Inquiry into the Issue
Completion requirements
Unit 2: Section 2: Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms
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Inquiry into the Issue
As a youth living in Canada, do you know what your rights and freedoms are? You understand the law and your rights under the YCJA. But more specifically, what are your rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? A right belongs to everyone. More specifically, a right is a thing that we deserve, such as the right to clean water, food, and shelter.
right: refers to the things that we deserve as human beings (such as the right to clean water, food, shelter, reasonable access to health care)
Legal rights are more specific and refer to rights secured by law, which cannot be denied from one situation to the next. In Canada, all citizens have a legal duty to respect the legal rights of others. If citizens feel their legal rights are being violated, they can turn to the law to ensure their legal rights are respected.
freedom: implies that no one will interfere with what you want to do
No one is obligated to ensure that your freedoms are not being violated. The government has a responsibility to ensure that legal rights do not unjustifiably limit your freedoms.
Vocabulary
Retrieve your Issues for Canadians Definitions handout from your Activities folder, and record your definitions for the terms right and freedom.
Continue to add to your definition of rights and freedom and use these terms in all your activities and assignments in this section.
Save your updated handout to your Activities folder.
Freedoms are also guaranteed in the Charter. What is the difference between a right and a freedom? These two words are often used interchangeably; however, they have slightly different meanings. A freedom means that no one will interfere with what you want to do; this freedom might include having your own opinion.
Inquiry Activity
In the Section Introduction, you explored the freedoms and rights granted and guaranteed to all Canadians in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Consider the following ideas:
- For society to function in a peaceful and respectful manner, individuals must respect and consider the rights of others as well as exercising their own rights. It is definitely a "give and take" situation.
- How do we ensure individual rights are honoured (for example, a person's right to enjoy playing music in one's home) while respecting the rights of others (for example, the neighbour's right to peace and quiet in his or her home)? How can Canada balance both people's rights?
Brainstorm some ideas in your notes.
Save your notes to your Activities folder.
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