Transcript CORAF – Collective Rights

CORAF – Collective Rights
Social 9
Textbook: chapter 4
What are collective rights?
• “Rights held by groups (peoples) in Canadian
society that are recognized and protected by
Canada’s constitution”
What are collective rights?
• Unique to Canada!
• Are different than individual rights
– ALL Canadian citizens have individual rights
– However, collective rights are specific to one of
several groups of people in Canadian society
• Who holds collective rights?
– Aboriginal Groups: First Nations, Métis & Inuit
– Language Groups: Francophones & Anglophones
Why do some people have collective
rights, while others don’t?
• Recognize the founding people of Canada
– Recognizing their contribution
• Come from Canadian roots
– Aboriginal, French, English
As best as I can do…it’s complicated…
Chapter 4 in your textbook
CANADA’S HISTORY OF COLLECTIVE
RIGHTS
(FOR GROUPS OF PEOPLE NOT LANGUAGE)
7 Years’ War
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0qbzNHmfW0
7 Years’ War
• Also called the “French and Indian War”
– The first “world war”
• In North America, mainly fought between:
– British & Aboriginal supporters
– French & Aboriginal supporters
• Aboriginal groups for the most part,
supported the French
– The war forced aboriginal groups to take sides in a
European conflict
7 Years’ War
• Why the French?
– French primarily there for fur, not large-scale
settlement
– A large number of Jesuit missionaries were
focusing on conversion (thus trying to relate to
aboriginal culture and learn aboriginal languages)
• What was the result?
– France lost its North America holdings
– Aboriginal groups can no longer play the British
off of the French
Royal Proclamation – 1763
• Goals
– Ensure the British laws are
followed in North America
– Encourage British settlers
to come to Quebec
– Control westward
expansion
– Attempt to men
relationships with
aboriginal tribes
Royal Proclamation – 1763
• Results
– One of the causes of the American Revolution
– We see the early beginnings of some recognition of
aboriginal rights in Canada
• In fact, see section 25 of your CORAF!
• The proclamation line was meant to allow for an
orderly expansion westward
– This may seem as an “organized theft of native lands”
OR
– It established a precedent that “the indigenous
population had certain rights to lands they occupied”
Royal Proclamation – 1763
• Thus the Royal
Proclamation is the first
example of the
recognition of aboriginal
collective rights in
Canada!
Quebec Act – 1774
• Passed by Britain to pacify their newly acquired
French-North American subjects
• Allowed the Canadiennes to maintain:
– French civil law
– Catholic religion & freedom of religion
• It worked – the people in the Province of Quebec
were happy to be a part of the British Empire
• Can be considered the first set of collective rights
for French Canadians
American Revolution
• But, as a result of the American revolution, a
large portion of British loyalists abandoned
the newly formed USA and came to British
North America
– Why? They were loyal to the crown
– Around 500,000 people were loyalists
• Around 70,000 fled the USA
• With 46,000ish coming to British North America
American Revolution
• Changes in British North America
– Around 33,000 went to Nova Scotia, but they
weren’t liked. So “New Brunswick” was created
from Nova Scotia for these loyalists
– Around 10,000 went to Quebec
• They wanted the Protestant Church
• They DID NOT want French Civil Law
The
Constitution
Act – 1791
• It was decided that the English and French
speaking settlers should be separated. They
could not peacefully co-exist
– Upper Canada (Ontario) would be English
– Lower Canada (Quebec) would be French
Constitution Act 1791
Upper Canada
• English speaking
• Protestant
• British civil law &
institutions
Lower Canada
• French speaking
• Roman Catholic
• French civil law &
institutions
• Worried that French
Canadians still had too
much power
• Worried that they would be
eclipsed by growing English
power
War of 1812
• Aggressors
– United States
– British Empire (mainly North America)
• Causes
– Trade restrictions by Britain on the new USA, due
to continued war with France
– Impressment of American merchant sailors
– British support of aboriginal tribes against
American expansion
– Possible USA desire to annex Canada
War of 1812
Clockwise from top:
• Damage to the US Capitol
after the Burning of
Washington;
• The mortally wounded
Isaac Brock spurs troops on
at the Queenston Heights;
• USS Constitution vs HMS
Guerriere;
• The death of Tecumseh at
Moraviantown;
• Andrew Jackson leads the
defence of New Orleans
War of 1812-1815
• Great Britain was only able to offer minimal
support, being tied up in Europe due to the
Napoleonic Wars until 1814
– However, in 1815 they were able to offer much more
support
• This war is unique in that it has no clear “victor”
– Americans view it as a second ‘war of independence’
– English Canadians view it as a successful defense
against possible USA annexation
• Part of the collective identity of English-speaking Canadians
1837 – Canada Rebellions
Saint-Eustache Patriotes. By Lord Charles Beauclerk
1837 – Canada Rebellions
• Two armed uprisings that took place in Lower
and Upper Canada
• Causes
– Frustrations in political reform. Both groups had a
great desire for responsible government
• The governments in the colonies were based on the
British model: a monarchy and an aristocracy
• However, there was NO monarchy or aristocracy in the
colonies
1837 – Canada Rebellions
Lower Canada
• Primarily caused by:
– Ineffective and unfair
colonial government
– Economic
disenfranchisement of
French-speaking
businessmen & workers
• Led by the Parti
Canadien (parti
patriote)
• Collective Rights
– These rebellions are a
clear example of French
Canadians fighting for
their collective rights
– The rebellion remains
significant to Quebecers
to this day:
• National Patriotes Day
1837 – Canada Rebellions
Upper Canada
• Caused by anger of the oligarchic
government of Upper Canada
– However, it was the Lower Canada
rebellion that prompted the Upper
Canada one
– Also issues over the family Compact
• A group of businessmen in government
who governed for their own sake
• Led by William Lyon Mackenzie
• Compared to Lower Canada, this
rebellion was far less bloody
1837 – Canada Rebellions
• Aftermath
– Upper and Lower Canada are merged under the
Union Act: The Province of Canada
– French Canadians barely keep a majority in the
new political entity
• However, the new government was unstable
and would ultimately lead to the Great
Coalition and Confederation
1867 - Confederation
• In 1867, after a lengthy battle, the founding
fathers of Canada were able to bring about the
“British North America Act” also known as the
“Constitution Act, 1867”
– This made Canada its own country, with the monarch
of Britain being the monarch of Canada
• Confederation was well received by both the
British and the Canadians
Note: we will be studying Confederation in much greater detail later in the course
1867 - Confederation
• Enshrined fundamental collective rights between
English and French speaking Canadians
– Distinct, yet working together
– In addition, it fostered unity between the two
– Both languages are equally recognized
• The desire for a trans-continental railway was
also reflected in Confederation
– This influenced the numbered treaties with aboriginal
peoples
– Led to BC joining Confederation
1869 – Red River Rebellion
• The newly formed Canadian government bought
Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company
– Would facilitate Canadian expansion
– The land would be surveyed in the same way that
Ontario was surveyed
– This included the Red River Colony in Manitoba
• There was a problem though – the Métis, led by
Louis Riel did not want the land to be surveyed,
especially by an English-speaking surveyor
1869 – Red River Rebellion
1869 – Red River Rebellion
• Riel created a provisional government and
sought to work with the federal government
to establish the Métis territory of Assiniboia as
a province
• In the meantime,
Riel’s government also
tried and executed an
Orangeman named
Thomas Scott
Why would Riel do this?
1869 – Red River Rebellion
• Nevertheless, in 1870 the provisional and federal
governments passed the Manitoba Act which
created the province of Manitoba
• Shortly thereafter, the government sent troops
under the Wolseley Expedition to maintain
security (and prevent American expansion)
– Furious Ontarians, over the execution of Scott, viewed
this as a suppression of the Métis
– The Métis, however view the Manitoba act as an
enshrinement of their rights
1870 – Manitoba Act
• Métis collective rights in the Manitoba Act:
– Separate French schools for Métis
– Protection of the practice of Catholicism
Note: In 1875, Louis
Riel was exiled for his
execution of Thomas
Scott
1876 – Indian Act
(page 137)
• Was enacted in 1876 under the 1867 Constitution
Act
– All authority to legislate in relation to “Indians and
Lands Reserved for Indians” is given to the federal
government .
• Defines who is an “Indian” and contains certain
legal rights and disabilities for registered
aboriginals
– The rights that aboriginal groups gained through this
cannot be challenged under the CORAF (section 25)
1876 – Indian Act
• This leads to the
creation of the
“Department of
Aboriginal Affairs and
Northern
Development”
– This department
(which still exists) is
responsible for
administering the act
1876 – Indian Act
• Up until 1985, the act listed several ways in which an
“Indian” could lose their status
– Marrying a man who was not a status Indian
– Enfranchisement (in other words, they were not allowed to
vote)
– Having at the age of 21, a mother and paternal
grandmother who did not have status before marriage
– Being born out of wedlock to a mother with status and a
father without
• The big issue, was that these provisions interfered with
the matrilineal culture of many First Nations
1876 – Indian Act
• There have been many amendments over the
years, and there continue to be amendments,
but the most significant was Bill C-31 in 1985
– Ends discriminatory provisions of the act
(especially against women)
– Changes the meaning of “status”. Allowed some
aboriginals to regain their status
– Allows the band to define their own membership
rules
1876 – Indian Act & Numbered
Treaties
• Part of the Indian act was a series of
numbered treaties between the federal
government and aboriginal groups
• In Alberta:
– Treaty 6 (1876-1898)
– Treaty 7 (1877-1921)
– Treaty 8 (1899)
• Please copy the chart of treaty provisions from
page 125
1879 – Residential Schools Begin
• As a part of the Indian Act, the federal
government was required to provide
education to the Indian Bands
• MP Nicholas Davin was assigned the task of
deciding how to educate aboriginal children
– He argued that residential schools would be the
best system. They did two things
• Educate aboriginal children
• Assimilate children to Canadian ideals
1885 – North West Rebellion
• In 1885, Riel returned to
Canada, and went to the
Métis people in modern-day
Saskatchewan
• The Métis believed that:
– Canada had failed to address
the protection of their rights
– They would soon die out as a
distinct people
1885 – North West Rebellion
• Riel and the Métis gained some early victories,
however they were outgunned
• Canada’s Advantage:
– The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP)
– The Canadian Pacific Railroad
– Riel’s belief that he was a prophet sent by God to
defend the Métis
1885 – North West Rebellion
• The Métis and aboriginal allies were defeated
fairly quickly
– Riel was tried and executed for his actions
• The North-West Rebellion is another example
of the tensions between English and French
Canadians
– It is an example of collective rights attempting to
be gained militarily
1938-1960 – Métis Population
Betterment Act
• Métis groups lobbied the Alberta government
to set aside land for their use
• The government established 12 settlements
– This was the first time in Canada’s history that a
government had given land to the Métis
• Ultimately four were unsuitable for farming,
fishing, or even hunting, and lands were
returned to the government
1939 – Indian Association of Alberta
• Organized by the First Nations in Alberta, to emphasize
treaty 6, 7, 8 rights
• Goals:
– To maintain treaty rights
– To advance the social and economic welfare of Indian
peoples
– To secure better educational facilities and opportunities
– To cooperate with federal, provincial and local
governments for the benefit of Indians
1969 – Official Languages Act
• Reasserts the equality of French and English as
official languages of Canada, as established at
Confederation
• Four main provisions
– May receive services from federal departments in
either language (French/English)
– May be heard in court in either language
– Parliament publishes everything in both languages
– Languages have equal status as “working” languages
1980 / 1982 – Repatriation of Canada’s
Constitution
• “We, the First Nations, proclaim our dedication
and commitment to the recognition of our
unique history and destiny within Canada by
entrenching our treaty and Aboriginal rights
within the constitution. Only in this way can we
truly fulfill the sacred obligation handed down to
us by our forefathers for the future generations.
Anything less would result in the betrayal of our
heritage and destiny” – Federation of
Saskatchewan indians
1980 / 1982 – Repatriation of Canada’s
Constitution
• “I speak of a Canada where men and women of
Aboriginal ancestry, of French and British
heritage, of the diverse cultures of the world,
demonstrate the will to share this land in peace,
in justice, and with mutual respect.” – Pierre
Trudeau, 1982
– Note: Trudeau viewed the aboriginal treaties as
obstacles to equality, whereas aboriginal peoples
viewed them as affirmations of their identity
– We see the beginnings of an overarching Canadian
ideal in this quote. What is it?
1980 / 1982 – Repatriation of Canada’s
Constitution
• The Métis also lobbied for a recognition of
their rights
• When the Constitution was adopted, the
Métis were recognized as one of Canada’s
aboriginal peoples!
– This is the first time they are formally recognized
1990 – Alberta Métis Settlements
• In 1990, Alberta passed legislation which
granted permanent lands to Métis in Alberta
• They were granted autonomy over their lands
• They Métis were also permitted to participate
in the development of oil and gas industries
on their lands
A Few Additional Métis rights
• 2003 – Supreme court rules that the Métis have a
right to hunt & fish under the constitution
• 2004 – Alberta’s government recognizes Métis
rights to hunt/fish without licenses
• 2006 – Métis in Manitoba launch a land claims
action for land promised, but not delivered, in
the Manitoba Act (think back to Riel)
• 2007 – Alberta’s government withdraws some of
these rights