Senators’ Statements - Charter of the Forest
Auspicious Anniversaries
November 9, 2017
The Honorable Senator Kim Pate:
Honourable senators, Monday marked the twenty-seventh anniversary of my son’s birth, the seventy-fifth anniversary of Senator Ogilvie’s birth, the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the first sitting in this place and the eight-hundredth anniversary of the 1217 Charter of the Forest, a lesser-known companion to the Magna Carta.
[Translation]
The Charter of the Forest is remarkable in many respects.
[English]
It is one of the world’s longest-enduring statutes, having been in effect in England from 1217 until 1971. Even more significant, however, is the continuing relevance, eight centuries later, of its concern for basic principles of equality, justice and fairness.
The Charter of the Forest is an early example of the acknowledgment of environmental rights, women’s rights, the rights to preserve nature and animals, limitations on natural resource exploitation, and the assertion of the principle of communal stewardship of nature.
How did this advance feminism? Through the Charter of the Forest, widows were given the right to refuse to be remarried, which at the time looked like a small but significant step, because at that time women were viewed as the property of the men who fathered them or who married them.
This legal document set the precedent for public access to Crown land as well, mostly forest at the time, and for the common stewardship of shared resources. Placing limits on state property rights, the Charter of the Forest was the first legislation to provide rights to those who did not own real property.
Today, these principles concerning universal access to resources and income are at the heart of discussions about reconciliation, nation-to-nation relationships and the need for steps such as the implementation of guaranteed livable income, as we seek to remedy the marginalization, injustice and inequality experienced by too many in this country.
The Charter of the Forest, like our current discussions about Bill S-3, serves as an important reminder that the right to substantive equality is not a particularly new, revolutionary or radical idea. On the eve of the first anniversary of many of us in this Senate, I am also reminded that part of our role here in the Senate is to represent the interests of those marginalized by economic, social, racial and gender inequalities in our communities.
Finally, not only are we recognizing all of these anniversaries, but I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who were here before the 14 of us were invited here a year ago tomorrow, and to thank you for the ways that you have shown your compassion and caring, and for the ways you have contributed to our education and initiatives. I look forward to learning more over the next number of years that I have the privilege and opportunity to be in this place. I want to thank all of you for encouraging and supporting us as we joined this place one year ago tomorrow.
Thank you, meegwetch.