Fn's Rights In Canada

855 Words4 Pages

The way that peoples collective rights worked in the past wasn’t always through a fair system. In multiple cases, rights were given based off of appearance or status rather than one’s position. An important example of this is the First Nations history of Treaties and the Indian Act. When Europeans came to Canada, not only did they find land but a civilization with it. Multiple treaties were created between the FN’s and Europeans to help both groups so they can live in harmony. Unfortunately, it wasn't very long until the two perspectives began changing their path. Even with the treaties in play, the FN’s were treated unfairly with little respect. The Europeans decided that they were in control, acting oblivious to the FN’s way of life, and began backing out of the agreements. The Europeans had a new …show more content…

It was a way for the government to administer these ‘treaty rights’ to the ‘treaty people’ (Nelson,137). It was an overarching treaty that established treaty rights, restricting FN’s rights to participate, vote, take part in politics, travel, along with being able to celebrate and embrace their culture (Nelson,137). Aboriginal people spoke up and represented themselves, the result was Section 35 in Canada’s Constitution. Section 35 acknowledges FN, Metis and Inuit people as Aboriginals (Nelson,137). Proper collective rights were established in the Constitution for Aboriginals. The protest led to awareness and acknowledgment of the initial treaties and agreements. To what extent has the federal government affirmed collective rights in the legislation over time? Canada is different than any other country, including the United States, because of our collective rights. The purpose of them is so different groups of people can have an identity. Which overall, would create a diverse society with many identities which people can be a part of. Our history and the laws