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The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms. CLU3M Unit 2. Fundamental Freedoms. Section 2 of the Charter Freedom of conscience and religion Freedom of thought, belief and opinion, and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication Freedom of peaceful assembly

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The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

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  1. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms CLU3M Unit 2

  2. Fundamental Freedoms • Section 2 of the Charter • Freedom of conscience and religion • Freedom of thought, belief and opinion, and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication • Freedom of peaceful assembly • Freedom of association

  3. Conscience and Religion • The right to entertain the beliefs you choose, to declare them openly without fear and to practice and disseminate them • According to the Charter- you may not be forced to act in a way contrary to your beliefs • R. v. Big M Drug Mart • In areas of conflicting religious rights the SCC has to interpret the intent as well as the extent of the Charter • Example- Family wishes their child not receive blood transfusions due to their religious belief system

  4. Thought and Expression • “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it”- Voltaire • Free to think and believe what you want and to publicly express your opinions • Key democratic freedoms- freedom of the press is a key means of communicating information to the public- many revolutions start when this is taken away • R. v. Keegstra- promotion of hatred- but if you have freedom of expression how can you be charged with expressing an opinion even if its fairly repulsive • The SCC decided that there are limits to freedom of expression • And here we have Section 1…but we wont look at it yet

  5. Peaceful Assembly and Association • Peaceful assembly- right to demonstrate against government policies or ideas • The assembly must be “peaceful- difference between lawful assembly and a riot • A riot (unlawful assembly) must consist of three or more persons prepared to use force to execute a common purpose • Association refers to the ability to connect with other people or groups (unions, cultural groups, political parties, sports teams) • Limitations- some people are prohibited from joining unions and in the criminal justice system people can be forced to stay away from certain people

  6. The Rights • Democratic Rights- Sections 3- 5 • Mobility Rights- section 6 • Legal Rights- sections 7- 14 • Equality Rights- section 15 • Official Languages of Canada- sections 16- 22 • Minority language Education rights- section 23 • Enforcement- Section 24 • General and Application 25- 34 • *section 33- Notwithstanding Clause

  7. Limitations to Rights and Freedoms • Section 1: Reasonable Limits Clause • The framers of the Charter believed that rights in Canada were not absolute. • Section 1 of the Charter: “reasonable limits” “free and democratic society” • 1982 R. v. Oakes- we will discuss his case later- quick summary, he was charged with trafficking a narcotic- • Narcotics Control act stated that at trial it is up to YOU, the one charged, to prove that you weren’t trafficking- this is a violation of your rights • The SCC came up with a test to determine when rights violations were reasonable- hence the test is called the Oakes Test

  8. The oakes Test • “It may become necessary to limit rights and freedoms in certain circumstances”- R. v. Oakes 1986 1 SCR • The court established a 4 step process to determine whether rights violations were reasonable • Next slide: The Oakes Test

  9. The oakes Test • 1. The reason for limiting the Charter right must be shown to be important enough to justify overriding a constitutionally protected right • 2. There must be a rational connection between the limitation of rights and the objective of the law • 3. The right must be limited as little as possible • 4. The more severe the rights limitation, the more important the objective must be

  10. Section 33 • As mentioned earlier, for Trudeau to get approval from the Premiers to pass the Charter, he had to agree to an override clause • The government had to ensure that they could override the SCC • Section 33 The Notwithstanding Clause- government can pass legislation that may violate or be inconsistent with rights and freedoms • The notwithstanding clause only lasts for 5 years before it has to be reviewed

  11. Section 33 • It ha sonly been used 4 times • Quebec used it to pass their French Language laws • Alberta has tried to use it twice and both times it failed • Why would any level of government be wary of invoking the notwithstanding clause?

  12. Rights Violations activity • See handout

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