In Canada there have been many historical and contemporary barriers to the elimination of discrimination. One barrier is the women's suffrage movement and another barrier is the separate school system in Ontario which continues to this day.
Women's suffrage
Starting in the 19th century there was a major push to allow women to vote in Canada. In the 19th century many women who owned land wanted to vote in municipal elections under the principal of no taxation without representation (“Women’s Suffrage,” n.d.). In Quebec women were allowed to vote in municipal elections until 1849 and in Ontario women were allowed to vote for school trustees (“Women’s Suffrage,” n.d.). Eventually this push for the right to vote worked in the favour of the women and by 1900 women were able to vote in municipal elections (“Women’s Suffrage,” n.d.). After this major advancement many decided that it was time to end the discrimination that existed around voting, it was time for women to be allowed to vote. Groups that were to push for a women's right to vote were formed they started going after the existing laws that prevented women from voting trying to get them to be changed. The first win for these groups was in Manitoba were in 1916 women were granted the right to vote in provincial elections (“Women’s Suffrage,” n.d.). Eventually this trend spread with Ontario allowing women to vote in provincial elections in 1917 and eventually every province allowed women to vote by 1940 when Quebec, the last province to make such a change, allowed women to vote in their provincial elections (“Women’s Suffrage,” n.d.). Federally, there was also a push to allow women to vote. In 1917 the wartime elections act was created allowing women who were serving in the armed forces overseas to vote (“Women’s Suffrage,” n.d.). Eventually this small change led to women being allowed to vote in federal elections in 1918 (“Women’s Suffrage,” n.d.). One year later women were allowed to hold public office finally creating equality between the genders in terms of government (“Women’s Suffrage,” n.d.). The push for the right to vote by certain groups ended a major barrier to equality in Canada.
Ontario's separate schools
In Ontario there are two kinds of schools public non-religious schools and Catholic religious schools (“Separate school,” n.d.). The Catholic schools have been criticized for being discriminatory. This stems from the fact that many Catholic schools will only hire people who belong to the Catholic religion (“Separate school,” n.d.). The Ontario government has also been criticized for funding the Catholic schools and no other religious schools, which many see as discriminatory. This includes the United Nations Human Rights Committee who has condemned the government of Ontario and the Government of Canada for their continued support of this school system (“Separate school,” n.d.). Sadly, this barrier continues as Ontario has no plans to end the Catholic school system anytime soon.
Sources
Separate school. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separate_school
Women's Suffrage. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2015, from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/womens-suffrage/