a theater event, he had then traded these tickets to receive box seats for the event. Upon arrival, he was not allowed to sit in the box even though the ticket had already been purchased. Johnson then said he would sue and left. This case both advanced and perpetuated human rights because the first judge to see the case decided with Johnson on grounds of race and contract breach. But the second judge only agreed on contract breach. -
Dominion Elections Act
The DEA was responsible for enfranchising many people who had been disenfranchised during the First World War. This included people who were from countries that had fought against Canada. This only excluded people who were disenfranchised from provincial elections such as people of Chinese origin in Saskatchewan. The Dominion elections act advanced human rights in Canada by providing the right to vote to many people who did not have it before. -
Persons Case
The persons case was five women who wanted to run for a political office but were denied due to women technically not being considered "people" in the BNA act. They appealed this all the way up to Supreme Court, who denied it and they appealed to the Privy Council of England, who overturned the SC's decision and labeled women as people under the law. This advanced human rights in Canada because it created the right to equality in which all individuals in Canada are treated the same under law. -
MS St. Louis
The MS St Louis tried to land in Halifax Harbour to avoid the rise of Nazi Germany, the mostly Jewish passengers pleaded to be let into Canada but were ultimately turned away. They were taken back to Europe and scattered amongst countries there. Many of those countries fell to Nazi Germany and 254 of the passengers died. This event perpetuated human rights because even though they were not Canadian, they still had a right to live and that was breached when the government turned them down. -
Japanese internment
After the attacks on Pearl Harbour, the Canadian government decided to intern over 21,000 people of Japanese ancestry under the pretense that they could be spies. This was despite the fact they were Canadian-born and loyal to Canada. Many families were separated and they were labeled as "enemy aliens". This has perpetuated human rights because it breached the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and to be tried within a reasonable time. These restrictions continued until 1949. -
Canadian Bill of Rights
The Canadian Bill of Rights is a bill that was passed in the government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. This provided a clear protection of human rights and freedoms. While considered groundbreaking at the time, it did not hold up well in court as it was denied 30 of the 35 times it was used in court and superseded by the CCRF. This was an advancement in human rights because it was the first time that clear regulations on protecting human rights was enacted and provided groundwork for CCRF -
First Nations peoples' votes
Prime Minister John Diefenbaker was drafting the Canadian Bill of Rights. In this, all Canadians were viewed as equal. After drafting this, Diefenbaker saw no need for Indigenous people to lose status to vote in federal elections and granted status Indigenous people the right to vote. This was an advancement in human rights because now every Canadian has the right to vote. -
Ontario Human Rights Code
The OHRC was enacted in 1962 and is designed to protect people from discrimination based on age, race, religion, etc. It prohibits discrimination based on these factors in employment, housing, contracts, and union memberships. This is done to provide a fair life for anybody in Ontario. This advanced human rights because it protects citizens from discrimination and enacts the right to equality, where no person is above another or the law. -
Canadian Human Rights Act
The Canadian Human Rights Act was created to allow individuals to meet their needs in their lives and have their wants met without being discriminated against based on age, race, sex, etc. This was done to create a country free of discrimination where anybody could achieve their goals. This advanced human rights in Canada by enforcing the right of equality for every Canadian. -
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The CCRF was added to the Constitution in 1982. It highlights the rights of every Canadian and certain restrictions that could be put on those rights. While based on the CBR, the CCRF is actually a part of the Constitution and has supremacy that the CBR did not. It also expanded the rights of minorities and criminal defendants. The CCRF advanced human rights by providing a clear guideline of rights and their limitations, it also expanded rights for marginalized groups such as minorities. -
Same-sex marriage legalized
In 2005, Canada became the fourth country to legalize same-sex marriage through the Federal Civil Marriage Act. This act allows people of the same sex to be married by a non-religious minister. This is because the federal government cannot force religious ministers to wed people if it goes against their religion. This act advanced human rights because it provided an opportunity for all Canadians to choose who they love while still not infringing on the rights of others. -
Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement
The IRSSA was the largest class action lawsuit in Canadian history. The suit was intended to provide a support system for those who were affected by residential schools. $1.9 billion was set aside for former students of residential schools with the intent of giving $10,000 to each student to assist on the journey of healing. Many foundations also started to assist in the process. This advanced human rights in Canada because it was an attempt at helping those we had marginalized in the past.