Editing Culture of Canada (section)

====Cultural legislation====
{{Main|Official bilingualism in Canada|Human rights in Canada|Multiculturalism in Canada}}
[[File:Statue outside Union Station.jpg|upright|thumb|left|[[Monument to Multiculturalism]] by Francesco Pirelli, in [[Toronto]]]]
[[French Canada]]'s early development was relatively cohesive during the 17th and 18th centuries, and this was preserved by the [[Quebec Act 1774]], which allowed Roman Catholics to hold offices and practice their faith.<ref name="quebec culture survival">{{cite encyclopedia
|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/quebec-city-quebec
|title=Quebec
|publisher=Columbia University Press
|encyclopedia=The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
|year=2003
|access-date=November 30, 2006
|archive-date=January 2, 2007
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102182828/http://www.answers.com/topic/quebec-city-quebec
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The ''[[Constitution Act, 1867]]'' was thought to meet the growing calls for Canadian autonomy while avoiding the overly strong decentralization that contributed to the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] in the United States.<ref name="civil war">{{cite encyclopedia
|url=http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/american-civil-war/
|title=American Civil war
|publisher=Historica Founcation
|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia
|year=2003
|access-date=November 30, 2006
|archive-date=May 24, 2020
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524050304/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/american-civil-war
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The compromises reached during this time between the English- and French-speaking [[Fathers of Confederation]] set Canada on a path to [[Multilingualism|bilingualism]] which in turn contributed to an acceptance of diversity.<ref name="Coche">{{cite book|author=François Vaillancourt, Olivier Coche|title=Official Language Policies at the Federal Level in Canada:costs and Benefits in 2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QCZm8op2bjQC&pg=PA11|publisher=The Fraser Institute|page=11|id=GGKEY:B3Y7U7SKGUD|year=2009}}</ref> The English and French languages have had limited constitutional protection since 1867 and full official status since 1969.<ref name="LinteauDurocher1983"/> Section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (BNA Act) guarantees that both languages may be used in the [[Parliament of Canada]].<ref name="LinteauDurocher1983">{{cite book|first1=Paul André|last1=Linteau|first2=René|last2=Durocher|first3=Jean-Claude|last3=Robert|title=Quebec, a history, 1867–1929|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_vA0o0e0PdgC&pg=PA219|year= 1983|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|isbn=978-0-88862-604-2|page=219}}</ref> Canada adopted its ''[[Official Languages Act (Canada)|first Official Languages Act]]'' in 1969, giving English and French equal status in the government of Canada.<ref name="Kosel2010f"/> Doing so makes them "official" languages, having preferred status in law over all other [[Languages of Canada|languages used in Canada]].<ref name="Kosel2010f">{{cite book|first=Jochen|last=Kosel|title=The Language Situation in Canada with Special Regard to Quebec|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkVZOHj-i2AC&pg=PA15|year=2010|publisher=GRIN Verlag|isbn=978-3-640-65926-5|page=15}}</ref>

Prior to the advent of the ''[[Canadian Bill of Rights]]'' in 1960 and its successor the ''[[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]]'' in 1982, the laws of Canada did not provide much in the way of [[Human rights in Canada|civil rights]] and this issue was typically of limited concern to the courts.<ref name="ChurchSchulze2007">{{cite book|first1=Joan|last1=Church|first2=Christian|last2=Schulze|first3=Hennie|last3=Strydom|title=Human rights from a comparative and international law perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2sMwFTOrixwC&pg=PA82|year= 2007|publisher=Unisa Press|isbn=978-1-86888-361-5|page=82}}</ref> Canada since the 1960s has placed emphasis on equality and inclusiveness for all people.<ref name="MacLennan2004">{{cite book|first=Christopher|last=MacLennan|title=Toward the Charter: Canadians and the Demand for a National Bill of Rights, 1929–1960|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xxt6VAsdW5oC&pg=PA119|year=2004|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=978-0-7735-2536-8|page=119}}</ref> [[Multiculturalism in Canada]] was adopted as the official policy of the Canadian government and is enshrined in [[Section Twenty-seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]].<ref name="Black-BranchAssociation1995">{{cite book|first1=Jonathan L.|last1=Black-Branch|author2=Canadian Education Association|title=Making Sense of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b287tH3UbkAC&pg=PA38|year=1995|publisher=Canadian Education Association|isbn=978-0-920315-78-1|page=38}}</ref><ref name="DuncanLey1993">{{cite book|first1=James S.|last1=Duncan|first2=David|last2=Ley|title=Place/culture/representation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsINAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA205|year=1993|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-09451-1|pages=205–}}</ref> In 1995, the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] ruled in ''[[Egan v. Canada]]'' that [[sexual orientation]] should be "read in" to [[Section Fifteen of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]], a part of the [[Constitution of Canada]] guaranteeing [[Human rights in Canada|equal rights]] to all Canadians.<ref name="Dranoff2011">{{cite book|author=Linda Silver Dranoff|title=Every Canadian's Guide to the Law: Fourth Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ukQzP_ZLOAcC&pg=PT373|access-date=February 3, 2012|year= 2011|publisher=HarperCollins Canada|isbn=978-1-4434-0559-1|pages=373–}}</ref> Following a series of decisions by provincial courts and the Supreme Court of Canada, on July 20, 2005, the ''[[Civil Marriage Act]]'' (Bill C-38) became law, legalizing [[same-sex marriage in Canada]].<ref name="Angelini2011">{{cite book|author=Paul Ubaldo Angelini|title=Our Society: Human Diversity in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rt-xlgrkYXAC&pg=PT315|year=2011|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-17-650354-3|page=315}}</ref> Furthermore, sexual orientation was included as a protected status in the human-rights laws of the federal government and of all provinces and territories.<ref name="Steinberg2009">{{cite book|first=Shirley R.|last=Steinberg|title=Diversity and Multiculturalism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=txRWlIvanPsC&pg=PA184|year=2009|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-1-4331-0345-2|page=184}}</ref>