Are Indigenous Languages An Aboriginal Right

Section 35(1) [of the Constitution Act] merely affirms the existence of aboriginal rights. Since 1982, the Court has crucially created a judicial framework, however imperfect, for the fulfillment, if not the expansion, of these rights. The recognition of the continued existence and evolution of indigenous languages as an aboriginal right guaranteed under Section 35(1) has not yet been tested. The precedents, however, established by Van der Peet, Sparrow, and other decisions, as well as the established law regarding linguistics rights protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights, may eventually lead to this finding by the Court.
Are Indigenous Languages An Aboriginal Right

Lelia Houbé

Grade 10

St. Michaels University School
North Vancouver, British Columbia

I chose this question as Aboriginal rights interest me. I thought that if I researched them my appreciation for the subject would grow.

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