Group Rights

John Stanley is a policy advisor at the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and
Universities.

This collection of philosophy essays resulted from a 1992 conference
held at York University. While the notion of “rights” comes to us
from Enlightenment thought, group rights are a relatively new phenomenon
in politics. While some philosophers hold that group rights are
preconditions for individual rights, the two kinds of rights are quite
different. Unlike individual rights, group rights are not possessed by
all human beings, but are held only by some groups under certain
historical circumstances. The right to use a language under certain
conditions is among the most prominent group rights in Canada’s
constitution.

Not only has Canada incorporated some group rights—for minority
francophones and anglo-phones as well as for aboriginal peoples—into
its Constitution, but it has also produced one of the world’s experts
in this field, Will Kymlicka, who provides this volume’s opening
essay. The collection focuses on a variety of topics—women,
federalism, language minorities, immigrants, refugees, even minorities
within minorities (“internal minorities”)—and appears to be
directed primarily at philosophers. Although a wide range of topics are
touched upon, the essays are not intended to be comprehensive in their
discussion of group rights.

Group Rights may be viewed as another contribution to the ongoing
debate on multiculturalism. Its philosophical point of view may assist
discussions on constitutional interpretation or revision. However, its
narrow focus and heavy demands make it hard going for the general
reader.