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 (you will look at this on Wed Apr 2nd)
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 case point- promotion of hatred…,but if you have freedom of expression how can you be charged with expressing an opinion even if it’s fairly repulsive
The SCC decided that there are limits to freedom of expression
And here we have Section 1…but we wont look at the document 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
Minority language Education rights- section 23
Enforcement- Section 24
General and Application
*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 SCR
The court established a 4 step process to determine whether rights violations were reasonable
Next slides: 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