Pls read this and watch the video and help me answer the 4 questions down below.

In 1946 in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, a young woman attended the movies while she waited for her car to be repaired. She asked to purchase a main floor ticket at the cost of $0.40 a ticket. She was not permitted to buy a main floor ticket because she was not white. Instead, she was sold a balcony seat ticket at $0.30. She refused to sit in the balcony. The owner of the theatre brought in the police chief and she was arrested. As there was no actual law permitting segregation based upon race, she was charged with tax evasion. The difference between the costs of the two tickets was $0.10. The difference in the tax paid on the ticket was $0.01. She was found guilty of tax evasion and was fined $20.00. She decided to mount a legal challenge but was unsuccessful. The Nova Scotia Supreme Court dismissed her appeal. Despite the fact that she was unsuccessful, the case was well known and helped to raise public awareness of racial issues.

This case is a shocking reminder of the racism that was prevalent in Canada at the time. In the case of Viola Desmond the justice system failed to protect her right to equality. This would be considered unacceptable now. The values of most Canadians include a belief that all people should be treated equally under the law. Canadian law has changed and developed since this time. A shift in attitudes or values is not the only factor that may prompt legal change.

https://youtu.be/ie0xWYRSX7Y

https://youtu.be/szSqfmbXx0Y

https://youtu.be/7bb_nkZNh8M

Legal perspective

Why was Viola Desmond not allowed to sit in the ground floor of the movie theater?

Interrelationships

What social condition existed in Nova Scotia,at that time,to allow for this type of discrimination to be upheld by law?

Change & Continuity

Can you think of current law or laws that should now protect minority groups from discrimination ? can you offer some reasons for this change in law?

Legal significance

Why is the decision in this case of legal significance?