In society today citizens enjoy a high level of personal freedom. Canadians are allowed to run their own lives the way they want them. Their rights are ensured, their choices are their own to make. Yet there are still times when individuals have their freedom taken away. At these times the question that begs an answer is this, ‘To what extent should the individual freedom of Canadian citizens be subject to governmental control?’ There are many options ranging from the government should have no control or right to take away individual freedom, it should have full control, or the more middle ground opinion. The freedom and rights of every individual in this nation should be met with no governmental control unless there is no other way to go about the situation. This last opinion is the one I agree with and find to be most suitable. After all, if one were to look back in history they would be able to find that when the government takes away individual freedoms and rights, the situation does not always improve.

    On December 7th in the midst of World War Two, Pearl Harbour was attacked by the Japanese. This one single attack was basis for taking away all rights of the Japanese Canadian citizens, and sending them away. They were sent to concentration camps inland so they couldn’t use their fishing boats to ‘spy’ and ‘send information’ to their native homeland. The Canadian government took away everything these people had earned because of a fear. A fear that the ‘enemy aliens’ were going to destroy Canada. A nation that most were born in and loyal to. The treatment of Canadian citizens in this case is appalling. Sending people to concentration camps based upon their ethnic background was very similar to the Nazi actions taking place in Europe at the time. By taking away Japanese Canadian rights and freedoms the Canadian government discriminated against a cultural group and is still feeling the after effects of it today.

    The FLQ Crisis in Quebec was a time of panic. Two high ranking governmental officials kidnapped by an extremist Quebec political group, and no idea how to get them back. It was at this time that Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau suspended all citizens rights and freedoms so the issue could be solved. Over four hundred people were arrested and help for questioning. No lawyers had to be present, no phone calls could be made, and no single person was privilege to the normal integration period. Held for hours upon hours, these detainees’s felt first hand the effects of their individual freedoms and rights being taken away. While this may not have been the most logical way of handling things, the information collected from people was enough to ensure that one man was returned to his family safely. This also proves that while the government may at times abuse the extent of its power of Canadian citizens, it can also ensure that the country remains safe y doing what it has to do.

    Today in Canada you will find two prime issues on which you can argue about the government limiting individual freedom. Depending on your viewpoint you can argue any of the three positions about government control. In a society that is now becoming more accepting of people the issue of gay and lesbian rights ban be brought up. Many feel that the extent of governmental control on this issue is too high. With only one province allowing same sex marriages, and even then it is hit and miss, groups are calling for the government to release control. It is an individual right to love and marry whom you want, if it is a member of the same sex. It is not a right however, only a privilege to love and not marry when it comes to everyone else. It is this type of discrimination that the government lets continue on that only fuels the belief that it is okay to discriminate against these people. As a government it should not be their duty, nor choice to make decisions regarding the individual rights and freedoms of Canadians. It is this type of control and extent of government power that directly violates the freedom of Canadian citizens to run their life as they see fit; whether it be a ‘straight’ person or not.

    Abortion. Just the very word instils a deep opinion in people. It is another issue that you can argue with the extent of governmental control. Right now there is no control the government has placed on it to make the practice illegal. You will find clinics in every city, as well as people who support it and those who don’t. This is a situation where the lack of government control allows people to enjoy their rights and freedoms as individual citizens. Yet with the upcoming election, this right and freedom may be threatened. A well-known fact that the Conservative Part of Canada does not support abortion, the free legal clinics may be threatened if the party comes into power. As many times as Stephen Harper wishes to say the government will still allow that freedom of choice, it is the mere thought that it may be threatened that puts people on alert. Abortion is clearly a personal choice, one that divides many Canadians. But it is that right to choose that sets Canada apart from other countries. The freedom for women to make that decision about their own life, because in the end it is their life and not the government’s.

    Canada is a democratic society. Free from a dictatorship power where no individual has the freedom to choose. Our choices are our own to make, we have the right to make of our lives what we wish. In the past the extent of governmental control, which limits individual rights and freedoms, has been too much. No example is better than the Japanese Canadian internment during the Second World War. The FLQ Crisis however, showed that when the safety and security of Canada is threatened, measures must be taken to protect Canada. And there can be exceptions made about individual freedoms. In this day though, with gay and lesbian rights, as well as the freedom of abortion issues to debate over, the line of perfect governmental control blurs. There is no specific point in which there is too much or too little. That is based upon every person’s individual views. What it comes down to in the end is ensuring the amount of governmental control does not turn our country into a dictatorship, but also does not let the nation fall apart. Each citizen has a right to run their life and make their own choices. This is the individual freedom and right of every citizen. And when that freedom and right is taken away, it stops being a democracy.