Viola Desmond Essay

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Since 1914, Canadian Human Rights laws have had a positive impact on helping to shape Canadian identity as one that is welcoming to various minority groups. Being a Canadian citizen provides you with the freedoms to travel, and settle in Canada at your own will and desire. Also, the freedom to express your sexual orientation is welcomed and well supported in many communities. Modern discrimination against categorizing human beings is very slim and everyone of all ethnic or cultural backgrounds are welcome with respect and good intentions. Canada is an extremely welcoming and protective place, in which nearly everything is done to promote equality, and a safe country. Canadian Human Rights were enhanced during the Constitution act in 1982 and …show more content…

The case of Viola Desmond was an incredibly significant event in shaping Canadian multicultural rights and all equality. Viola Desmond was an African American woman born in Halifax, Canada, who refused to remove herself from the ‘whites only’ main floor seats in the Roseland Movie theatre. On November 8, 1946, Desmond had requested to buy a ticket located in the main floor section of the theatre, which was strictly forbidden from people of colour, and was willing to pay the extra amount for the seat. The ticket seller, Peggy Melanson, had given Desmond a balcony seat ticket regardless of her request, without her noticing until a later confrontation by a ticket-taker on the main floor. The confusion resulted in Desmond returning to the ticket seller. “I'm sorry but I'm not permitted to sell downstairs tickets to you people.” -Melanson. Desmond decided to attempt to sit in the floor section again, only to be interrupted from sitting quietly by the ticket taker who called upon Henry MacNeil, the theatre manager who shortly after called the police and had Desmond dragged out. Despite her will to pay extra for the seat, she had been harshly dragged out by a Police officer who caused her knee and hip injuries during the process, and put her in jail. “Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of …show more content…

(1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.” (Constitution Acts 15) This is an example of a modern law that had not been enforced nor existent within many decades of Desmond’s situation, but is much needed, and very well enforced since the law’s development. Discrimination in Canada is minimized in modern society, due to less ignorance and the addition of laws such as the example above. In 2018, the $10 Canadian note will posses a new image, being Viola Desmond; This will make her the first Canadian female to be on Canadian currency. The case of Viola Desmond has thought to have inspired modern day laws involving equality and illegal discrimination and has made a great impact on Canada’s

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