Page 473 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Canadian and World Studies

C2. Development of Human Rights Law
FOCUS ON: Legal Significance; Continuity and Change; Legal Perspective
By the end of this course, students will:
C2.1 explain how the actions of various individuals and groups have contributed to the development of human rights law in Canada (e.g., Clara Brett Martin, Viola Desmond, Richard Sauvé, Donald Marshall, Jr., the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted, the Assembly of First Nations, Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund)
C2.2 describe the legal significance of some important Canadian human rights cases as examples of how human rights law has been or is being interpreted and applied in Canada (e.g., cases involving euthanasia/assisted suicide [Rodriguez v. British Columbia, 1993]; racial profiling [R. v. Brown, 2003, or Hill v. Hamilton Wentworth Regional Police Services Board, 2007]; religious rights [Roncarelli v. Duplessis, 1959,
or Canadian National Railway Co. v. Canada (Human Rights Commission) and Bhinder, 1985]; freedom of expression [Saskatchewan (Human Rights Tribunal) v. Whatcott, 2010]; mandatory minimum sentences as“cruel and unusual punishment”[R. v. Latimer, 2001]; privacy [R. v. Patrick, 2009; R. v. M. (M.R.), 1998]; discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation [Egan v. Canada, 1995])
Sample questions: “How can racial profiling infringe on a person’s rights?” “Why did the courts rule against both Sue Rodriguez (in Rodriguez v. British Columbia) and Robert Latimer (in R. v. Latimer [1997 and 2001]) despite considerable public sympathy for their positions?”
C2.3 describe how some human rights codes
and related legislation have been influenced
or might be influenced in future by factors such as evolving social attitudes and values, changing technology, and changing demographics (e.g., social attitudes and values: laws relating to women’s rights, reproductive rights, gender identity rights; changing technology: laws relating to privacy rights; demographics: laws relating
to mandatory retirement age)
Sample questions: “When did a (provincial or federal) human rights code in Canada first include explicit protection against discrimina- tion and harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation? What were some reasons for the change?” “Do you think existing laws for the protection of individual privacy are adequate in the Internet age? Why, or why not?”
HUMAN RIGHTS
471
Understanding Canadian Law
in Everyday Life
CLU3E