Historical Changes of Canadian Law
The current laws in Canada have undergone many influential changes in history resulting in what it is today. The most prominent are the British government, parliamentary supremacy, and Code Napoleon.
Firstly, Canada technically did not exist during the early colonial period, it was part of British land ruled by British law. Although Canada is independent now it still follows English common law. The English Common Law is fixed, which means that it does not undergo any changes overtime. The English Tradition conditions that laws must be sharp and realistic, people that are accused stay innocent until they are proven guilty, and the evidence needs to have high standards. The English tradition is still predominant in our law, especially the Canadian Charter of Rights. A Canadian citizen’s legal rights states, that everyone is “to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal”. The English tradition has manifested itself into Canadian law allowing everybody to have a “right to life, liberty and, security of the person”.
Secondly, in 1931 to 1982, Britain stopped establishing laws for Canada. This allowed for the Canadian Parliament to be seen superior and make decisions for the country. This quickly ended 51 years later whenever the Canadian Constitution was transformed and a new section was established, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter of Rights and Freedom discussed that some human rights were so essential that even the Parliament would not be able to pass any laws that desecrated them. After 1982, the rights of citizens in Canada have been sharper and more safeguarded than before, Parliament is not able to pass laws that will violate rights and if this happens Canadians are able to overrule this law. Regardless of the Charter of Rights, Quebec has been able to pass Bill 21 which bans many people from wearing merchandise such as: hijabs, turbans, kippahs, and crucifixes. At first it was very difficult to pass this bill because of how strong the Canadian Charter of Rights protects the rights of its people but on June 16 the bill was passed with support from Parti Quebecois. This is unconstitutional and discriminates people based on their race, nationality, ethnicity, and religion. Bill 21 violates the fundamental rights and freedom of a person to freely express and celebrate their religion without any discrimination and prejudice.
Lastly, Canada’s legal system originates from European countries in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Originally, Indigenous people had their own laws, but European law had triumphed. In 1759, the English defeated the French and most of the country fell completely under English law, all provinces and territories except Quebec. Quebec’s civil law is based off Code Napoleon, they still follow English criminal law. It is a juxtapose between the two legal systems in Canada, it helps Canadians understand how civil law and common law differ, globally. Quebec is a large portion of where people immigrate but it is much more difficult to immigrate there than other parts of Canada. People have fought to vote and even died but many students at McGill and Concordia from English provinces were unable to vote due to them not meeting the standards of habitual residency (they weren’t going to stay in Quebec for a long period of time). Although Quebec is a part of Canada and follows the Canadian Charter of Rights it seems as they are violating the democratic rights of a citizen based off the Napoleon Code. As a result of the many circumstances Canada underwent throughout history, we can see how these main events shaped and influenced modern day Canadian Law.
