OTTAWA – While one-third of Canadians say they have read the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, many fail to distinguish between its text and that of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, a new sur...
I still have trouble accepting either of these beliefs are commonplace among Canadians. My late-20th century education only briefly touched on the Charter but it seems common sense that stuff from US TV wouldn’t apply to us.
The odd times I’ve had questions about various areas of law or governance, I always have to spend time looking them up. (Seems to me people in the US should still research these things though. It’s not like TV/movies are accurate, complete, and up-to-date.)
I can forgive Canadians for thinking they have the 5th amendment, because we still have some legal structures which are at least similar.
Canadians who think they have some specially engrained fundamental right to own firearms on the other hand… Like… What?
I still have trouble accepting either of these beliefs are commonplace among Canadians. My late-20th century education only briefly touched on the Charter but it seems common sense that stuff from US TV wouldn’t apply to us.
The odd times I’ve had questions about various areas of law or governance, I always have to spend time looking them up. (Seems to me people in the US should still research these things though. It’s not like TV/movies are accurate, complete, and up-to-date.)
I guess I don’t know if I’d say my experience is that it’s “commonplace”, but that it’s “surprisingly common”.
Common sense is misnamed, though—it’s among the rarest qualities for anyone to have, alas.