Framing Competing Human Rights Claims: The Promise of Shared Social Citizenship

AuthorLorne Foster and Lesley Jacobs
Pages225-239
225
Chapter 8
Framing Competing Human Rights Claims:
The Promise of Shared Social Citizenship
Lorne Foster and Lesley Jacobs
A. Introduction
The practice of human rights in diverse societies like Canada
has become more complex because diversity breeds competing
human rights claims. With increased diversity comes the ordeal
        
people should best lead their lives and what sorts of accommo-
dations should be made for persons with different beliefs out
of respect for human dignity and mutual recognition. Competing

The institutions at the core of the Canadian human rights
system — the courts and human rights commissions — are
currently struggling to respond to the challenges presented by
competing human rights claims in Canada. These challenges
are multi-dimensional, involving deep philosophical questions
about the nature of human rights, juridical questions about how
cases involving competing human rights should be judged and
decided, and policy questions about how in principle and practice
issues involving competing human rights should be framed and
approached in Canadian society.
This paper argues that the development of social policy for
addressing competing human rights claims should be built on
recognition that, even in a society like Canada that is character-
ized by a high degree of diversity, when persons press competing

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT