What Are Rights and Responsibilities?

Canada has the Canadian Human Rights Act (1977), and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to enshrine individual rights in our nation

Canada also has the “Privacy Act” to help protect individual privacy (it keeps people from being allowed to gather information about you, enter your property, etc)

So.... There’s lots of laws and acts to tell us what our rights are and what our freedoms are.... But not much to tell us about our...RESPONSIBILITIES

Definition: Something that a person is morally or legally entitled.

But if you’ve got all these benefits, shouldn’t you take some

responsibility as well?

Well, if you don’t, the system wont last very long

Rights-Freedom of Thought

-Freedom of Speech

-Freedom of Religion

Responsibilities-Obey the Law

-Express your opinions but respect the opinions of others

-Eliminate discrimination and injustice

Sometimes two rights can clash...• Like when a child misbehaves and a parent decides to punish them

The child has a RIGHT to protection, but a parent also has a RIGHT to exercise authority over his/her child

There are limits to your rights as well.

-You might have the right to self expression but you cant wear a bikini to school

-You might have the right to bear arms (U.S.) but it doesn’t mean you can shoot at people

The Difference Between a Right and a Freedom:

- Whenever there is a right, the government has a duty to protect that right

- When you are talking about a freedom, it is something you automatically have WITHOUT the government needing to do anything specific to allow it.

You have the RIGHT to vote – The Government has a DUTY to set up voting stations

You have the FREEDOM of the Press – The Government can just stay out of the way

Freedom of Religion means that you have the freedom to worship whatever religion you want and that the state cannot impose any religious laws on the people of Canada

Did you know:

-Until 1985 retail stores were closed on Sunday?

-Until 1992 students began each day in Manitoba with Prayer?

These practices ended after courts ruled that they violated section 2A of the Charter which guarantees freedom of conscience and religion

-You are Free to think what you want and express your thoughts as you want

-But, as in the case of rights, only to a “Reasonable Limit”

-Mr. Kolstad has Freedom of Expression but can he tell you that all Blond haired people are actually robots from the future here to destroy our oceans? (Hint: no)

- “Reasonable Limits” mean that you cannot simply do or say anything you want if it is harmful to the general population

- School Dress codes are also upheld by these reasonable limits.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms formalizes your basic rights, but more specific rights are created through a court’s interpretation of the Charter in specific situations.

So, For example, you have the right to not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.

But how do we define cruel and unusual?

You have the right to elect your representatives to Parliament

Franchise has been growing since the beginning of Canada

• Used to be only land owning white men could vote

• Then women, other races

• Now even prisoners can vote...

Legal rights ensure that you are treated fairly when dealing with the legal system

• You have the right to be secure against unreasonable search

• The right to not be arbitrarily detained

• Police officers have the ability to search you because they are in a position of authority and legally able to do so

• Same with school officials and teachers who, while you are at school, act in place of your parents under the law

• In each of these cases, however, there needs to be reasonable cause for the search– not even a police officer can just arbitrarily search you

• Sometimes there is a reasonable situation in which your rights can be infringed upon – Like in the case of drunk driving check points

Everyone has the right to equal treatment under the law regardless of their race, ethnicity, language, colour, sex, religion...

- Equality rights are designed to ensure that everyone has the same opportunity no matter what– we try to remove barriers to success and between each other.

Same Sex Marriage Sexual Orientation cannot be discriminated against. As a result

they receive the same benefits as any heterosexual couple

Including the right to marry, not be discriminated against when seeking employment, etc.

Disability Rights Hot button issue – Disability activists worked very hard to build

disability rights so that people with disabilities have the same access to buildings, services, and benefits as everyone else

Language Rights French and English Speaking minorities have the right to education

in their own language in any province and territory as long as there are enough to justify it

In 1993 Manitoba had to make a French Language school system because there were more than enough French speakers here to justify having one

Review the “Face Off: Freedom of Religion Versus Right to Security” on page 57

Answer questions 1 and 2 completely and put them in your folder.