Our Rights and Freedoms Under the Charter in Canada Law 12 Goldsack 2016

2a – Freedom of Conscience and Religion One can choose or choose not to have religious beliefs One can practice their religious beliefs One can express their religious beliefs the Canadian Government cannot penalize or hinder any of these rights through legislation or policy

2a – Freedom of Conscience and Religion Any legislation created that has a trivial or insubstantial effect on a person/group’s freedom of religion IS NOT CONSIDERED A VIOLATION OF THIS RIGHT Legislation, therefore, has to infringe upon a doctrine fundamental to a religion in order to be considered to violate this right

2b – Freedom of Thought, Belief, Opinion and Expression (and Press) Applies to any form of expression: speech, writing, art, film, dance, etc. Often used to ensure that journalists, protesters and artists are not jailed for criticizing government

2b – Freedom of Thought, Belief, Opinion and Expression (and Press) Limitations to the right to expression are: Expression inciting hatred – if the individual’s message intends to motivate people to violence against others Obscenity – may censor materials; prosecute those communicating with prostitutes Slander – lies against character of person Reporting of Judicial Proceedings in Certain Courts – where may affect fair trial

2c – Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Means the right to hold a peaceful demonstration in protest of a matter, or, similarly, to picket a work location “Peaceful” is an important distinction here, for if it becomes a riot, becomes illegal

2d – Freedom of Association Means that people are allowed to join into groups for common purposes One major example is the right to join a union for the purposes of bargaining for collective benefits on the job Also allowed to join political groups, interest groups, etc. without being jailed for being a member of such groups

3-5 – Democratic Rights S3 - right of CANADIAN CITIZENS to vote in federal and provincial elections and to run for election in each of these S4 – limits to the duration of a Parliament or legislative assembly to 5 years between elections (to avoid a government hanging onto power indefinitely) S5 – insistence that Parliament/legislative assemblies ‘sit’ or hold sessions at least once a year

3-5 – Democratic Rights Until the creation of the Charter, voting rights could easily have been removed by any government by law Although right to vote is for citizens, restrictions have been allowed, such as residency requirements, age, and role of Chief Electoral Officer as non-voting Democratic rights cannot be limited by application of Notwithstanding Clause

6 – Mobility Rights Meant to ensure that provincial boundaries are not closed to new residents Allows people to live and work in any province, and to ensure that provincial governments do not create legislation to limit influx of new people However, subsection 4 allows provincial gov’ts to enact legislation limiting people from entering province for work if their unemployment rate is higher than rest of Canada

7-14 – Legal Rights S7 – right of life, liberty and security of person afforded to EVERYONE within Canada (even those NOT citizens) Means that Canada accepts refugees, and will not send citizens of other countries to face trial if it uses the death penalty as punishment

7-14 – Legal Rights S8-14 involves rights of people upon arrest, such as: protection from unreasonable search and seizure (s8), arbitrary detention/ imprisonment (s9), rights upon arrest (s10-11), Protection from cruel & unreasonable punishment (s12) Right to immunity from self-incrimination when testimony of witness could result in info that could be used against them in a different criminal investigation (s13) Right to have an interpreter when the trial is conducted in a language accused does not understand (s14)

15 – Equality Rights Subsection 1 details guarantee of EVERYONE (not just citizens) to be equal under laws, including protection from laws that may discriminate against person on basis of: Race National/ethnic origin Colour Sex Age Mental or physical disability Sexual orientation

15 – Equality Rights Subsection 2 allows for the government to create laws that would assist people listed in subsection 1 in order to raise their conditions to that of others One known example is “affirmative action” programs that aim to help employment levels in government workplaces to balanced levels of women, people of different ethnic backgrounds, physical disability, etc.

16-22 – Language Rights S16-17 stress that English and French are the official languages of Canada, and therefore both allowed to be used equally in government proceedings S18 expects all government documents and records to be published in both languages S19 allows anyone to use either language in court proceedings

16-22 – Language Rights S20 guarantees services from the government will be offered in both official languages, where requested by individual asking for such service

23 – Minority Language Education Rights Offered in English or French only Offered only to Canadian citizens One of 3 criteria must be met to have right offered in this section: Must be mother tongue first learned and understood Must be the language the parents were educated Must be language other siblings received in their education

23 – Minority Language Education Rights A limitation to this right is the “numbers test”, in which a person/group requesting education in their preferred language must be in sufficient numbers for the province to offer it in their area of residence However, “sufficient numbers” is not specific and up to the province to decide what is sufficient

24 - Enforcement Subsection 1 allows people the right to apply to the courts for remedy if any right in the Charter has been denied or violated Subsection 2 guarantees that evidence collected in a manner that violates their Charter rights cannot be admitted as evidence in their trial, especially if allowing it would cause public to lose trust in the police or courts

25 – Aboriginal Rights Ensures that no law will be allowed to infringe upon existing aboriginal treaty rights, such as: Royal Proclamation of 1763, giving general land claims to Rupert’s Land and hunting/fishing rights Any land claims negotiated

26 – Other Rights Allowed This section stresses that the Charter rights are not the only rights that would have to be allowed in Canada for the benefit of the people

27 – Multicultural Right This section ensures that any interpretation of the Charter will be done so in a way that enhances and preserves our country’s multicultural heritage

28 – Gender Right This section ensures that all rights and freedoms in the Charter will be equally guaranteed to both women and men

29 – Separate Schools This section allows for separate schools to exist, despite any rights in the Charter that might attempt to obstruct their operation

30 – Territories Included! This section mentions that whenever the Charter mentions a province or a legislative assembly for a particular right or freedom, it should also apply to the territories of Canada and their governments as well

31 – Clarifying Powers This section notes that no one should interpret any section in this Charter as allowing more power or authority to any legislative body (federal, provincial or territorial)

32 – Charter Applies to... Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments, their agencies and services

33 – Notwithstanding Clause This section allows a federal or provincial government to enact legislation that is seen to violate sections 2 or 7 through 15 If notwithstanding clause is enacted, legislation may remain despite violating the Charter for a period of 5 years