In reading the numerous declarations etc. I am struck by the face that my rights are in reality something I give very little thought to. Although it is something many give little thought to, hundreds of years worth of work have been put into creating and adapting them for various countries. I think that our class discussion demonstrated the fact that many of us are unaware of our specific rights. I am curious as to how this varies from country to country and from person to person. Would I be more knowledgeable of my specific rights if they were challenged more often?
I found reading the Canadian Charter especially interesting, and I think that every Canadian should review it. As we briefly discussed in class one of the most notable aspects was the presence of the French language. I think that this is would be far less striking if we were living on the East coast because in comparison there is very little presence of French in Vancouver. Of more notable relevance is the absence of aboriginal rights which seems especially evident to us living on the west coast. Something else that struck me is the section 15 of the Equality rights. It is an extensive list of basis upon which not to discriminate yet fails to mention sexual orientation. I understand that this was of far less relevance at the time yet updates should be made as it is now over 20 years later.

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