7 | a era ee | ee eae ore I

 

_ the right to vote. - Others ‘remember OT Seian exercising: their P veade sides of
ad discretion ever so less” discretely toward non-whites. There are many more examples es. my
And somehow our private attitudes and experiences became “public", and in 198;
i. 8nd) 1985 the Charter became reality, and for the moment ‘many Canadians euevieneee

 

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an overwhelming sense of joy. It is, as George Grant Stata ee to celebrate A
aie dati i ‘the bad and the good. eer Bae +, ee
fe gies ore are an integral part of our lives, some joyous, others reflective,

" some somber, all different. Seldom do we celebrate "citizenship". Giehannsing <a
%, is most often simply assumed, and entails both rights and obligations. Fey bof
sus meet with stateless persons. They have no rights, no home, and no. frit 8
_ that we take for granted. They live their lives in a state of suspended he hope and

. fear. Few of us will ever have to face that kind of | exi stence. We have on paper
a declaration of our fundamental political and democratic freedoms. We have legal

ni ete ghts, and even the right to move freely about the country (take a close look te
at: “mobility rights" and find out why they were included in the Charter). We Ce py
os language rights, in some provinces, and education rights, too. We even have a =

a 7 provision ‘to "do somethit ng" about: aboriginal ri ghts. In fact, we have one of th “the hae

ae - most elaborate and extensive declaration or rights — and freedoms: of any Pree on (a |
“ "earth. We tend to take them as articles of belief and trust. en
sh) enh belief and trust, and constitutions and Baten all share one charadeeristin,
ve f in ‘common: they are fragile. Reality ‘Suggests that we have a responsibility a
if read, understand, | practice, and educate our fellows about the Charter. Most of
af us. have read Peter Pan, but few our fragi le. Charter. ‘Most young people today are sf
t is aware that. the Charter exists, b but ‘only dimly as Tt, is so comp1+ icated. The process ae
to. create ‘the Chart shrouded in political mystery, last minute "deals", and

 

ee
5 can we depend on our Wf,

 

ae ’ federal-provi neial Salata In the final analysi

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es: democratically elected politicians: to. “Took ares" our ait and li berties? Peale fe pa

avy sy & 7 I at .
ye . : J ea! ‘

: In Canada, the answer 46 promeeny both yes and 1 no. civil | Liberte es and civil | a
SS. rights are both a federal and a provincial responsibility under ‘the borates i
1! iid

bs i. Politicians are just as human as we are, warts and — all. Ina federal, state “we ie

are ned with ‘ie reality of a Hs es of ee mele Aste