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

50 HUMAN 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.

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Melanie Du nn

Canadian Chart er of Rights Annotated CLB (LL)

Pentney, William Discrimination an d the Law Crswl (LL)

Roach, Kent Constitutional Remedies in Canada CLB (LL)