Charter of Rights and

Freedoms
Individual Rights

Supreme Court of Canada

Privileges that are so basic that they

cannot be restricted by the laws of the
government

Freedoms that citizens have; these are granted and

guaranteed by legislation or government regulation
Human Rights

Natural rights that belong to all human beings simply as a

condition of being human
These rights, however, will be of little or no use if this
principle is not recognized by the government

Civil Rights

Rights that belong to all citizens of a particular country

These rights are normally protected by law and are often
found in a constitution

These extend beyond legal obligations to

include the type of behaviour that shows
respect for the rights of others
In Canada, these include political, legal,
moral and social responsibilities
Political

Voting
Staying informed on important issues
Participating actively in political affairs

Legal

Moral

Performing jury duty

Obeying the law
Knowing your legal rights
Respecting the rights of others
Acting in a manner acceptable to society

Social

Participating in and supporting community activities

volunteering

In 1982, the Charter of Rights and

Freedoms was made a part of Canadas
new Constitution so that it can be
changed only with great difficulty.
Any proposed change must receive
approval of the Senate, the House of
Commons, and two thirds of the
provinces representing fifty percent of the
Canadian population.

The Charter specifies who benefits from

each of the rights and freedoms. For
example, equality rights are guaranteed
to every individual. Mobility rights are
guaranteed only to citizens of Canada.
The Charter applies to both the federal
and provincial governments. If the Courts
decide that a government statute has
violated the charter, they declare it invalid
and it cannot be enforced.

Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms

What it says

What it means
These rights are not absolute. Under section 1, these rights can be limited to
protect other rights or values important to Canadian society.
For a Charter right to be limited, the limit must be
prescribed by law
reasonable
justifiable in a free and democratic society

Fundamental Freedoms
What it says

What it means
The Charter protects your freedom to follow
your religion, to have your beliefs and
opinions, to express yourself, to gather in
peaceful groups and to associate with
others. It also protects the freedom of the
press.

Fundamental Freedoms

Section 2(a)-- Freedom of conscience

and religion
B.(R.) v. Children's Aid Society, [1995],
Parents refused to let their child have blood
transfusions because it went against their
religious beliefs as Jehovah's Witnesses.
The state took the child away so that the
child could have life-saving medical help.

Fundamental Freedoms

The Court decided that the law which let the

state take the child for medical help limited
the parents' freedom of religion under
section 2 of the Charter.
The Court then applied section 1 of the
Charter and decided that the state's
decision to require the blood transfusion
was justified to protect the child's life.

Fundamental Freedoms

Section 2(b)- Freedom of thought, belief,

opinion and expression, including
freedom of the press and other media of
communication
Regina v. Keegstra, [1990]
A high school teacher promoted hatred by
teaching that the Holocaust was a fraud and
attributed evil qualities to Jews. He expected
his students to reproduce his teachings in
class and on exams. If they failed to do so,
their marks suffered.

Fundamental Freedoms

The Court decided that hate speech is

included in freedom of expression under
section 2 of the Charter. Hate speech
conveys meaning, even though the meaning
is offensive to many people.
The Court then applied section 1 of the
Charter and decided that limiting hate
speech was justified. The goals of protecting
people from harm and encouraging
tolerance were important, even though this
limited freedom of expression.

Democratic Rights
What it says

What it means
All citizens have the right to vote or stand for
election.
No government can stay in office for more
than 5 years unless there are extraordinary
circumstances, like a national emergency.

Democratic Rights

Harper v. Canada (Attorney General)

Bill C-2, the new Canada Elections Act
in 2002, limited third party election
advertising maximum spending to
$150,000 nationwide, of which a
maximum of $3,000 can be spent on a
given electoral district.

Democratic Rights

The Court decided that a law limiting

spending in election advertising was
justified under section 1 of the Charter.
Spending limits in elections can be
important to encourage fairness and
help voters have confidence in the
election process.

Democratic Rights

Sauv v. Canada (Chief Electoral

Officer),[2002]
The old Canada Elections Act
prohibited prisoners from voting.

Democratic Rights

The supreme
court decided
that people do
not lose their
voting rights
because they
are in prison.

Mobility Rights
What it says

What it means
All citizens and permanent residents in
Canada have the right to move to, live in,
work or have businesses in any province or
territory in Canada.

Mobility Rights

U.S. v. Cotroni, [1989]

The United States wanted to extradite
two Canadian citizens from Canada to
face drug charges. The accused
argued that extradition violates a
citizen's right under section 6 of the
Charter to stay in Canada.

Mobility Rights

The Court decided that extradition violates a

citizen's right under section 6 of the Charter
to stay in Canada.
The Court then applied section 1 of the
Charter and decided that extradition was a
reasonable limit to section 6. It is important
to have international cooperation to deal
with crime, and extradition is an appropriate
way to achieve this goal.

Legal Rights
What it says

Legal Rights
What it means
7. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person.
8. You have the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy.
9. You cannot be stopped, held for questioning, arrested or put in jail unless the
police have a good reason to do so.
10. If you are arrested or detained, you must be given reasons for this right
away.
11. basic principles of criminal law - like being presumed innocent, the right to a
speedy trial and the independence of the Courts.
12. Protection from cruel and unusual punishment such as punishment that
degrades human dignity
13. If you are a witness, what you say in court cannot be used against you in
another court case.
14. You have the right to an interpreter in a courtroom .

Legal Rights

Section 7 - Right to life, liberty and

security of the person
Reference Re: B.C. Motor Vehicle Act,
[1985]
The law said a person could be put in jail for
driving when his or her license was under
suspension, even if a person did not know
the license was suspended

Legal Rights

The Court decided that this law

violated section 7 rights. It is a
principle of fundamental justice that
people can only be sent to jail if they
knew they did something wrong.

Legal Rights

Section 8 - Protection from unreasonable

search and seizure
Regina v. Tessling, [2004]
An airplane flew over a house to measure
the heat coming from it. This was being done
because the police suspected marijuana was
being grown in the house. The police did not
have a search warrant to measure this heat.

Legal Rights

The Court decided that a warrant was

not needed because the information
about the heat was open to the public
and did not reveal intimate or
biological information about people in
the house.

Legal Rights

Section 12 - Protection from cruel and

unusual punishment
Regina v. Smith, [1987]
A law required a minimum seven year jail
term for bringing illegal drugs into Canada.
This minimum jail term applied if there was a
small amount of drugs for personal use or a
large amount for trafficking. This punishment
did not take into account individual
circumstances.

Legal Rights

The Supreme Court decided that a

required minimum jail term of seven
years was cruel and unusual under
section 12. The punishment could be
out of all proportion to the seriousness
of an act and outrage society's
standards of decency.

Equality Rights
What it says

What it means
recognizes the dignity and worth of
everyone in society. gives people equal
benefit and equal protection of the law
without being discriminated against
because of race, national or ethnic
origin, colour, religion, sex, age, mental
or physical disability.

Equality Rights

Miron v. Trudel, [1995]

John Miron and Jocelyne Valliere were a
common law couple. Miron suffered a car
accident and attempted to claim the injuries
under his partner's insurance policy.
However, the Ontario Insurance Act
provided that benefits were only available to
spouses who were legally married.

Equality Rights

Discrimination based on marital status.

The Court decided that under section
15, common law couples should have
the same rights to government
insurance benefits as married couples.

Equality Rights

Trociuk v. British Columbia (Attorney General),

[2003]
Darrell Trociuk and Reni Ernst were an estranged
unmarried couple who became parents to
septuplets. On the birth registration Ernst indicated
that the father was "unacknowledged by the
mother". Consequently, she put "Ernst" as their
surnames. Trociuk, claimed that they had agreed on
registering the children's surnames as "ErnstTrociuk", and tried to get the records changed.The
Vital Statistics Act of British Columbia prevented
fathers from amending registrations.

Equality Rights

The Court decided that this law was

discriminatory on the basis of sex and
violated equality rights under section
15. It affected the dignity of fathers by
suggesting that a fathers relationship
with his child was not as important as
a mothers.

Equality Rights

McKinney v. University of Guelph, [1990]

Eight professors and a librarian from the
University of Guelph applied for declarations
that the university's policy for mandatory
retirement at age 65 was unconstitutional
because it violated their section 15 Charter
rights to equality.

Equality Rights

Does mandatory
retirement discriminate on
the basis of age?
Generally yes, but such a
law can still be valid
because a 65 year age
limit on the right to work
can be reasonable under
section 1 of the Charter.

Quebec Charter of Human Rights and

Freedoms

Section 10

Every person has a right to full and equal

recognition and exercise of his human rights
and freedoms, without distinction, exclusion
or preference based on race, colour, sex,
pregnancy, sexual orientation, civil status,
age except as prescribed by law, religion,
political convictions, language, ethnic or
national origin, social condition, a handicap or
the use of any means to palliate a handicap.