The evolution of human rights in Canada : Évolution des droits de la personne au Canada

Canadians established one of the most sophisticated human rights legal regimes in the world; largely abandoned the principle of Parliamentary supremacy; produced a unique human rights movement; and became one of the first countries to advance human rights as a cornerstone of international politics. [...] Canadians established one of the most sophisticated human rights legal regimes in the world; largely abandoned the principle of Parliamentary supremacy and embraced the Charter of Rights 5 13 and Freedoms ; produced a unique human rights movement; and became one of the first countries to advance human rights as a cornerstone of international politics. [...] The Saskatchewan legislation, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, inspired the federal government to initiate Parliamentary hearings in 8 1947, 1948 and 1950 into the possibility of a national bill of rights. [...] Rights discourse and the role of the state had traditionally favoured the discriminator; the rights to freedom of speech or association were interpreted to mean the right to refuse service to certain peoples or to express prejudicial ideas. [...] In contrast, anti- discrimination legislation “represented a fundamental shift, a reversal, of the traditional notion of citizens’ rights to enrol the state as the protector of the right of the victim to freedom from discrimination.