Examples Of Bias In Canada

Imagine a nation where half of the populace is treated with the same respect as animals. A nation where the audacity of woman was suppressed in the face of political and socio-economical decisions. This very nation was Canada in the Laurier Era. As hard as it may be to believe this punitive truth, but the liberal values that Canada possesses now were most definitely not innate. Instead, they were built through a myriad of events with World War I definitely being the foremost of them all. World War I truly had a profound impact upon the history of women's right in Canada and aided in the creation of equality between the two genders. The ruthless and arduous toiling of women and their role in preserving Canada’s economic situation gave rise to

Since the 19th Century, women in Canada have fought political, legal, and social battles to find their place in Canadian society. From starting out in small, local organizations, to legal battles in the Supreme Court, Canadian women have come a long way. Unfortunately, it took a long time for many people to adapt to the changing roles of women, which made women still feel unequal compared to men. It is really striking to think that at one point society questioned if women could even be considered persons, just a small sample of the many changes women had to face through the course of history. This paper will analyze these changes experienced by Canadian women in that time period and how it affected their everyday lives.

Every woman has the right to moral, legal and political choice. As we look to the past, women fought for the right to be treated the same as men and fundamentally to have the same rights as men. Prior to the turn of the century, women had little to no rights. World War I and II gave way to change, allowing women to work and eventually allowing them to vote. The feminist movement has made drastic progress since the war. Today women are seen as equal and have the right not only to vote, but to be educated. In 1977 the Canadian Human Rights Act ensured that women could no longer be discriminated based on their sex, race, religion or sexuality. The act specified that there must be “equal pay for

The core of the Japanese experience in Canada lies in the shameful and almost undemocratic suspension of human rights that the Canadian government committed during World War II. As a result, thousands of Japanese were uprooted to be imprisoned in internment camps miles away from their homes. While only a small percentage of the Japanese living in Canada were actually nationals of Japan, those who were Canadian born were, without any concrete evidence, continuously being associated with a country that was nothing but foreign to them. Branded as “enemy aliens”, the Japanese Canadians soon came to the realization that their beloved nation harboured so much hate and anti-Asian sentiments that Canada was becoming just as foreign to them as

An internment camp is a “large detention center created for political opponents, enemy aliens, people with mental illness, members of specific ethnic or religious groups, civilian inhabitants of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, usually during a war” (wiki). Canada has come a long way since these times of immorality. Following the Second World War, immigration is still selective, but is a major improvement in comparison to historical times.

Canada is presently known for welcoming many racial groups into the country. However, the Canadian government is not always giving out warm welcomes to different ethnicities. During World War Two, the country rejects many Japanese and Italians who are already Canadian. The treatment of the Japanese and Italians in the Second World War is very unjust. The two groups face being put into internment camps against their own will, the government separates families and force men to work on farms with little pay. The government of Canada also mistreat the Japanese and Italian Canadians because they are full of fear and superstition.

Canada before working towards becoming a just society was a very discriminative place. During the events of World War One,WWI black and Chinese Canadians were prevented from joining the war along with aboriginals. Women were treated the same at the time, it was common for most women to stay at home wives and take care of the children. This was the stereotypical family at the time and was believed to be the ideal family too. Canadians thought poorly of minorities and even claimed it was to keep them safe, the aboriginals were an example, Canadians claimed the enemies might believe that they are savages which was a reflection of how they truly felt. Minorities were clearly being treated worse than the majority, they were seen as inferior and only good for

As a nation, Canada is known to the rest of the world for being thoughtful, polite, and generally very accepting of all ethnicities and people. However, the treatment of Canada’s Indigenous population, Japanese Canadians, African American and Indigenous slaves seems to suggest otherwise. Canada's dark past may not be talked about often, but there are three main events that targeted specific ethnic groups which still affect those people today. Residential Schools led to major negative cultural consequences, as well as psychological and sociological effects. Japanese-Canadian Internment Camps were used to strip Japanese Canadians of their rights because of the World War II bombing of Pearl Harbor. And finally, for two centuries slavery was legal in New France, and in Lower Canada under British rule. Human beings were being held captive and were owned by many people, including governors, bishops, military officers, priests, and blacksmiths. All of these terrible consequences can be accredited to Canada’s imperialistic policies.

When the government first started to distrust the Japanese people in Canada, measures were put in place which marked the first steps of interment. “Almost 22,000 of the approximately 24,000 people of Japanese descent living in Canada were removed from their homes and distributed to various locations across Canada. Seventy-five percent were Canadian citizens.” (“World War II & Internment”, n.d.) This is the result of the government creating a ‘protected zone’ [160 km from B.C. coast] which forced all Japanese descendants out of that area. Many of these people moved were innocent first-generation Canadians, still, they were treated as enemies and moved away. The Japanese being moved sparked debate about whether or not internment was justifiable. “Canadian military officials and the RCMP felt that the Japanese Canadian population posed no threat and opposed taking any punitive action against them.” (McRae, 2017) While most politicians and most white Canadians saw the Japanese in Canada as threats, some saw it as putting innocent and harmless Canadians in internment camps. Looking back, those who believed the Japanese people in Canada were innocent were correct. “Their actions were monitored; their rights suspended. Yet no hearings or trials were ever held and no charges of treason were ever laid” (“Facts & Figures”, 2011) The politicians and white

The period of 1914 to 1939, Canada’s immigration policy got very unfair. Changes were made to the Immigration Act in 1914 that allowed the rejection of anyone from any race that was deemed

“Don’t say that! Your father isn’t racist, racist is lynching a black man, and killing jewish babies. Your father was only joking.”, responds my mother, who has a similar reaction every time one of us says the other was being racist. This was spurred when a black guy walked past our car at a red light. This story is a perfect example of the outside perspectives of discrimination.

Canada is the first country in the world to adapt multiculturalism; this concept believes that all citizens should be treated equally. Citizens are able to express their identity of race, cultural heritage, ethnicity, religion; this allows people to create a sense of identity. When citizens are able to express themselves and not be ashamed of culture they’re able to develop a sense of belonging and sense of place. There is a lot of evidence that Canada has had a racist history in the past. For example, attempting to assimilate the First Nations people by implementing Residential schools to disrupt their native language, culture, and spirituality. Canada has come a long way since this tragic event, as a country we have recognized shaming a culture

Throughout history, Canada’s identity has changed in many ways and there have been many historical events that have greatly shaped and impacted Canada’s history and identity. The Women’s Movement and women’s contribution in the past and throughout history has had the greatest impact on shaping Canada into what it is today. Among many identifying qualities like being multicultural, bilingual, and world leaders, Canada is also country that has changed immensely in the way of becoming a country that has learned to accept women, move towards providing them with equal opportunities and treating them equally. Through economic, social and political movements and actions, the contribution from women and the women’s movement have increased, changed and improved women’s rights and equality greatly. Women worked to create independence and equality economically through their contributions to war on the homefront in WWI resulting in greater workplace equality, socially through the actions of the Flappers in the 1920’s giving women currently, the confidence and strength that they need to speak up, and politically, through the work of the Suffragists including the Famous 5 to allow women to have the same political rights as men.

Women being able to vote was a huge step forward for Canadian women, but even though they could run for certain political positions, they could not be Senators. During the early twentieth century women were not legally considered “persons” and could not be Senators (Women become Persons). This act of exclusion portrayed Canada as an immature nation. A milestone with significant importance occurred in the Persons Case. The first constitution of Canada was the BNA Act (British North America Act). In this constitution it referred to a group of people as “persons” but when one individual was referenced they used the word ‘he”. The constitution restricted women from holding public office. (History Canadian resources book) The act declared that “women are persons in matters of pain and penalties, but are not persons in matters of rights and privileges.” Therefore, women could be given the same penalties as men for breaking a law, but could not receive the same basic benefits that men could. Unfair legalities like this proves that Canada was

In 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed women to half his federal cabinet positions. When asked to explain the gender parity, he gave a simple but sufficient answer: “Because it’s 2015” (Chartland, 2015). This response caused a media stir, a response that was both enlightening and frustrating. While Trudeau’s response pointed to the fact that gender parity should be an obvious goal, the question and the need for a response indicated that society still does not accept it as obvious. How can such deep sexism continue to exist in a supposedly enlightened and progressive country like Canada? How far has society actually progressed when it comes