Exploring Case Studies Related to Discrimination
Quong Wing case
Quong Wing employed two white waitresses in his restaurant and was found guilty of violating the Saskatchewan law to prohibit white women from working for chinamen in 1912. However, Quong Wing challenged the law asserting that it was not within its jurisdiction province. The outcome is that he lost the case, and an appeal was denied with the court declaring that Saskatchewan acted based on its rights (“Quong-wing v. The King – SCC cases (Lexum),” 2012). Consequently, the court discovered that Saskatchewan had working conditions legislated from white girls and women within its power. The minority group that was being discriminated against is the Chinese in Canadian society. Defining legislatures for who one can work for seems rather odd since they are not forced to provide labor. The implication is that segregation was termed as the community’s norm when owning from facts that the women were not moved, and Quong Wing was denied an appeal. The case occurred on Quong Wing occurred in 1914.
Fred Christie case
In the case of Fred Christie in 1939, a decision was made by the supreme court of Canada that authorized the private business owners to discriminate against people of color based on freedom of commerce (Tarantino, 2010). The minority group that was the subject of discrimination was the blacks in the Canadian community. In the case, Fred Christie, a negro went to the York Tavern to have a beer. However, the staff refused to serve him because they had been instructed not to serve colored individuals. Out of the humiliation, Christie suffered he brought an action for the damages.
In the trial, the respondent asserted that he was protecting the business interests, a private enterprise for gain. The trial judge stated that according to sections 19 and 33 of the Quebec Licence. Act the action of the respondent’s tavern to refuse to serve negroes was illegal. However, the appellate court reversed the judgment by declaring that the above sections did not hold a general rule. The implication was that in the absence of a specific law, a trader is free to conduct his business in a way that he perceives best for his enterprise.
The case occurred in the 1930s when Canada’s constitution did not have explicit protections for equality in rights. Consequently, the country also lacked particular laws that prevented discrimination. Before world war II on 5 June 1941, the Scottish recruiters’ advice was that black personnel was eligible for enlistment provided they were literate and physically fit. The implication is that if African Canadians were being segregated during a national crisis, then the Supreme Court’s decision in 1939 not to accord integration in one tavern can be attested as it shows consistency to the morality of the Canadians of the time.
Viola Desmond case
In Viola Desmond, a well-known Beautician and business person, she traveled to Sydney from Halifax for business when her car broke down in November 1946. She had to stop overnight at New Glasgow, where she attended a movie at the Roseland Theater. Desmond requested the ticket seller for a ticketed seat on the main floor, but instead, he handed a ticket for san area reserved for non-white customers. On walking to the main floor, the ticket taker told her that her ticket belonged to the balcony. Therefore, she went back to the cashier to access the main floor, but the cashier asserted that he could not sell the tickets to non-white customers. Consequently, she decided to take a seat on the main floor where she was confronted by the manager Henry MacNeil asserting his enterprise was allowed to deny admission to objectionable people (Backhouse, 2012). When asked to move to another seat, Desmond failed to comply, where she was forcefully dragged out of Roseland theater and sent to jail for one night.
The following day Desmond was charged with evading the one-cent difference in tax between seats on the main floor and the balcony. Thus, placing her in jail was the only infraction used as a reason for putting her in jail. However, while moving her out of the theater, she sustained humiliation, physical injury, and injustice that caused resentment to the black community in Nova Scotia. Lawyers contested her conviction using the newly established NSAACP (Backhouse, 2012). Despite failing in overturning Desmond’s trust, a rallying point for the Black Nova Scotian to end discrimination within the province was created. Thus the group that was the subject of discrimination was the black community in Nova Scotia.
Desmond’s case is featured in many history books, a turning point despite losing in the case after hiring legal lawyers. In the court, the manager argued that it was customary for black people to sit together at the balcony. The question drawn from the blacks’ reserved area is why it was not within the main floor. Consequently, if it was customary, then dragging Desmond out was unnecessary as she was ready to incur the extra cost of having a seat there. Additionally, Desmond’s husband, who originated from Glasgow, said it should just be justified with a prayer after being told of the incident. The implication is that segregation seemed to be the norm to the Black Canadian community, with a turning point triggered by her case.
Conclusion
In the three cases explored, there is the depiction of segregation within a racial basis where individuals involved in the case end up suffering or humiliated for fighting for their rights. However, it’s evident that the Canadian community of that time had embraced and established laws that encouraged discrimination of people from a given race. Therefore, the cases play vital roles, such as creating a turning point for fighting for right against racial segregation. We recognize today as human rights emanated from such events in history; thus, insight and vital knowledge on criminal justice are gained.
References
Backhouse, C. (2012). 4. “Bitterly disappointed” at the spread of “colour-bar tactics”: Viola Desmond’s challenge to racial segregation, Nova Scotia, 1946. The African Canadian Legal Odyssey. https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442666801-006
Quong-wing v. The King – SCC Cases (Lexum). (2012, 3 December). Decisions and Resources – SCC Cases (Lexum). https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/9673/index.do
Tarantino, B. (2010). ‘Free to deal as he may choose’: The displacement of ‘Freedom of commerce’ as a necessary condition for creating Canadian multiculturalism. Common-Law World Review, 39(1), 7-26. https://doi.org/10.1350/clwr.2010.39.1.0192