A complete Criminal Code was enacted in July 1892 which was a major event in Canadian legal history. The Canadian Criminal Code was similar to the English 1878 bill and has since been revised numerous times to accommodate the needs of the changes in society. There have been many significant changes such as the elimination of the death penalty, amendments for gun control, the elimination of abortion offences and the creation of drunk-driving offences. I believe it is substantial to note that the Criminal Code began with 1100 sections and was reformed in 1955 to include 753 sections. The Criminal Code’s early history suggest that there was much need for comprehensive reform. The need for reform is represented in the number of large-scale social
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I believe this social movement is a significant example of the need for comprehensive reform to the Criminal Code. “The Winnipeg General Strike” began in 1919 which was less than thirty years after the Criminal Code was enacted. This was one of the most influential social movements in Canada. Their intention was to earn rights for Canadian workers through strikes. Canada virtually had no labor laws at this time so workers fought to gain their rights. I believe this social movement represented the need for changes to be made to the Criminal Code as this movement was an illegal six week strike and was threatening to Canada. The government responded to fear by overreacting and allowing the RCMP to brutalize demonstrators. The book titled When the State Trembled by Reinhold Kramer and Tom Mitchell, supports my argument that the government did not know how to respond to such a movement. The authors “not only disclose the relationship between the state and private structures in civil society during periods of deep social crisis, but also says something about state formation, the public sphere, the languages of rule, and most particularly, the post-war idiom of Canadian citizenship.” (Kramer …show more content…
While “Idle No More” is a more recent social movement I believe it represents the long overdue reformation needed to the Code for Indigenous people. To me, the Code’s early history suggests that it was not used properly in respect to Indigenous peoples and “Idle No More” was push behind major changes. In a newspaper article titled Politicized policing around Idle No More blockades puts rule of law at risk written by Christie Blatchford, which implies that “without Canadians sharing a public expectation of obeying the law, the rule of law will shatter”. (Blatchford 2013:1) Blatchford wrote this article as police were essentially ignoring the rule of law during a blockade. I believe this represents the need for reform to the Code as the Indigenous peoples demanded essential changes and the police were acting above and outside the
I believe this social movement is a significant example of the need for comprehensive reform to the Criminal Code. “The Winnipeg General Strike” began in 1919 which was less than thirty years after the Criminal Code was enacted. This was one of the most influential social movements in Canada. Their intention was to earn rights for Canadian workers through strikes. Canada virtually had no labor laws at this time so workers fought to gain their rights. I believe this social movement represented the need for changes to be made to the Criminal Code as this movement was an illegal six week strike and was threatening to Canada. The government responded to fear by overreacting and allowing the RCMP to brutalize demonstrators. The book titled When the State Trembled by Reinhold Kramer and Tom Mitchell, supports my argument that the government did not know how to respond to such a movement. The authors “not only disclose the relationship between the state and private structures in civil society during periods of deep social crisis, but also says something about state formation, the public sphere, the languages of rule, and most particularly, the post-war idiom of Canadian citizenship.” (Kramer …show more content…
While “Idle No More” is a more recent social movement I believe it represents the long overdue reformation needed to the Code for Indigenous people. To me, the Code’s early history suggests that it was not used properly in respect to Indigenous peoples and “Idle No More” was push behind major changes. In a newspaper article titled Politicized policing around Idle No More blockades puts rule of law at risk written by Christie Blatchford, which implies that “without Canadians sharing a public expectation of obeying the law, the rule of law will shatter”. (Blatchford 2013:1) Blatchford wrote this article as police were essentially ignoring the rule of law during a blockade. I believe this represents the need for reform to the Code as the Indigenous peoples demanded essential changes and the police were acting above and outside the