Civil Liberties in a Democracy PDF

Civil Liberties in a Democracy Individual and Collective Rights Human Rights Civil Liberties - freedom to do certain things without the restriction of gov’t Human Rights - inalienable rights for all human beings UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights Civil Liberties in a democracy: Freedom o...

Civil Liberties in a Democracy Individual and Collective Rights Human Rights Civil Liberties - freedom to do certain things without the restriction of gov’t Human Rights - inalienable rights for all human beings UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights Civil Liberties in a democracy: Freedom of Speech/expression Freedom of Press Freedom of Dissent Freedom of Association Freedom of Assembly Freedom of Religion Mobility Rights Legal Rights Democratic Rights Right to Privacy Theorists and Civil Liberties Hobbes: give up individual rights in return for security Locke: individual rights (especially for property) essential, but some must be sacrificed for security Rousseau: group rights should be decided by individuals, but then followed by the group J.S. Mill: Responsibility of the majority in a democracy to care for the minority Establishment of Individual Rights Progression of Civil Liberties Classical Liberalism ○ Negative freedoms ○ Freedom ‘from’ government intervention ○ Equality in opportunity not in status Modern Liberalism ○ Positive freedoms ○ Freedom to.. ○ Government intervention is what provides the protection of freedoms ○ Classical Liberalism wasn’t providing ‘true’ equality of opportunity Gov’t’s job to ensure equality is protected ○ Dignity and fair treatment for all  Historical Fights for Rights Pre Civil-Rights movement: American Revolution (1775) ○ Declaration of Independence French Revolution (1789) ○ Anger about treatment of 3rd estate ○ Declaration of the Rights of Man Industrial Revolution ○ Fight for better working conditions leads to: Better wages Establishment of Unions Growth of Socialism ○ Women’s Rights Suffrage Movement 1st wave of Feminism Case Study: African Americans Struggle for Rights From Slavery to Segregation 1865 - Emancipation Proclamation ○ America ends enslavement of blacks ○ Creation of 13th Amendment 1896 - Plessy v. Ferguson ○ Supreme court decision permits levels of discrimination ‘Separate but equal’ Segregation - Jim Crow South Jim Crow Laws - State and local laws that enforced racial segregation ○ Schools, hospitals, restaurants ○ Water fountains, restrooms, white neighbourhoods ○ Couldn’t vote ○ Click Here to look at State specific laws Popularity of KKK grew within the south Violent descrimination practiced - i.e. lynching Segregation - North Segregation through unwritten customs and traditions Blacks were denied housing and at times ability to vote Civil Rights Movement Largely occurred during the 1950’s and 60’s in the USA to eliminate racial segregation Wanted to obtain equal rights ○ Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Ending segregated schools Schools were slow to desegregate ○ Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1956) Supreme court deems segregation unconstitutional ○ Little Rock 9 (1957) President Eisenhower had to bring in Army to protect black students Civil Rights Achievements The civil rights movement was largely defined by non-violent intervention ○ Boycotts, Marches, Strikes, etc. March on Washington - 1963 ○ Hundreds of thousands went to Washington DC to protest ○ Martin Luther King Jr. gives his ‘I have a dream’ speech Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 ○ L. Johnson passes Act that banned discrimination based on ‘race, color, religion, sex or national origin.’ ○ Inspires ‘affirmative action’ Civil Rights: Continued Today Black people in America still face segregation today ○ High rates of incarceration ○ Discrimination by police/law ○ Discrimination at the workplace ○ Economic inequality/Lack of reparations from slavery ○ Disparity in receiving loans for mortgages Is there anything else that could be added to the list? Canada and Slavery Canada and Racism Chinese Head Tax (1885-1923) Chinese Exclusion Act (1923-1947) Immigration from India made difficult (1908) ○ Continuous Journey regulation ○ Must have $200 Komagata Maru 1914  Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Individual Rights Changes due to the Charter: This charter protects all individuals within Allowing abortion Canada, with certain aspects reserved for LGBT Recognition Canadian citizens Strengthening Aboriginal Rights Created 1982 by P. Trudeau Linguistic Rights for Francophones outside Designed to ensure the government doesn’t Quebec abuse one’s rights Canadians can challenge the gov’t if they feel the gov’t has gone against their rights Section 15 - Equality Rights: “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.” Collective Rights Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Collective Rights Unlike the Bill of Rights(USA) Canada protects collectives within its constitution Some of the Collective Rights in Canada: First peoples rights Anglophone language rights Francophone language rights Young offenders rights Catholic rights to separate schools Collective Rights: Indigenous People Largely based on promises from acts/treaties that go as far back as the Royal Proclamation (1763) Some that are provided: Housing and Reserve land in Canada collectively owned by each first nation Indigenous hunting and fishing rights Indigenous treaty rights Tax exemption for indigenous living on reserves Post secondary support for ‘status indians’ Some Canadians look at this as first nations being treated ‘Citizenship Plus’. First Nations Struggle for Rights Indian Act (1876) ○ Protects many promised rights ○ Also, involved many illiberal policies that damaged the First Nations community Banning ceremonies, dress Residential Schools (1880-1996) ○ Mass assimilation attempt by gov’t ○ Lead to loss of culture and pride ○ Abuse reports are rapant from these schools Reserve First Nations get the right to vote(1960) White Paper(1969) ○ P. Trudeau’s gov’t proposed the abolition of aboriginal rights ○ Aboriginals create Red Paper stating that this will never happen First Nations Struggle for Rights Oka Crisis 1990 ○ Land dispute between Mohawk and town of Oka, Quebec ○ Brought attention to land claim issues throughout Canada Land Claims - Claim to land used by aboriginals that is being used without a treaty in place ○ Section 35 of Charter recognizes and affirms - “existing aboriginal and treaty rights” ○ Since 1973, first nations have got back 600,000 km2 of their land ○ Received over $3.2 billion in compensation First Nations: Civil Rights in Motion Truth and Reconciliation Committee ○ 2008-2015 ○ Gathered evidence of the impact of residential schools ○ 94 calls to action for the government Improved education Not have to move away from family Improved Health Care accessibility National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women(MMIW) ○ Indigenous cases are more unsolved than non-aboriginal cases in Canada ○ Inquiry is looking into the issue while also trying to bring awareness to open cases Collective Rights: Language Purpose is to protect Canada’s official languages Supports minority French/English populations within Canada French Struggle for Rights Quiet Revolution (1960s) ○ Quebec objects to English dominance ○ Fear assimilation ○ Want to be a distinct society 1969 - Official Languages Act ○ Move to make both English and French equal in Federal Parliament October Crisis(1970) ○ FLQ are terrorising society in Quebec ○ Largely attacking property Bill 101(1977) ○ Ensures French domination in Quebec ○ Deals with language on signs to language of education Separation Referendums - 1980/95 Illiberalism in a Democracy The Restriction of Individual Rights: Canada War Measures Act ○ Used to create security and order in society during time of conflict/war ○ WW1 - Used to intern Ukrainians/Germans (Borden) ○ WW2 - Used to intern Japanese(Mackenzie King) ○ 1970 - Used to find FLQ members disrupting society(Trudeau) Emergencies Act(1988) ○ It replaced the war measures act ○ Gov’t can enact laws quickly but must comply with Charter of Rights and Freedoms The Restriction of Individual Rights: Canada Anti Terrorism Act ○ Response to 9/11 ○ Effort to prosecute terrorists in Canada or the world ○ Created more clear definitions around terrorism in the Criminal Code No Fly List (2007) ○ List of those deemed a security risk to aviation Bill C 51(2015) ○ Expands CSIS’s ability to follow and track individuals believed to be involved in terrorism ○ Can force deletion of propaganda The Restriction of Individual Rights: US Terrorist Acts around the Western World ○ 9/11 - New York (2001) ○ London Bombings 7/7 (2005) ○ Parliament Hill shooting - Ottawa (2014) ○ Bataclan Shooting - Paris (2015) USA Patriot Act (Oct. 2001) ○ Response to 9/11 ○ Gave National Security Agency(NSA) the right to tap cell phones and track internet users Quebec Bill 21 Promotes secularism in public spaces Law prohibits public sector employees in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols at work It challenges freedom of religion ○ With a thought that it discriminates against certain religions that have more overt religious symbols (islam, sikh, etc) Uses the ‘Notwithstanding Clause’ ○ Notwithstanding clause - enables provincial or federal legislatures to temporarily override certain Charter-protected rights and freedoms within their legislation