Human Rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Author | John Eaton; Denis Le May |
Profession | Librarian & Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba/Avocat, Barreau du Québec, Conseiller à la documentation en droit (1975?2006) et Chargé de cours, Faculté de droit, Université Laval |
Pages | 50-51 |
50HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE CHARTER / DROITS DE LA PERSONNE ET CHARTE DES DROITS
50.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE CHARTER OF RIGHTS
AND FREEDOMS
The topic of Human Rights takes into consideration all matters related to discriminatory inter-
actions between private citizens, individuals, and the state. Human Rights statutes guarantee
citizens protections from discrimination based on attributes such as race, religion, gender,
etc., in a variety of settings (e.g., employment, housing). A specific and fundamental subset of
Human Rights is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is a component part of the federal
Consitution Act, 1982. Since its passage, accompanied by the repatriation from the U.K. of the
Canadian Constitution by the government of Pierre Elliot Trudeau, the Charter has become the
principal guarantor of human and civil rights within the country. It has also had the effect of
expanding other rights (e.g., language rights) and has reversed the balance of power between
the judiciary and Parliament by making Parliament’s (and the provincial legislatures’) enact-
ments subject to review by the courts as to their compliance with the Charter. Prior to the
enactment of the Charter, the concept of Parliamentary supremacy severely limited the courts’
ability to scrutinize federal legislation. The Charter is federal and applies to the country as a
whole, but has an impact on many areas of provincial jurisdiction. It is critical to remember,
however, that the Charter’s reach is limited exclusively to state action (broadly defined). Related
topics: ABORIGINAL LAW, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, CRIMINAL LAW, CRIMINAL PRO-
CEDURE, YOUNG OFFENDERS.
DROITS DE LA PERSONNE ET CHARTE CANADIENNE
DES DROITS ET LIBERTÉS
Ce domaine a connu une telle effervescence depuis 1976 au Québec et depuis 1982 au fédéral
que le problème documentaire réside dans la pléthore plutôt que dans la rareté. La documenta-
tion est immense, éparse et d’origine multiple. Pour mémoire, rappelons seulement qu’il existe
non seulement plusieurs chartes, mais de nombreuses lois statutaires complémentaires aux
champs d’application distincts ; rappelons ensuite que ces chartes ont été plaidées universel-
lement et constamment : il en résulte des recoupements entre la charte et un domaine donné,
parfois restreint (par ex. l’alcootest). L’apport étranger, notamment européen et américain,
n’est pas à négliger dans ce domaine et, là encore, les outils abondent. La problématique des
chartes se place dans l’horizon plus vaste du droit CONSTITUTIONNEL.
Casey, James T., ed.Remedies In Labour, Employment, an d
Human Rights Law
Crswl (LL)
Laskin, John B., Edward L.
Greens pan, Q.C., an d
Melanie Du nn
Canadian Chart er of Rights AnnotatedCLB (LL)
Pentney, WilliamDiscrimination an d the LawCrswl (LL)
Roach, KentConstitutional Remedies in CanadaCLB (LL)
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