Human rights in Canada

Human rights in Canada have come under increasing public attention and legal protection since World War II. Inspired by Canada's involvement in the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the current legal framework for human rights in Canada consists of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, part of the Constitution of Canada, and statutory human rights laws, passed by the federal Parliament and the provincial legislatures.

The Supreme Court of Canada first recognized an implied bill of rights in 1938 in the decision Reference Re Alberta Statutes. Starting with the Saskatchewan Bill of Rights in 1947, the provinces and the federal government passed a series of laws to protect human rights. Statutes originally tended to focus on specific issues, such as racial discrimination in housing or employment, and gradually expanded to comprehensive human rights statutes which took a general approach to discrimination. As well, to ensure consistent enforcement of the human rights laws, governments began to create human rights commissions, charged with investigating human rights complaints and providing clear remedies. By 1977, all ten provinces and the federal government had enacted human rights laws.

Since the 1960s, Canada has placed emphasis on equality and inclusiveness for all people. In present-day Canada the idea of a "just society" is constitutionally protected. The Charter guarantees fundamental freedoms such as; free expression, religion, association and peaceful assembly rights and the right to life, liberty and security of the person. Other rights related to participation in elections, mobility, legal process, equality, language usage and minority-language education are also within the Charter.