Celebrate Democracy on Law Day with fun at the Rossland Courthouse
By Rossland Telegraph
Everyone is invited! On May 5, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm the Rossland Courthouse will host celebrations of Law Day to mark the 36th anniversary of the signing of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms – a document well worth celebrating for its effects on our lives as citizens.
There will be mock trials and mock bail hearings, and Sheriffs will open holding cells for visitors’ edification, and a retired judge will be available to talk with visitors.
There will be tours, and art contest for kids. Here’s one that kids can start working on now:
The Visual Art Challenge invites students to create posters that tell us what they value about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. At the Rossland Courthouse, staff will choose their favourite poster to hang in the courthouse for the coming year. There are no specific requirements, but if your class would like to focus on one area of the Charter, we suggest:
“15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.”
How to participate: Submit your poster on Saturday, May 5, 2018 between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm at the Rossland courthouse. We will hang as many posters as we can throughout the building for everyone at the open house to view.
Five random facts about Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“the Charter”):
The Charter has served as a model for human rights protections around the world.
Section 15 of the Charter (equality rights ) came into force 3 years after the Charter, to give governments time to ensure that their laws and policies respected everyone’s rights.
Canadians rank the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as our most important national symbol – more than hockey or the beaver.
The Charter has been to outer space! Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau took a copy of the Charter with him on one of his missions.
The Charter has been translated into 23 languages.
The Rossland Courthouse has served Rossland and the surrounding area for 117 years. Lots of history will be on Display on Law Day. Over the years, the building’s brickwork suffered the ravages of time and needed refreshing, and that’s why the building was wrapped in a giant inflatable bubble for so long, while workers performed feats of restoration.
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