Students will learn about the Charter provisions that protect the right to protest, namely the freedoms of expression, association and assembly. They will be introduced to examples of legal limits on the right to protest. Students will have an opportunity to examine a case study on Quebec student protests as well as discuss and explore their own views on the right to protest.
This guide is meant for teachers to become familiar with the Right to Protest Learning Unit, which is designed to introduce students to protections for the right to protest found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and discusses why this right is necessary in democracies. Examples of laws that limit the right to protest are also provided, along with a case study illustrating the conflict between protest rights and a municipal bylaw created in response to the 2012 student protests in Quebec.
The Learning Unit ends with an opportunity for students to discuss what, in their opinion, is the appropriate balance between the right to protest and public order.
