Is Canada A Just Society

During the 15 years as prime minister of Canada, Pierre Elliott Trudeau treated Quebec equally which helped Quebec stay united with Canada. Pierre Elliott Trudeau stated that "I am trying to put Quebec in its place — and the place of Quebec is in Canada."(Pierre Elliot Trudeau, "Quotes by Prime Minsters- Pierre Trudeau”). Quebec place is in Canada because Quebec had a major impact for Canada confederation. This is why Pierre Trudeau said this to the country. Pierre Trudeau passed a bill that was called Official Languages Act in 1969, that made English and French the official languages of Canada.The act declared that “the English and the French languages are the official languages of Canada, for all purposes of the Parliament and Government of Canada and possess and enjoy equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada.” (Cruxton, Bradley and Douglas Wilson, “The Official Language Act 1969”) Until that time, only 14 percent of the high rank government jobs were held by French Canadian, even though they made 25 percent of Canada population. Pierre Trudeau believed that the Official Languages Act was the only way to keep the French heritage in Canada and to treat the Quebec people equally like English Canadians. Trudeau’s ability to keep French and English Canadians

However, “existing aboriginal and treaty rights” is never clearly defined within the constitution. While the First Nations people of Canada may believe that they have the inherent right to practice as they please, the federal government may disagree, leading to many arguments and the idea that aboriginal people are not being given all that they have a right to.

In 1976 Rene Levesque won the provincial election and became premier of Quebec with his party, Parti Quebecois. The separatists wanted to strengthen the French language and didn’t care about official bilingualism. So not long after taking office, the Parti Quebecois passed Bill 101, which is also known as the Charter of the French Language. It decreed that French was the single official language of the province of Quebec and that employees of the government had to work in French. Outdoor commercial signs had to be in French only and the children of immigrants would have to go to French schools. The Quebecois likes this new law because they thought their language and culture was becoming endangered. Birth rates in Quebec had gone down and the

The first of these changes was introduced in 1969 and stated that English and French were to be used throughout federal board/administration, which signified the start of language rights in Canada. Later on, in 1982, the Constitution Act was brought in and clearly addressed the importance of language rights in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Today, sections 16 - 22 of the Charter states that English and French both have equal status, rights, and privileges; section 23 guarantees minority rights to children in Quebec who speak English and French-speaking children in the rest of Canada. While these new bills were being introduced, PM Chrétian was also working studiously to persuade Quebec to stay as part of Canada. Chrétian enacted a multitude of acts

Canada’s treatment to the Aboriginal people and other racial minorities is sadly something that it cannot take pride in, especially after all, Canada is commended globally as an exemplary of cultural variety and has a commendable repute for its liberal anti-racist policy. This essay will prove that today’s government should be held accountable for injustices of the past as first nations people were treated unequal for many years and other immigrants in Canada weren’t recognised and were made to be different and struggle. Canada is recognised for, and prides herself on, the abundant diversity of cultures, ethnic backgrounds, races and beliefs which live inside its borders. Therefore the government should be responsible for ensuring that all its qualities are met with high standard and the Canadian government should facilitate injustices of the past.

The Bill 101, known as the Charter of the French Language was introduced by René Lévesque in 1977. The main goals of this law was to promote the use of French in Quebec and to assimilate every immigrants into our community. It placed restrictions on the English primary and secondary school and impose commercial adds to use French. The Bill 101 is limiting us because it is no longer necessary, unfavourable for the economy of our province and it offers less opportunities.

In addition people with different race, religion and ethnicity were denied work without question adding to the unjust treatment. Due to these ideas Canada was an unjust society.

Since the colonization of Canada First Nations people have been discriminated against and assimilated into the new culture of Canada through policies created by the government. Policies created had the intentions of improving the Aboriginal people’s standard of living and increasing their opportunities. Mainly in the past hundred years in Canadian Society, policies and government implemented actions such as; Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reserve systems have resulted in extinguishing native culture, teachings, and pride. Policies towards the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians has decreased their opportunities and standard of living because of policies specified previously (Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reservation systems).

“Section 27 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires that the Charter “be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians.” The Official Languages Act has significantly made an effective contribution on Canada’s immigration success. It has allowed Pierre Elliott Trudeau to further expand his ideas on allowing individuals of all ethnicities and races to live their lives freely. English and French languages can be used in all government institutions of Canada, communicating freely within the public area and in the home. Both the English and French languages can be used in debates, courts, schools and any public institution. The importance of the Official Languages Act is to guarantee equality rights such as privileges and status between the French and English Canadians. Nevertheless, Pierre Elliot Trudeau was productive in ensuring the equal opportunities and rights of citizens. In modern day society, Pierre Trudeau’s accomplishments in enacting human rights has significantly improved. Overtime, it has diversified the cultures in schools and other public institutions. More individuals are becoming acceptant of race, ethnicity, homosexuality and religious beliefs. Due to the result of the diversity of cultures in schools, it has brought humans closer to one another and accepting of ones’

The legacy of historical globalization on the Aboriginal community is still a very much relevant issue in Canada. Although historical globalization interconnected different countries and nations, it gave birth to imperialism and colonialism. As a result of this, legislations such as the Indian Act was implemented. The Indian Act was passed by the Canadian government in 1876 in an attempt to assimilate First Nations into mainstream society. In an attempt to erase the “Indian” in the First Nations, first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald implemented a policy of “aggressive civilization” which led to publicly funded Indian Residential Schools. At the time, anyone from the ages five to fifteen years old were forced to go to a Residential School. A total of one hundred and fifty thousand children was sent to these school’s, however, the negative impact wasn’t limited to these people. The effects of Residential school and Indian Act still resonate for the generations that followed. The systems that the Canadian government use to assimilate the First Nations such as the Indian Act and Residential schools left a huge impact on the Aboriginal community. Social problems, such as abuse, alcoholism, suicide and poverty are only a few of the issues that sprouted from the effects of historical globalization. The Canadian government’s effort in trying to reconcile with the First Nation can be seen through the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the amendment of the Indian Act, and the Truth

Canada as a just society has changed a lot throughout the years, Canada has and still is a discriminative place but I believe it has definitely improved but there are still changes that need to be made. However,As said Canada has changed for the better andit has improved a lot since her older days, and not everything will always be perfect, a conflict will always arise and maybe we cannot always solve the problem. Canadian identity has been working towards a just society but it has been negatively affected by how they have treated minorities in World War One, with aboriginals in residential schools, the enactment of the War Measures Act in a time of peace and the continued LGBTQ discrimination.

Often times, when it came to the discussion on equality within Canada, the actions of Canada were compared to those of the United States, and often times, a comment is made stating that the United States could learn from Canada’s example when it came to racial harmony. However, this idea was often criticized as the racial problems within Canada were just as severe. The respect and the livelihood of the First Nation were violated for years even before the start of the twentieth century. However, the issues of the First Nations were hardly ever brought to light by other Canadians because these issues were often hidden deep within the reserves that these First Nations were forced into. From taking their land away to disregarding their cultures, the government rarely ever acknowledged the needs of the First Nations until they could no longer be ignored. The government continuously stressed assimilation, especially with the Indian Act , and expected the First Nations

Canada is a huge country located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean and consists of 10 provinces. This country is the host for immigrants from all over the world with different religions and cultures. It embraces all of these diverse groups of people. It was essential that some arrangements be made to accommodate for these divers groups’ needs and ultimately in the year 1960 legislation of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was a huge step toward these affairs. The Charter was enacted by the parliament in order to respect each person’s rights and eligibilities in different areas and it is divided into subsections.

To what extent was Pierre Trudeau’s vision of a “just society” actually achieved in Canada in (and since) the 1970s? Canada is a just society because of the changes to women's legal rights, ethnic minority human rights, and multiculturalism.

Aboriginal persons in Canada have been facing oppression ever since colonization began. Even when Canada gained independence from the British Empire, the oppression continued and still goes on today. One major contributing factor to the oppression of Aboriginal people in Canada is the actions taken by the Government. The Government of Canada has in fact mistreated and found to be partaking in wrongdoing when dealing with the Aboriginal population in this country. With this ugly truth being revealed, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had to be tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. (cite)