Articles on Legal Themes
Financial Literacy Month and Fraud Awareness
On November 19, 2020, CBC Information Morning's Steve Sutherland interviewed a Nova Scotia youth and Legal Info Nova Scotia's Nicole Slaunwhite about consumer fraud and tips to protect yourself. Listen to the interview here.
Racial justice information
Although all human rights laws prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, racism is still a daily and painful lived reality in Canada. Racism violates human rights. We must all speak out and take action against anti-Black racism, and racism in all its forms, wherever and whenever it happens.
Human Rights
How are human rights protected in Canada?
In Canada, our human rights are protected by the common law (legal rules developed by judges in court decisions) and by a variety of statutes. This includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter), provincial human rights legislation, and the federal human rights legislation (the Canadian Human Rights Act). There are also international laws that deal with human rights.
Human Rights Legislation
Every jurisdiction in Canada has human rights legislation - that means each province and territory, and the federal government. This legislation, often referred to as human rights codes, is anti-discrimination legislation. There are both provincial and federal level human rights codes in Canada because of the constitutional division of powers in Canada. According to our Constitution, certain subject areas are assigned to the provincial government and others to the federal government. Most human rights complaints are covered under the various provincial codes. In Nova Scotia that is the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Only complaints by federal employees or those who work in federally regulated industries – such as transportation, communications, and banking – come under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
The various human rights codes in Canada are designed to protect equality rights. They forbid discrimination on certain listed grounds in certain areas, including:
- employment
- the provision of housing and accommodation, and
- the provision of goods and services to the public.
The grounds on which discrimination is forbidden are called “prohibited grounds”, or "protected characteristics". Protected characteristics under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act and the Canadian Human Rights Act are linked to below.
Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Call for Action to Address Anti-Black Racism, June 2, 2020. Go to https://humanrights.novascotia.ca for information about human rights in Nova Scotia, including how to file a complaint about discrimination or harassment, and go here to see a list of protected characteristics under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act.
Canadian Human Rights Commission Anti-Black Racism in Canada: Time to Face the Truth, June 2, 2020. Go to https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/eng for information about human rights in the context of federally regulated workplaces, or in services from a business or organization that is regulated by the federal government, including how to file a complaint about discrimination or harassment, and a list of protected characteristics under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) is part of the Constitution, and sets out our fundamental rights and freedoms. The Charter is the supreme law of Canada. It applies to all government actions, and protects people in Canada from government policies and actions that may have violated a person’s fundamental rights and freedoms. When your rights are limited or infringed (violated) by the law or by a government action, it is up to government to show that those limits are justified and consistent with the values of a “free and democratic society". The Charter applies to situations where one of the parties is the government or can be characterized as a public entity (for example, the RCMP). The Charter does not apply to purely private matters. This means that it does not apply to disputes between two private individuals, or between an individual and a corporation.
Learn more about the Charter here.
International Human Rights
International Convention on the Elimation of all forms of Racial Discrimination
How to get a lawyer and other legal help
Nova Scotia Legal Aid Statement on the Black Lives Matter Movement, June 4, 2020. Go to nslegalaid.ca for information about Nova Scotia Legal Aid services
Nova Scotia Barristers' Society Statement Against Anti-Black Racism, June 3, 2020.
Go here for information about finding a lawyer in private practice (lawyer you would pay), and about free and low-cost legal help resources in Nova Scotia.
How to file a complaint about police
You can make a complaint with or without a lawyer. The RCMP and municipal police forces have procedures for dealing with complaints against a police officer. They have information pamphlets on the procedures and information online. You can also get information from a lawyer.
Complaints about municipal police officers:
You can file a complaint with any member of the police force or with the Nova Scotia Police Complaints Commissioner's Office.
For complaints about municipal police, usually you must lay a complaint within 6 months of the incident that you are complaining about.
Nova Scotia Police Complaints Commissioner's Office
1690 Hollis Street, 3rd Floor
PO Box 1573
Halifax, NS B3J 2Y3
Phone: 902.424.3246
Web: www.novascotia.ca/opcc/
Complaints about an RCMP officer:
The head of your local RCMP detachment, or
You can make a complaint through the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP on-line, by mail or fax. The Commission is an independent agency that is not part of the RCMP. For more information call toll free 1-800-665-6878, or visit their website at www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca
For more information:
- comment déposer une plainte contre la Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC) (en francais)
- how to make a complaint against the RCMP (in English)
Protest rights, other resources, links and calls to action
- Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Protest Rights
- Pen Canada, Protest Rights
- Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Anti-Black Racism: Now is the Time to Act
Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Racism: Problems and Solutions - Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy - Government of Canada
- Statistics Canada, Police Personnel and expenditures in Canada, 2018
- Statistics Canada, Police Reported Hate crime in Canada, 2018
- Canadian Women's Foundation, Resources for Ending Anti-Black Racism
- Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, Collective Rage Requires Collective Action, June 3 2020
- RDS vs. A Story of Race and Justice
- curio.ca - Fighting Racism and Discrimination collection
- Street Checks Legal Opinion, Honourable J. Michael MacDonald, former Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, October 2019.
- Professor Scott Wortley, Street Checks Report, March 27, 2019
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
- MMIWG National Inquiry Calls for Justice
- Marshall Inquiry, Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. Prosecution, December 1989
- Anti-racism resources for white people - a resource for white people to deepen their anti-racism work, or start engaging in anti-racism work
- How to be an Ally and 20 Anti-racism Terms you should know
- The Coast, June 4 2020, Resources to start learning about racism in Halifax and beyond
- CBC, Hear More Black Voices: Books, radio interviews, TEDx talks, and documentaries featuring Black voices
National Advance Care Planning Day
April 16 2020 is National Advance Care Planning Day. It is a day for Canadians to speak with family members and friends about their wishes for end-of-life care, and to then do their personal directive.
A personal directive is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and those who care about you. You must make your personal directive while you can still make decisions for yourself. You might not be able to make health care decisions for yourself at some time in the future. A personal directive can help to make sure that you get the care you want. It can help the people who care about you by letting them know what kinds of care you want.
Go here when you are ready to do your personal directive.
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