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The Charter was significantly inspired by
documents such as the 1948 United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Passed by the United Nations
Recognized inalienable rights and
fundamental freedoms
See Pages 38-43
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Guaranteed the freedoms of:
 Thought
 Opinion
 Expression
 Conscience
 Religion
 Peaceful Assembly and Association
It also declared:
 Equal rights for Men and Women
 Equality before the Law
 Innocent until Proven Guilty
 Education Rights
 Freedom from Torture or Inhumane Punishment
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Canada's original Constitution, the British North
America Act, was passed in 1867 by British
Parliament.
This Act, also known as the Constitution Act,
1867, founded Canada as a nation.
It made elected governments the highest
political and legal institutions in the country.
Canada's Constitution did not have a "Bill of
Rights" that governments had to follow.
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The Canadian
Parliament attempted
to codify rights and
freedoms across
Canada
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A statute law enacted by Prime Minister John
Diefenbaker, the Canadian Bill of Rights
recognized:
◦ The right of individuals to life, liberty, personal
security and enjoyment of property
◦ Freedom of religion, speech, assembly and
association
◦ Freedom of the press
◦ The right to counsel and the right to a fair hearing
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The Bill of Rights had limitations:
It was a federal statute and it applied only
to matters under federal jurisdiction
Had the same status as other statutes:
◦ It did not take precedence over any other statutes
◦ It could also be amended, or even eliminated by a
majority vote in the House of Commons.
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People including PM Pierre Trudeau believed
the Bill of rights did not offer Canadians
sufficient protection
Sought to entrench rights and freedoms into
the Canadian Constitution
Entrench – to protect and guarantee a right or
freedom by ensuring that it can only be
changed by an amendment to the
Constitution
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When Canada's Constitution was
patriated(brought home) in 1982, the
Constitution Act included the Canadian Charter
of Rights and Freedoms:
◦ Ensures that people are protected, regardless of
the government in power
◦ Also means that these rights and freedoms
became constitutional law, which overrides all
other laws
◦ Any federal or provincial law must be consistent
with the terms of the Constitution
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Some of the rights and freedoms contained in the
Charter are:
freedom of expression
the right to a democratic government
the right to live and to seek employment anywhere in
Canada
legal rights of persons accused of crimes
Aboriginal peoples' rights
the right to equality, including the equality of men
and women
the right to use either of Canada's official languages
the right of French and English linguistic minorities to
an education in their language
the protection of Canada's multicultural heritage.
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The Charter shifted the power from the
supremacy of Parliament and legislatures
towards supremacy of the Constitution
Not all premiers agreed with entrenching
rights and freedoms in the Constitution
◦ Some felt that entrenching certain rights and
freedoms would reduce the law-making powers of
Canadian governments
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Premiers only agreed to the Charter on the
condition they had limited power to override
(to prevail over) it
Section 33 of the Charter grants the federal
government and provincial governments
limited power to pass laws that may violate
freedoms or rights in the Charter (s 2 and s 7
to 15 of the Charter)
When invoked (to put into effect), the
particular law must specify what sections of
the Charter are being overridden
Expires every 5 years and rarely used
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Quebec Bill 101
Required all public signs to be in French only
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that
Quebec's Bill 101 was invalid because it
infringed on freedom of expression
The Quebec government responded by
bringing in another bill and invoking the
notwithstanding clause to allow the "French
only" law to stand.
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Section 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms is the section that confirms
that the rights listed in the Charter are
guaranteed.
The section is also known as the reasonable
limits clause or limitations clause, as it legally
allows the government to limit an individual's
Charter rights.
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This limitation on rights has been used in the
last twenty years to prevent a variety of
objectionable conduct such as hate speech
(e.g., in R. v. Keegstra) and obscenity (e.g., in
R. v. Butler).
It has also been used to protect from the
unreasonable interference of government in
the lives of people in a free and democratic
society by defining these limits.
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Any person in Canada, whether Canadian
citizen, a permanent resident or a newcomer,
has the rights and freedoms contained in the
Charter.
There are some exceptions:
◦ The right to vote( Section 3)
◦ The right to enter, remain in and leave Canada
(Section 6)
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To make a change to the Charter, the federal
Parliament and seven of the 10 provincial
legislatures must agree to it.
The population of those seven provinces
must also make up at least 50 per cent of the
total population of Canada.
The Charter has been amended only twice
since 1982 –
HWK: find out the 2 amendments….