Majority and Minority Rights CLN 4 U Unit

Majority and Minority Rights CLN 4 U: Unit 2 (Chapter 7)

Balancing Majority and Minority Rights 3 Important Minority Rights Problems n The French-English Conflict n Aboriginal Land Claims n Discrimination and Affirmative Action

The French-English Conflict n n n The Quiet Revolution The Separatist movement Sovereignty-Association The Quebec Referenda; 1980 and 1995 The Clarity Act, 2000

The French-English Conflict The Quiet Revolution (1960 -1966) n n n The movement of Quebec’s social and political influence from rural-religious to urban-secular. French speaking Quebecois began to resist the English speaking economic and social dominance within Quebec, and began to assert their language and cultural rights through politics. The Canadian government under Pierre Trudeau introduced “official bilingualism”, guaranteeing federal government services in both languages through the Official Languages Act, 1969.

The French-English Conflict The Separatist movement n n n Many Quebecois were frustrated by the federal system of government, and wanted more political control over their own society. The desire for a politically independent Quebec gained support, but the degree of desired independence varied between full political independence (extreme) to a more integrated arrangement with the rest of Canada (moderate). The more moderate arrangement gained the most popularity under Rene’ Levesque’s plan for “Sovereignty Association”.

The French-English Conflict Quebec Sovereignty n n n Levesque’s Parti-Quebecois (P. Q. ) government aggressively sought to secure the dominance of the French language within Quebec through the controversial Bill 101 made French the official language throughout the province in all areas of society, and put restrictions on language rights for education. Bill 101 included the “Sign Law”, which banned all languages but French on signs. This law was later challenged under the Charter at the Supreme Court (Ford v. Quebec Attorney General, 1988. ) The Quebec government has subsequently used the “notwithstanding clause” (s. 33) to over-ride the Charter for this issue.

Quebec Sovereignty n n n The Parti-Quebecois viewed their election to the provincial government as a mandate to try to negotiate a “Sovereignty-Association” agreement with the rest of Canada. The Quebec Referendum, (1980) asked Quebecers to support this; the majority (60%) did not. A second Quebec Referendum, (1995), once again rejected separation, although only by a narrow margin (50. 6%). Will this issue resurface again?

The Clarity Act n n n In order to address the ambiguity of the questions asked in Quebec’s Referenda, the Federal government passed legislation to set a framework and procedure for any future negotiation of the separation of any province from Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada was asked to rule on the Constitutionality of separation. The Clarity Act, 2000, established clear requirements for any future referendum or negotiation.

Aboriginal Rights Important Aboriginal-European Treaties n The Peace and Friendship Treaty, 1760 n n An agreement of mutual protection and support between the British and the Mi’kmaq The Royal Proclamation of 1763 n n n The landmark treaty which recognized the land rights of aboriginal peoples Protected aboriginal lands from being owned by any other party except the British Crown Courts continue to recognize aboriginal rights protected by this treaty

Aboriginal Rights The Indian Act, 1876 n Defined “Indian” status n Set rules for the election of chiefs and the operation of councils n Protected Aboriginal lands by appointing non-Aboriginal agents to execute the Act’s conditions n Banned Indian use of alcohol

Aboriginal Rights and the Constitution n The Charter of Rights and Freedoms makes specific reference to Aboriginal rights in section 25, where their rights and treaties are protected. Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms all existing aboriginal and treaty rights, and that these rights apply equally to male and female aboriginals. Courts have upheld treaty rights concerning land claims and land use, such as in R v. Sparrow (1990), and R v. Marshall (1999).

Affirmative Action n A policy designed to increase the representation of groups that have suffered through discrimination. Many people consider these policies to be reverse-discrimination, because it favours minority groups by increasing their opportunities, sometimes at the expense of non-minorities. Affirmative Action programs cannot violate the equality provisions of s. 15(1) of the Charter.