August 10, 1960 - Canadian Bill of Rights

Queen approves Canadian Bill of Rights. The Canadian Bill of Rights became law under Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker on August 10, 1960. It protected human rights based on freedom of religion, speech, assembly, association and the press. It also set out protections in criminal matters, such as the right to seek legal counsel and against arbitrary detention. While these kinds of freedoms had never before been put into Canadian law, the new bill was criticized for being a statute rather than part of the constitution. This meant it applied only to federal, not provincial, legislation. Over the years, however, each province expanded protections by creating human rights commissions and eventually the federal and provincial governments decided to enshrine protections in the constitution. In 1982, the Constitution Act was passed to include the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a document that made human rights protections part of the constitution, and applied to all forms of Canadian governments.

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