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Toronto Bathhouse Raids (1981)

On 5 February 1981, patrons of four bathhouses in downtown Toronto (The Barracks, The Club, Richmond Street Health Emporium, and Roman II Health and Recreation Spa) were surprised by 200 police officers in a series of coordinated raids, called “Operation Soap.” Law enforcement officials claimed the raids resulted from six months of undercover work into alleged sex work and other “indecent acts” at each establishment. Bathhouse patrons were subjected to excessive behaviour by police, including verbal taunts about their sexuality. When the night was over, 286 men were charged for being found in a common bawdy house (a brothel), while 20 were charged for operating a bawdy house. It was, up to that time, the largest single arrest in Toronto’s history. Most of those arrested were found innocent of the charges. The raids marked a turning point for Toronto’s gay community, as the protests that followed indicated they would no longer endure derogatory treatment from the police, media and the public.

Macleans

Lortie Released

Denis Lortie, the former army corporal who murdered three people and injured 13 others after storming the Quebec National Assembly in May, 1984, was released on day parole to a halfway house in Hull, Quebec.

Article

Canadian Identity and Language

Language policy in Canada, as it relates to Canadian identity, traditionally encompasses three points of view. One favours an officially bilingual Canada. It reaffirms the country as the product of two “founding peoples.” A version of this approach, introduced by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, endorses official bilingualism but rejects the claim that two “peoples” or “nations” deserve any special recognition. Rather, it argues that we should instead emphasize Canada’s multiculturalism. The second position argues that, since no linguistic group deserves special status, the country should therefore have no official languages. The third position argues that Canada is not only multicultural, but also multinational. It argues that French and English should have official status because this recognizes two of the country’s founding nations. This approach also suggests that efforts should be made to help preserve Indigenous languages.

Article

Nationalism

Nationalism is the doctrine or practice of promoting the collective interests of a national community or STATE above those of individuals, regions or other nations.

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Arbitration

Arbitration is a process for resolving legal disputes by recourse to a neutral third party tribunal chosen by the parties in dispute.

Article

Estates General of French Canada

The Estates General of French Canada were a series of conferences held from 1966 to 1969 which gathered over a thousand delegates from Quebec, Acadia, Ontario and Western Canada. These last patriotic assemblies organized after the Congrès de la langue française (1912, 1937, 1952) marked an important turning point in the history of French-Canadian nationalism and in that of the relationship between Quebec and the Canadian Francophonie.

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Cuban Dissidents Lose Hope

EITHER MANUEL Vásquez Portal was an idealist, a romantic hero who fought for freedom and democracy in a country where neither exist. Or he was a fool, for waging a public-opinion battle against a dictatorship where public opinion does not exist either.

Article

Third Option

The Third Option was a 1972 pronouncement by Mitchell SHARP, secretary of state for external affairs, calling for a lessening of US economic and cultural influence on Canada. It appeared in a paper by Sharp, "Canada-U.S. Relations: Options for the Future" (International Perspectives, 1972).

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Provincial Orders

On 9 May 1991 Provincial Orders were incorporated into the Order of Precedence for Canadian Orders, Declarations and Medals through Order in Council approved by the government of Canada.

Article

Think Tank

A think tank is an interdisciplinary body of experts such as scholars or former politicians that crafts opinions on regional, national or international policy and strategic direction, typically related to areas such as commerce, the military, immigration or social welfare.

Article

Godbout Case

In the Godbout case (1997), the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously decided that the obligation imposed on all its permanent employees by the city of Longueuil (near Montréal) that they live in the city was unconstitutional.

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Hébert Case

In the Hébert case (1990), the Supreme Court of Canada spoke directly on the right to silence. Hébert was accused of grand larceny. Advised of his right to counsel, he was imprisoned after the consultation.

Article

Constitution of Canada

The Constitution of Canada is the country’s governing legal framework. It defines the powers of the executive branches of government and of the legislatures at both the federal and provincial levels. Canada’s Constitution is not one document; it is a complex mix of statutes, orders, British and Canadian court decisions, and generally accepted practices known as constitutional conventions. In the words of the Supreme Court of Canada, “Constitutional convention plus constitutional law equal the total constitution of the country.” The Constitution provides Canada with the legal structure for a stable, democratic government.