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Description
Courts

The Courts series consists of three subseries arranged by topic, based on supplied subject titles. Materials were created between 1949 and 2009. This series contains general information, research, and opinions on the professional conduct of lawyers, charges laid against lawyers, and Canadian bar association regulations. It also contains subseries detailing legal troubles and court cases facing Marguerite Ritchie’s brother Robert Ritchie and information on similar cases as well as legislation regarding custody and divorce. Two of Robert Ritchie’s legal cases were in family law, one over the custody of his children following his divorce, and the second over property division and investment mismanagement following a break up with his partner, Patricia Bishop. Mr. Ritchie ultimately lost custodial custody of his son despite his ex-wife breaking their custody agreement. Robert Ritchie also faced an ongoing legal battle over a product sold in his store called Perm-O-Seal after he was sued for patent/trademark infringement. This case was ultimately settled in Mr. Ritchie’s favour as the evidence was straightforward, however expensive court fees caused Mr. Ritchie financial trouble. Marguerite Ritchie felt that bias or baseless court cases were a serious problem within the legal profession.

Women's Rights

The Women’s Rights series is the second largest series, containing 22 subseries. Subseries are arranged by subject matter and chronology, based on supplied subject titles. Materials were created between 1939 and 2008, and also includes research materials dating from 1800. This series is primarily focused on women’s issues and issues of legal, political, and social equality for women. There is a broad range of topics represented in this series, including women’s roles, workplace sexual harassment, the merit principle, women’s education, women’s employment and career opportunities, women in politics, women in public service, family life, divorce, child custody, effects of sexism on the poor, additional discrimination against aboriginal women, female refugees, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, and the exclusivity of gendered language.

Significant portions of material in this series is research compiled by the HRI and HRI volunteers. These include newspaper clippings, magazine articles, historical legislation, government publications, and articles that discuss and trace how women are viewed, the achievements of women, efforts made by women’s organizations and the federal government to improve the status of women, social issues that have a strong impact on women, changing social values and mores, Senate reform, the Persons Case, and the Famous Five. This series also contains materials created by the HRI including newsletters, memorandum, conference planning materials, press releases and other promotional materials, as well as correspondence between the HRI and various women’s organizations, politicians, and public servants. These materials discuss HRI’s efforts to highlight double standards and unequal treatment to improve equality and equal opportunity for women. The issues covered and perspectives taken in this series are reflective of the feminism of the period.

The main focus of the HRI’s efforts for women’s equality was Persons Case II. This was the HRI’s attempt to bring a case to the Supreme Court of Canada for Senate reform and women’s rights. Persons Case II sought to get a reference to the Supreme Court to decide whether the government was obligated by the equal rights clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to appoint women to Senate on an equal basis as men, as the HRI believed that if women made up half the Canadian Senate they would be able to enact real change. It was named Persons Case II in reference to the Persons Case of 1927- 1929. The Persons Case was fought by the Famous Five and referred to the Supreme Court by Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. After appealing the initial Supreme Court ruling, the Judicial Committee of the Imperial Privy Council in London, England, overturned the decision and deemed women eligible for appointment to the Senate as persons with all penalties and privileges under the law. Despite gaining significant support for Persons Case II throughout the 1980s and 1990s, various Ministers of Justice and Prime Ministers repeatedly declined to refer the case to the Supreme Court, citing no exceptional circumstances, the issue not being important enough to involve the Supreme Court, and finally, as Prime Minister Jean Chretien did appoint women to the Senate on an equal basis with men, such a reference was seen as unnecessary.

HRI Administration

The Human Rights Institute of Canada Administration series consists of 11 subseries arranged by function or type, based on supplied subject titles. Materials were created between 1953 and 2011, and also includes research materials dating from 1927. This series contains documentation following the foundation of the HRI in 1974 and any changes made in its goals, regulations, volunteers, and Board of Directors. It also documents members, supporters, funding, and media relations, along with a general record of all chronological correspondence sent out by the HRI. After founding the institute in 1974, Marguerite Ritchie worked at the HRI part time as a passion project until her retirement from the federal government in 1979 when she began donating her time and expertise to the HRI full time. This series has high level documents regarding the work the HRI conducted and how the HRI functioned as an institute.

This series pertains to all organizational aspects of the HRI from key members and volunteers to bylaws, funding and grant proposals, annual meetings, and budgets. HRI credentials of incorporation and charitable registration are also included, along with government research contracts. The HRI also kept track of the work of other human rights organizations in Canada and their efforts to promote human rights. General support for the HRI by the public and various public figures and politicians as well as requests for support and aid from individuals are also found in this series.

Jews, Israel, Anti-Semitism

The Jews, Israel, Anti-Semitism series contains two subseries, the second of which is an addendum to the first. Materials were created between 1971 and 2011, and also includes research materials dating from 1902. This series predominately contains research materials such as newspaper clippings, newsletters, legal research, reports, articles, legislation, Parliamentary debates, treaties, and United Nations conventions, as well as correspondence. Topics covered include Holocaust deniers, Nuremberg Trials and other Nazi war crimes trials, border disputes and land claims surrounding Israel, conflicts between Israel and its Arab neighbours, conflicts and politics involving Israelis and Palestinians, the oil crisis in the 1970s, Israel’s foreign relations with Europe, the Middle East, and North America, anti-Semitism in Europe and Russia, hate propaganda and hate speech laws in Canada, treatment of women in Israel, Israeli economics, and the history of the Holy Land and Jerusalem. Many issues are tracked over multiple decades. Marguerite Ritchie was a strong supporter of Israel and Zionism and had ties to Zionist Jewish organisations in Canada.

Dialogue Magazine

The Dialogue Magazine series contains two subseries and is arranged chronologically. Materials date from 1989 to 2012. This series contains print editions of Dialogue Magazine. Other materials about Dialogue Magazine, such as article submissions, are dispersed in other series by topic, specifically in the Media and Public Relations subseries of the HRI Administration series. Marguerite Ritchie was a long time contributor to Dialogue Magazine on a variety of topics the HRI worked on. She stopped contributing when Dialogue Magazine refused to stop publishing articles critical of Israel.

Dialogue Magazine is published by editors Janet K. Hicks and Maurice J. King of the Chateauguay Valley English-Speaking Peoples Association (CVESPA), formerly by Southwest Quebec Publishing. Dialogue Magazine publishes articles written by readers on a variety of political and social issues from language rights and Canadian politics to Israel and anti-Semitism. Dialogue Magazine promotes itself as a venue for freedom of speech and thereby publishes content with all viewpoints. Articles against bilingualism and those concerned about the rights of English speaking Canadians are mainstays of the magazine. The full title of Dialogue Magazine changes four times throughout the series. In chronological order, the full titles are: Dialogue Magazine: A forum for the exchange of ideas; Dialogue Magazine: A Canadian forum for the exchange of ideas; Dialogue Magazine: Canadians debating our past, present and future; and Dialogue Magazine: Canada's Independent Voices.

Aboriginal Rights

The Aboriginal Rights series consists of 10 subseries arranged by subject, based on supplied subject titles. Materials were created between 1939 and 2012. This series contains research, background material, and government publications on aboriginal peoples in Canada and the Indian Act. Overall, this series addresses two main issues: first, equal status rights for aboriginal men and women, and second, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Additional topics include: aboriginal self-government, aboriginal women’s groups, amending the Indian Act for discrimination, the effect of the constitution on aboriginal rights, interpretation of history, land claims and land development, inheritance and estate administration for people who live on reserves, a scandal surrounding corruption at Petroglyph Provincial Park in Ontario, aboriginal rights in respect to Quebec sovereignty, solidarity between bands and nations, government relations and policies with respect to various aboriginal groups, bands, and nations, Elijah Harper effectively ending the Meech Lake Accord, and missing and murdered aboriginal women.

The fight for the equal rights of aboriginal women was largely spearheaded by Mohawk activist Mary Two-Axe Earley from Kahnawake, Quebec, who fought for aboriginal equality issues in band politics and with the federal government. Under the Indian Act, aboriginal women lost their Indian status if they married a man who did not have status, however a woman would gain status if she married an aboriginal man who held status. If a woman married a man from a different band they would lose their band status. Court cases fighting to amend the Indian Act so that status could not be taken away were appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, fought by Mary Two-Axe Early, Jeannette Lavell, Yvonne Bedard, and Vivian Corbiere Lavell. Marguerite Ritchie and the HRI supported these court cases and offered research aid. Marguerite Ritchie also counted Mary Two-Axe Earley as a personal friend. After the courts amended the Indian Act so as not to discriminate against women, activism continued to change band policies that allowed male band leaders to refuse to accept women back onto reserves even if they had status.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples reviewed the relocation of Inuit families from the Quebec coast of Hudson’s Bay to the high arctic in Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay in the early 1950s. The Royal Commission was called after the children of the relocated Inuit families accused the government of wrongdoing and asked for compensation. The Commission looked into the alleged reasons for the relocations including claims that the Inuit faced starvation and claims that the Cold War era government wanted people living in the high arctic so they would have a stronger land claims. The Commission also gathered testimony on the RCMP officers who oversaw the relocations and the town store for instances of exploitation or wrongdoing. Royal Commissions do not lay charges against those they feel have committed wrongdoings. The HRI and Marguerite Ritchie felt the Royal Commission did not have a high enough standard of proof for testimonies given and that the government, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, and the RCMP were being misrepresented to and by the Commission. Bent Gestur Sivertz, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories at the time of the relocations, maintained throughout that the Inuit who were relocated were happy and healthy and fared better in the long run than many of the Inuit who had not been relocated. Historian Gerard Kenney wrote a book entitled “Arctic Smoke and Mirrors” based on the government’s archive from the period, supporting the position of the HRI and Marguerite Ritchie and dismissing charges that the relocations were related to Cold War land claims. Marguerite Ritchie believed the Inuit who asked for a Royal Commission to be called were only trying to receive monetary compensation and did not have substantiated claims. Marguerite Ritchie was a personal friend of Bent Gestur Sivertz. This series contains significant documentation and testimony from the government perspective on the relocations, but does not address Inuit claims in significant detail.

Government of Canada

The Government of Canada series is the largest series of the fonds and contains 26 subseries arranged by subject. Materials were created between 1948 and 2013, and also includes research materials dating from 1867. This series covers all subseries related to the function and role of the federal government, beliefs and actions of politicians, relationships and conflicts between the provinces and the federal government, support from politicians for Senate reform and Persons Case II, the constitution, and the Official Languages Act and bilingualism. Materials in this series are predominately research and communications with public figures. This includes newspaper clippings, speeches, interviews, press releases, memorandum, and correspondence.

This series focuses on Prime Ministers, Senators, Members of Parliament, Governor Generals, and appointed Judges. Government bodies featured in this series include materials on the Senate and Senate reform, the functioning of the House of Commons, and the creation and function of government departments, such as Heritage Canada. The actions of political parties and governments included in this series are conflicts between the federal government and provincial governments, political scandals and government corruptions, political opinions of the federal parties, and the effect of political ideology on representation of historical events. Enacted and proposed legislation discussed in this series are the 1982 constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedom, the Meech Lake Accord, the Charlottetown Accord, and the Official Languages Act. Marguerite Ritchie was initially against the constitution as she felt it went against the British North America Act of 1867. After the constitution and the Charter came into full force in 1985 her views began to shift. She was also opposed to the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords. The Official Languages Act and bilingualism materials deal with the impact of bilingualism policies on all levels of government, education in bilingual communities in northern Ontario, the bilingual cities of Moncton and Ottawa, employment in the federal government, federal government funding for translation and language training, and language laws in Quebec. Marguerite Ritchie was critical of official bilingualism and fought for the rights of Anglophones in Quebec. The Knowledge Project was an HRI effort to gather evidence of Canada becoming increasingly francophone and losing British traditions. Marguerite Ritchie had a shift in opinion during the Meech Lake Accord and felt that Quebec should separate from Canada so that it would not threaten the survival of English Canada. Additionally, this series contains research on other human rights activists and whistleblowers fighting against human right abuses and political corruption.

Current events discussed at length in this series include the expropriation of Nanoose Bay (1999), the Oka Crisis (1990), the October Crisis and the Front de liberation du Quebec (FLQ) (1970), the Meech Lake Accord (1987-1990) and the Charlottetown Accord (1992), the New Brunswick Constitutional Amendment (1993), and the Famous Five from the Persons Case (1927-1929).

Nanoose Bay in British Columbia is a long standing military base that was expropriated to the federal government after BC tried to stop the base from allowing American nuclear powered submarines to run tests in the bay. BC wanted to refuse the continuation of the lease for the base. The federal government claimed the land and bay as federal territory while BC made the case that Nanoose Bay was within provincial jurisdiction. The Supreme Court ruled that jurisdiction depended on land claims agreed upon between Canada and British Columbia when BC joined confederation, as it had already been ruled that waters below the low water mark were federal jurisdiction. After it was determined that Nanoose Bay had been included in BC provincial land at confederation, the federal government initiated expropriation hearings to claim the land. The expropriation of Nanoose Bay marks the first and only time the federal government has expropriated land from a province for a military base. The Human Right Institute of Canada fought against the expropriation and believed it was a misuse of federal expropriation power.

The Oka Crisis began in Oka, Quebec, when the town wanted to extend a golf course from 9 holes to 18. The expansion required use of disputed land that lay between the golf course and neighbouring Kanesatake Mohawk reserve and contained a burial ground and a sacred pine forest. The land dispute had been previously settled in 1986 against the Mohawk band and so when plans for development of the golf course were made the mayor of Oka did not consult the band. As development was about to begin, 60 Mohawk warriors barricaded the road to the disputed land, physically stopping the developers. Provincial police and RCMP officers stood against the warriors who had grown in number to hundreds and a standoff began that lasted from July 11, 1990 until September 26, 1990. During this time one SQ and one Mohawk elder were killed and dozens more were wounded. The source of the bullet that killed the SQ was never determined, while the Mohawk elder was killed during an anti-Mohawk protest by locals. Aboriginal activists in solidarity with the Oka reserve protested in Kahnawake and barricaded the Mercier Bridge in Montreal and various highways where they passed through reserve land. The growing Mohawk barriers were protested by locals. The army was deployed on request of the premier of Quebec after the RCMP aid to the SQ did not end the crisis. After a final confrontation where a Mohawk man setting off flares was responded to by the RCMP turning a water hose on the crowd, the Mohawk laid down their weapons and abandoned the barricade. The golf course was cancelled by the mayor and the disputed land was bought by the federal government to prevent further development. The land remains disputed as land claims have never officially been settled.

The FLQ (Front de liberation du Quebec) was a terrorist group active through the 1960s in Montreal which culminated in the October Crisis of 1970 when British Trade Commissioner James Cross was kidnapped and Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte was murdered. The FLQ were hardline sovereigntists who were known to use violence in their activism, including bombing the Montreal Stock Exchange in 1969. The War Measures Act was enacted for the first and only time during a time of peace by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and the Canadian army was called in to find the FLQ and the kidnapped trade commissioner. Popular support for the FLQ faded after the announcement of the murder of Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. The FLQ members and James Cross were found in December 1970. Laporte’s kidnappers and murders were tried and convicted while Cross’ kidnappers were granted passage to Cuba with Castro’s permission.

The Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord were attempts made by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his Progressive Conservative government to amend the 1982 constitution signed by Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Amendments were proposed to appease Quebec so they would ratify the constitution. Appeasements included recognizing Quebec as a distinct society, having appointments for Supreme Court judges and Senators made from lists submitted by the provinces or regions, a new amendment method for the constitution, compensation for opting out of federal programs, and more immigration control for the provinces. Provincial signatures were not required for the 1982 constitution to be effective, but the symbolic support was desired for French-English relations. The Meech Lake Accord was drafted at Meech Lake outside of Gatineau, Quebec, by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the 10 provincial premiers. It was heavily criticized for including the territories only through video conference and not including native band councils. The Meech Lake Accord required the unanimous support of all provincial legislatures to be enacted into law. It failed at the provincial level when Elijah Harper, a first nations Member of Provincial Parliament from Manitoba, voted against it by holding up a feather in protest of native bands having been excluded, which in turn created a domino effect across provincial legislatures. The Charlottetown Accord addressed the concerns from the failed Meech Lake Accord and was set to a popular vote in a referendum where it failed in 7 of 12 provinces and territories with a 54.3% ‘no’ vote nationwide. The Human Rights Institute of Canada fought against both constitutional accords on the grounds that Quebec should not be given ‘special treatment’ with respect to the other provinces and that the Meech Lake Accord was not democratically or fairly drafted.

The New Brunswick Constitutional Amendment was made after the failure of the Charlottetown Accord to make New Brunswick officially bilingual. It required the province of New Brunswick to provide parallel services to Anglophones and francophones. The Human Rights Institute fought against the New Brunswick Constitutional Amendment on the grounds that bilingualism was discriminatory against Anglophones and not worth the financial costs.

The Famous Five: Emily Murphy, Irene Marryat Parlby, Nellie Mooney McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney, and Henrietta Muir Edwards, were women’s activists from Alberta. They submitted a petition to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to submit a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada, which became known as the Persons Case. The reference asked if women were considered persons under the qualifications to be appointed to Senate. A ruling in an English court in 1876 had declared that “women are persons in matters of pains and penalties, but are not persons in matters of rights and privileges.” Though this ruling had not set a precedent, the sentiment represented a common interpretation of legislation. In their ruling on the reference, the Supreme Court said that according to tradition, women were not persons for the purpose of Senate appointment. This ruling was appealed to the Privy Council in the House of Lords in England as the highest court of Canada. The Privy Council unanimously deemed women to be full persons under the law and therefore able to be appointed to the Senate. The Human Rights Institute of Canada worked to correct misrepresentations of the Persons Case and to properly contextualize its importance in the history of women’s rights.

ME Ritchie Personal

The ME Ritchie Personal series consists of four subseries, based on subject or chronology. Materials were created between 1928 and 2012, and also includes research materials dating from 1878. This series contains Marguerite Ritchie’s papers from when she worked for the Department of Justice, the Anti-Dumping Tribunal, and her personal papers from her time in the federal government and the HRI. Some materials about Marguerite Ritchie’s employment with the Department of Justice and Anti-Dumping Tribunal are from Access to Information requests Marguerite Ritchie made for all documents she contributed to at the Department of Justice, her personnel file from the Anti-Dumping Tribunal including performance reviews, decision making files regarding the nomination of Marguerite Ritchie for an Order of Ontario, and general Access to Information requests for any information the federal government had on Marguerite Ritchie and the Human Rights Institute of Canada. Credentials for Marguerite Ritchie include university degrees and her Master of Law thesis on skyjacking/ hijacking airplanes, awards, commendations, biographical information, legal articles written by Marguerite Ritchie including “Alice Through the Statutes,” teaching materials from Carleton University for a Constitutional Law course, correspondence with former students, and the honorary Doctorate of Laws (LL.D.) bestowed on Marguerite Ritchie by the University of Alberta. Awards include the Order of Canada, a federal Queen’s Council, the Governor General’s Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case, and various commendations from women’s organizations and English rights activist groups. Additionally this series contains personal correspondence with friends and family, including letters of support from veterans.

Marguerite Ritchie worked at the Department of Justice from 1944 to 1972. This series contains copies of her research, notes, and memorandum she created for Department of Justice legal cases. Marguerite Ritchie contributed significant research to cases on offshore mineral rights, territorial waters, international law and air law, and replies to citizen letters sent to the Department of Justice. During this period is when Marguerite Ritchie’s interest in women’s rights began and so there is also significant materials dealing with issues of family law, the status of women, gender discrimination, and other issues affecting women, herself included. Some materials document the internal conflicts within the Department of Justice as Marguerite Ritchie fought to be treated equally in her position and department. Other issues Marguerite Ritchie researched and tracked during this time were Canadian civil and criminal law, human rights and the United Nations, and the Official Languages Act.

Marguerite Ritchie left the Department of Justice to become the Vice-Chair of the Anti-Dumping Tribunal. The Anti-Dumping Tribunal was established to assess consumer complaints about imported products that did not meet Canadian standards. This series contains general correspondence on Anti-Dumping Tribunal cases, such as the Western Bread Case, as well as the legal research and procedures of the Tribunal. There is also significant documentation about the inner workings and interpersonal conflicts surrounding the three Chairs of the Anti-Dumping Tribunal during Marguerite Ritchie’s tenure as Vice-Chair. Marguerite Ritchie ultimately won her complaint of discrimination against Chairman Gauthier amid scandals that predated his tenure as Chair. Marguerite Ritchie retired from the Tribunal in 1979 amid personal conflicts to work full time at the Human Rights Institute of Canada, which she founded while working at the Tribunal.