Limitation of charter rights

• Author: Robert J. Sharpe - Kent Roach
• Profession: Court of Appeal for Ontario - Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
• Pages: 65-65

Page 65

A central task in the interpretation of any instrument guaranteeing fundamental rights and freedoms is to reconcile the rights of the individual with the interests of the community at large. The effect of the Charter is to shift an important share of responsibility for this task from the elected representatives of the people to the judiciary. In light of the Supreme Court’s generous definition of most enumerated rights through the purposive method of interpretation described in Chapter 3, it is not surprising to find that the Court places heavy reliance on the second stage of Charter adjudication, defining the limitation of rights. This is mandated by section 1, which provides that the rights and freedoms guaranteed are "subject only...