Understand Your Rights an Annotated Guide to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Contents
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UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS AN ANNOTATED GUIDE TO THE CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS CONTENTS Section 1: Rights and Freedoms in Canada ..........................................................................................................3 Section 2: Fundamental Freedoms .........................................................................................................................5 Section 3: Democratic Rights of Citizens .............................................................................................................9 Section 4: Democratic Rights ................................................................................................................................11 Section 5: Democratic Rights ................................................................................................................................11 Section 6: Mobility of Citizens ................................................................................................................................11 Section 7: Life, Liberty, and Security of the Person ...........................................................................................14 Section 8: Legal Rights ............................................................................................................................................16 Section 9: Legal Rights ............................................................................................................................................17 Section 10: Legal Rights .........................................................................................................................................18 Section 11: Legal Rights .........................................................................................................................................19 Section 12: Legal Rights .........................................................................................................................................20 Section 13: Legal Rights .........................................................................................................................................20 Section 14: Legal Rights .........................................................................................................................................21 Section 15: Equality Rights .....................................................................................................................................21 Section 16-20: Official Languages in Canada ....................................................................................................25 Section 21: Continuation of Existing Constitutional Provisions ......................................................................28 Section 22: Rights and Privileges Preserved ......................................................................................................29 Section 23: Minority Language Education Rights .............................................................................................30 Section 24: Enforcement .........................................................................................................................................32 Section 25: Aboriginal Rights and Freedoms Not Affected by the Charter ...................................................34 Sections 26-31: General Charter Rights ..............................................................................................................36 Section 32: Application of Charter .......................................................................................................................37 Section 33: Exception Where Express Declaration ...........................................................................................38 2 Understand your Rights – An Annotated Guide to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms This document does not contain legal advice. This document was prepared with the assistance of Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) University of Manitoba law student volunteers. PBSC is a student organization, and students are not lawyers or authorized to provide legal advice. This document contains general discussion of certain legal and related issues only. If you require legal advice, please consult with a lawyer. SECTION 1: right as little as possible; and the limit on the right must not be disproportional to the benefit RIGHTS AND of limiting that right. FREEDOMS IN CANADA Questions Jeff was a single father of two kids and a delivery 1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms driver for a company who needed his driver’s license guarantees the rights and freedoms set out to work. One night, after going out with his friends, in it subject only to such reasonable limits he was arrested for driving under the influence and prescribed by law as can be demonstrably his license was suspended. Aside from this, Jeff had justified in a free and democratic society. both a clean driving and criminal record. Jeff went to court to argue that his suspended license violated his section 12 right (the right to not be subjected Summary to cruel and unusual treatment or punishment) because a suspended license meant that not only The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms could he not work, but he could also not take his guarantees the rights found in the Charter, but children to school and to their appointments. He felt these rights are limited by laws, provided that those that this infringement on his section 12 right could laws still promote a free and democratic society. not be justified under section 1. This limitation on freedoms was tested in the Q: Does Jeff have a case? What would be his case of R v Oakes (R v Oakes, [1986] 1 SCR remedy? 103, 1986 CarswellOnt 1001), which created the “Oakes test.” This legal test states that in A: The judge felt that given Jeff’s circumstances and order to override a right protected by the Charter, the fact that he did not have a prior history of driving four requirements must be met: it has to be while under the influence, a suspended license was important; it has to be connected to what it is unreasonable. He sentenced Jeff to a rehabilitation trying to accomplish; it must interfere with the program and gave him a fine R( v Berg). Understand your Rights – An Annotated Guide to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 3 Sarah was an owner of a travel agency with five had to determine whether this infringement of employees working in her office. One day, the his rights was justified under section 1. The only travel agency was raided by police officers who way that the infringement would be justified is had received a tip that someone was trafficking if it achieved the objective of rehabilitating the narcotics out of the office. Since Sarah was the accused, protected the public, or was a minimal owner of the agency, she was arrested and tried infringement. It was determined that the for drug trafficking. At trial, Sarah stated that the sentencing did not meet these requirements and charges against her, and the trial, violated her was not a justified infringement under section 1. section 11(d) rights (the right to be presumed The judge decided that the probation could exist innocent until proven guilty according to law notwithstanding the requirements of his job. in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal), because the officers had R v Oakes, [1986] 1 SCR 103, 1986 CarswellOnt 1001 not connected the narcotics to her personally – just to her office. While she did not know who In December of 1971, Oakes was arrested for the narcotics belonged to, she stated that any of unlawful possession of a narcotic for the purpose her employees could have left them in the office of drug trafficking. Even though he denied that as they all had a key to the building and often he was going to sell the drugs, section 8 of the worked when she was not around. Narcotic Control Act said that possession of a narcotic can infer plans to traffic a narcotic under Q: Does Sarah have a case against the officers? a rational connection test. The accused claimed What should happen if she does? that this section of the act violated his right to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty A: The judge might determine that the officers under section 11(d). When the case went to trial, had not collected enough evidence to try her it was found that the rational connection test for trafficking narcotics. While the judge might used in section 8 did violate section 11(d) in a recognize that the narcotics were found in her way that was not justifiable and could not be office, he may feel that the connection is not saved under section 1. strong enough to try Sarah personally, and the arrest violated her section 1 rights. Leading Cases R v Berg, 2001 YKSC 528 In this case, a man with a history of chronic alcoholism was arrested for driving under the influence. At trial, it was established that if he could not drive, he would lose his job; however, the Court chose to give him a mandatory three- month probation on driving because this was the minimum penalty for this charge at the time. It was determined that the sentencing violated the accused’s section 12 right. The Court then 4 Understand your Rights – An Annotated Guide to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms SECTION 2: be one freedom in this section. Freedom of conscience, also known as freedom of thought, FUNDAMENTAL refers to the right of an individual to hold their own ideas no matter what other people