University of Toronto Press
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  • Canada's Rights Revolution: Social Movements and Social Change, 1937–82
Canada's Rights Revolution: Social Movements and Social Change, 1937–82. Dominique Clément. Vancouver: ubc Press, 2008. Pp. 296, $85.00 cloth, $32.95 paper

As the products of social movements that peaked in the 1960s and 1970s, Canada's civil liberties and human rights organizations are easily overlooked. Participants wore ties rather than beads, and their venue of choice was the courtroom or politician's office rather than the street. But, in true sixties style, they fought often unpopular causes with determination and courage and they were a factor in many pivotal confrontations of the era. Despite innumerable defeats, they played an important role in shifting paradigms and establishing [End Page 375] new conceptions of the role of the state. In Dominique Clément's terms, a 'rights revolution' had taken hold in Canada by the beginning of the 1980s.

This revolution had its roots in the 1930s and 1940s, but came to fruition in the latter part of the period under study. There is much to explore in this first generation of activism. The 'Padlock Law' in Quebec, the extensive restrictions under the wartime Defence of Canada Regulations, the treatment of Japanese Canadians, and the wave of anti-espionage activity in the wake of the Gouzenko revelations are all well known and sparked varying degrees of protest. In this study, though, such events are largely prologue to the later emergence of a civil rights culture. This is largely the case because the Communist and ccf-inspired movements of the period did not give rise to broader, non-partisan organizations. But Clément's focus on such organizations potentially leads him to underestimate the importance of this initial activity. For instance, the wartime strike wave along with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation's campaign in defence of civil liberties arguably sowed much of the consciousness that was to develop. However, no national organization such as the American Civil Liberties Union ever emerged in Canada.

The postwar period saw the decline of labour-based rights organizations such as the Jewish Labour Committee and the eventual proliferation of what Clément identifies as middle-class civil rights and human rights groups across the country. Clearly there are two processes acting here. Clément notes, but does not dwell upon, the narrowing focus of the labour movement. On the other hand, he deftly explores the social character of the newer movement, exploring four emergent organizations: the British Columbia Civil Liberties Union, la Ligue des droits de l'homme, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Newfoundland-Labrador Human Rights Association. These histories provide fascinating vignettes of the era, including the bc organization's defence against the harassment of the Georgia Straight and of youth in Gastown, the Quebec association's failure to challenge the War Measures Act in 1970 and its subsequent radicalization, and the Newfoundland campaign for secular education. The diversity of causes and responses helps to explain organizational decentralization. Clément identifies a number of differences among the organizations, the most important of which was the distinction between civil rights and human rights.

As the author explains, human rights associations campaign for 'positive rights' such as economic, social, and cultural rights that enhance freedom by increasingly making broader claims that enhance [End Page 376] equality. Civil libertarians have, generally, a much narrower mandate defending 'negative rights' or unnecessary restrictions on individuals. Both have coherent rationales. The campaigns by the Ligue des droits de l'homme for improved welfare rates and for language rights demonstrate the former; the Canadian Civil Liberties Association's fights against abuses of police power were motivated by the latter. As well, organizations differed in tactics, with some heavily engaged in litigation while others sought more public stages. Finally, some accepted government funding, while others perceived this as a clear conflict of interest. It is not surprising that such a diverse range of organizations resisted any attempt at pan-Canadian unity.

Clément's overall assessment is particularly insightful. Not only did the social composition and conservative tactics mark the limits of the movement, the potential of co-optation through government funding ranked high. Such money flowed relatively freely in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Its lures were widely debated, but most organizations took it. What is notable was the extent to which it did not seem to constrain their activities. However, the connections among well-funded federal programs, Trudeau's desire to confront Quebec nationalism through constitutional reform, and the potential game-changing adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms could not fail to shape the agendas of many rights organizations. In the end, of course, the new Charter established an entirely new universe for rights organizations, as they became reoriented to the much more powerful courts. Clément's story ends in the early 1980s, but the roots of the strengths and weaknesses of the new constitutional regime as well as the nature and depth of our rights culture – much of which has been laid bare since 9/11 – are well explained in this interesting study.

James Naylor
Brandon University

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