[3] The protections which did exist focused on specific issues, rather than taking a general approach to human rights with some provincial and federal laws offering limited safeguards.

[9][10] Notwithstanding there are significant issue of historic racism and discrimination against Indigenous peoples - including the modern day plight of violence faced by Indigenous females, reports of excessive force used by law enforcement and racial profiling targeting visible minority, concern with the treatment of migrants and refugees and the freedom of religion and language expression in Quebec society.

[33] The Committee restated its concerns on November 2, 2005, observing that Canada had failed to "adopt steps in order to eliminate discrimination on the basis of religion in the funding of schools in Ontario.

The UN Human Rights Council's Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent issued a report in 2017 finding "clear evidence that racial profiling is endemic in the strategies and practices used by law enforcement" in Canada.

[59] In 1969, the federal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau passed the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 which legalized therapeutic abortions, as long as a committee of doctors certified that continuing the pregnancy would likely endanger the woman's life or health.

[64] The perceived failure of Canada to establish the equality of the French and English languages was one of the main reasons for the rise of the Quebec secessionist movement, during the Quiet Revolution.

[68] In 1983, Parliament expanded this protection to be on the basis of diability generally, which includes mental disability, and removed the restriction that it only related to matters of employment.

For example, Canada Elections Act requires that polling stations be accessible (e.g., providing material in multiple formats, open and closed caption videotapes for voters who are hearing impaired, a voting template for people with visual disabilities, and many other services).

[80] On November 28, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a formal apology in the House of Commons to individuals harmed by federal legislation, policies and practices that led to the discrimination against LGBTQ2 people in Canada.

[84] In 1983, Parliament amended s. 3 of the Canadian Human Rights Act to expressly state that discrimination on the basis of sex includes pregnancy and childbirth.

[69] Beginning in the 1960s, Canada launched a series of affirmative action programs aimed at increasing representation of women in the federal public service.

[89] All Canadian provinces and territories have legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, colour, and national or ethnic origin in employment practices, housing, the provision of goods and services, and in accommodation or facilities customarily available to the public.

[88] As of 2018, all Canadian provinces and territories have legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment practices, housing, the provision of goods and services, and in accommodation or facilities customarily available to the public.

[101] Canadian law instead followed the British constitutional approach in which the (unenumerated) "Rights of Englishmen" had traditionally been defended by all the branches of the government (Parliament, the courts, and the Crown) collectively and sometimes in competition with each other.

Human rights issues in the first seventy years of Canadian history thus tended to be raised in the framework of the constitutional division of powers between the federal and provincial governments.

That law had been passed by the provincial Legislature of British Columbia and prohibited the hiring of people of Chinese origin, using an ethnic slur in the legislation.

[102] The company successfully challenged the constitutionality of the act on the grounds that it dealt with a matter of exclusive federal jurisdiction, namely "Naturalization and Aliens".

[103][101] In reaching this conclusion, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, at that time the highest court for the British Empire, found that evidence which had been led at trial about the reliability and compentence of the Chinese employees of the colliery was irrelevant to the constitutional issue.

[101] The judges in the majority acknowledged that the law had an effect on some Canadians based on their race or ethnic origins, but that was not sufficient to take the case outside of provincial jurisdiction.

The lone dissenter, Justice Davis, would have held that the Quebec statute regulating liquor sales to the public required restaurants to provide their service to all customers, without discrimination.

The judge suggested in his decision that the outcome might have been different if she had instead appealed the conviction, on the basis that the law was being used improperly by the theatre owner to enforce a "Jim Crow" type of segregation.

Three of the six members of the court found that public comment on the government, and freedom of the press, are so important to a democracy that there is an implied bill of rights in Canada's Constitution, to protect those values.

The events leading up to World War II, and the genocidal practices of the Nazi government of Germany, had a major effect on the protection of human rights in Canada.

[126] Canadian lawyer and scholar John Humphrey played a key role in drafting the Declaration, which consists of 30 articles defining universal human rights, including equality and freedom from discrimination.

[127] The Supreme Court of Canada has noted the important role played by international human rights law in the country and the influence that treaties can have on the interpretation of domestic legislation and the charter.

The internment began in December 1941, after the attack by carrier-borne forces of Imperial Japan on American naval and army facilities at Pearl Harbor.

The Canadian federal government gave the internment order based on speculation of sabotage and espionage, although the RCMP and defence department lacked proof.

[165] Canada's provincial disability programs do not provide sufficient income to recipients to enable them to afford typical food and housing costs of $341 per month[168] and $1529/month for a studio apartment[169][170] respectively.

"[180] The Act respecting the laicity of the State introduced and commonly referred to as Bill 21 or Law 21, is a statute passed by the National Assembly of Quebec in 2019.

The Act prohibits certain public employees, such as teachers and judges, from wearing religious symbols at work, which can limit their ability to freely practice their faith.