BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

In 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into effect. As you will see below, it is, perhaps, one of the most significant pieces of Canadian legislation currently in existence. Think back to those who came through the gates of Pier 21. Although they were welcomed to this country, laws did not yet exist that guaranteed their freedoms, enshrined their rights, and protected them from racism and discrimination. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms corrects this vital circumstance.



Guide to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
www.pch.gc.ca/progs/pdp-hrp/canada/guide/overview_e.cfm

Overview of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

What is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is one part of the Canadian Constitution. The Constitution is a set of laws containing the basic rules about how our country operates. For example, it contains the powers of the federal government and those of the provincial governments in Canada.

The Charter sets out those rights and freedoms that Canadians believe are necessary in a free and democratic society. 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.

Before the Charter came into effect, other Canadian laws protected many of the rights and freedoms that are now brought together in it. One example is the Canadian Bill of Rights, which Parliament enacted in 1960. The Charter differs from these laws by being part of the Constitution of Canada.

Who enjoys Charter rights?

Generally speaking, any person in Canada, whether a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or a newcomer, has the rights and freedoms contained in the Charter. There are some exceptions. For example, the Charter gives some rights only to Canadian citizens – the right to vote (in section 3 of the Charter) and the right “to enter, remain in and leave Canada” (in section 6 of the Charter).

What can I do if my Charter rights have been denied?

The Charter provides for three kinds of actions to persons whose rights have been denied. These actions are referred to as legal “remedies.” First, the Charter says that a person can ask a court for a remedy that is “appropriate and just in the circumstances.” For instance, a court may stop proceedings against a person charged with an offence if his or her right to a trial within a reasonable time has been denied.

A second remedy is available when persons carrying out investigations for the government (for example, police officers) violate an individual’s Charter rights. This may happen, for example, when they improperly search for evidence on private property and violate a person’s right to privacy. In this situation, the person can ask a court to order that the evidence not be used against the person in a trial. A court will make an order like this if it is clear that using such evidence at trial would “bring the administration of justice into disrepute” (under section 24 of the Charter). Finally, if a court finds that a law violates Charter rights, it can rule that the law has no force (under section 52 of the Constitution Act, 1982).

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
www.un.org

Before the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into being, the United Nations passed the first charter that recognized that all peoples have rights and responsibilities. It should be noted that it was a Canadian, John Humphreys, who drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In doing so, Humphreys helped establish a foundation for the Canadian legislation.
On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Following this historic proclamation, the General Assembly called upon all Member countries to promote the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”

All educators and youth should familiarize themselves with the following:

Do Citizens have rights? If so, what are they?

“…The General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.”
For example:

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

In all, there are 30 Articles that comprise the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Every Canadian is accorded rights in our society. However, a set of responsibilities come with those rights:

• Understand and obey societal laws
• Participate in democratic political systems
• Vote in elections
• Allow others to enjoy their rights and freedoms
• Appreciate and help preserve the world’s cultural heritage
• Acquire knowledge and understanding of people and places around the world
• Become stewards of the environment
• Speak out against social injustice, discrimination and racism
• Challenge institutional thinking when it abrogates human rights

“As we enter our centennial year we are still a young nation, very much in the formative stages. Our national condition is still flexible enough that we can make almost anything we wish of our nation. No other country is in a better position than Canada to go ahead with the evolution of a national purpose devoted to all that is good and noble and excellent in the human spirit.”
—Lester B. Pearson