1. Law 12 MUNDY 2008

2.  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

3.  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

4.  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

5.  Limitations to the right to expression are: 1. Expression inciting hatred – if the individual’s message intends to motivate people to violence against others 2. Obscenity – may censor materials; prosecute those communicating with prostitutes 3. Slander – lies against character of person 4. Reporting of Judicial Proceedings in Certain Courts – where may affect fair trial

6.  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

7.  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

8.  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

9.  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

10.  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

11.  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

12.  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)

13.  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

14.  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.

15.  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.  S20 guarantees services from the government will be offered in both official languages, where requested by individual asking for such service

17.  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

18.  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

19.  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

20.  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

21.  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

22.  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

23.  This section ensures that all rights and freedoms in the Charter will be equally guaranteed to both women and men

24.  This section allows for separate schools to exist, despite any rights in the Charter that might attempt to obstruct their operation

25.  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

26.  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)

27.  Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments, their agencies and services

28.  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