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The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The canadian charter of rights and freedoms essay
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A component of Canada’s Constitution is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This supreme law of Canada holds our common values as a nation. Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, signed the Constitution Act in 1982, this act includes the British North America Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Governments stating new laws are guided by this charter. When applying these laws, courts are then guided by the same charter. It is important that we recognize the peace and clarity that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms brought upon our country. Before the Charter existed, there was limited solutions to unfair laws passed by an elected government, this led to a lack of protection for minority rights or fundamental freedoms.
Moreover, although no powers or rights have been explicitly ‘reserved’ to the people, supporters of the charter nevertheless appear to give Canadians hope that the possibility may exist. COMPARISON OF BILL OF RIGHTS AND THE CANADIAN CHARTER... ... middle of paper ... ...
"Bill of Rights (Canada), August 4, 1960." DISCovering World History. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Canada in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
This great country known as Canada, is governed smoothly because of the agreements and rules that have been in place since the beginning of confederation. The Canadian Constitution is one example of these rules. The Canadian Constitution is not just one single documentation, it is a collaboration of documents that make up one enormous document (Dyck 261). The six basic principles of the constitution are: responsible government, federalism, judicial review, the rule of law, constitutional monarchy and democracy; which all helped to shape the Constitution and therefore Canada (Dyck 266).
A Constitution is document that states how a country is made. The growth of Canada can be interpreted through the Canadian Constitution, because the Constitution states the equal rights and freedoms of all Canadians, equal distribution of legislative powers, convenient education, and legal stability and accurate predictability. The Canadian Constitution is a very efficient way of looking at the laws and the maintenance of the country, because it describes the structure of Canada, it provides very well legal stability and predictability and the Constitution is very important for Canadians. The Canadian Constitution plays an effective role of determining the structure of Canada, its stability and predictability of laws and the rights and freedoms of Canadians.
Three decades ago, honorable Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was establishing the renowned Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since the three decades of being established, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has protected the individual rights and freedoms of thousands of Canadians. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms has become a part of the national identity and has become a big patriotic symbol for the country. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the document the truly separates Canada from all the other powerful nations and is really something that Canadian take a pride in. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms brings up many questions, but the biggest and most common question is How effectively does Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect your individual rights? . To exactly know how effectively it protects your rights you can look at situations where it has protected and has not protected the rights of Canadians. The Charter of Rights and Freedom protects legal rights of Canadian whether they are a teenager or an adult, protects equality rights of Canadian and provides government services to all Canadians no matter what, ensures all laws are passed according to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and provides equality rights and fundamental freedoms to Canadians for practicing their religion and other rights without interference.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was signed into law by Queen Elizabeth II April 17, 1982. Often referred to as the Charter, it affirms the rights and freedoms of Canadians in the Constitution of Canada. The Charter encompasses fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, language rights and equality rights. The primary function of the Charter is to act as a regulatory check between Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments and the Canadian people. Being a successor of the Canadian Bill of Rights that was a federal statute, amendable by Parliament, the Charter is a more detailed and explicit constitutional document that has empowered the judiciary to render regulations and statutes at both the federal and provincial levels of government unconstitutional. Although the rights and freedoms of Canadians are guaranteed, Sections one and seven of the Charter permit the federal and provincial governments to limit the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Canadians. Section one of the Charter designated ‘Rights and freedoms in Canada’ states “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” This section is frequently referred to and better known as the reasonable limits clause. The second rights and freedoms limiting section of the Charter, known as the ‘notwithstanding clause’ is Section thirty-three entitled ‘Exception where express declaration’ declares
In the summer of 1787, delegates from the 13 states convened in Philadelphia and drafted a remarkable blueprint for self-government, the Constitution of the United States. The first draft set up a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature and a federal judiciary. The Constitution was remarkable, but deeply flawed. For one thing, it did not include a specific declaration, or bill, of individual rights. It specified what the government could do but did not say what it could not do. For another, it did not apply to everyone. The "consent of the governed" meant propertied white men only. The Bill of Rights did not come from a desire to protect the liberties won in the American Revolution, but rather from a fear of the powers of the new federal government.
Many people and nations around the world are deprived of human rights. The government in the countries or nations usually can not help the people being deprived. Either because the government is too poor to, it is not one of the things the government is looking into, or the government does not know or care. Because of this certain people, or even whole populations are denied human rights and their living conditions and way of life are usually not on the positive side of things. There are many wealthier countries trying to help but sometimes that is not enough. To what extent should Canada have a role in working to increase human rights protection in other nations?
The Bill of Rights was created because the states believed that the federal government would have too much power and they wanted to have more individual rights. Around this time the colonies had just been under the British rule, which oppressed the people and give them very limited freedoms. The states or the colonies were kind of afraid that this would happen all over again within this new government forming in the form of the Constitution. Most of the state at this time believed that the Constitution alone was enough but others felt that they needed more assurances. In the end, the federal government complied with these states and gave them the Bill of Rights.
Canada was founded in 1867, laws have existed in our society. At the time, the vast majority of didn’t exist like how they today, and were rules known as what political philosopher Thomas Hobbes referred to as “Social Contracts”. Social Contracts can best be described as an acted-upon agreement among a society of individuals which is conceived with a goal of mutual benefit and regulation of ill-behavior. Social Contracts were never cut-in-stone rules, and were never structurally implemented in Canadas legal system at the time of her foundation. Many social contracts in Canadas history have evolved into laws today, and vice-versa. For example there were many actions heavily frowned upon by society in the early 1900s, however there was no ambiguous
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 7, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11. Web.
Canada is known for using equality in its Constitution since John Diefenbaker. He was the 13th prime minister of Canada and he established the Canadian Bill of Rights. He introduced the Bill of Rights on August 20, 1960. The Rights included that any women and man had the right to Freedom of speech and freedom of religion (now in Section 2 of the Charter) . He also included that in Section 15 of the Bill of Rights that everyone had equality rights male or female. Under section 15 he includes racial equality and sexual equality. In its correspondence, it has played a mnajor right in gay rights in Canada. These rights are were and are gaurenteed to "Every individual,". During the start of 1987 Trudeau officially legalized gay rights. Pierre Trudeau, then Canada's Minister of Justice, introduces an Omnibus Bill to overhaul Canada's criminal laws, which includes decriminalizing of homosexual acts. Trudeau famously tells reporters, "There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation," and "What’s done in private between two consenting adults doesn’t concern the Criminal Code."[2] After 18 months of debate, the bill becomes law in 1969.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a one of the essential reasons as to why one should be proud to be a Canadian citizen. The Charter was introduced by Pierre Elliott Trudeau and it was signed by Queen Elizabeth the Second on April 17th, 1982. The Canadian Charter provides every Canadian citizen with rights and freedoms that ensure the proper functioning of society. Although, there is a chance that rights may be restricted under certain circumstances, the Charter is certainly effective at protecting rights and freedoms. The Canadian Charter provides citizens with fundamental freedoms and rights that all Canadians can enjoy. Additionally, the Charter ensures that citizens are protected from the government and people in power. Lastly,
On August 26, 1789, the assembly issued the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.” Through judicial matters, this document was written in order to secure due process and to create self-government among the French citizens. This document offered to the world and especially to the French citizens a summary of the morals and values of the Revolution, while in turn justifying the destruction of a government; especially in this case the French government, based upon autocracy of the ruler and advantage. The formation of a new government based upon the indisputable rights of the individuals of France through liberty and political uniformity.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of Canada's Constitution. The Charter holds our common values as a nation. Governments are guided by the Charter in making laws. Courts are guided by the Charter in applying laws. Individuals, associations or the government can ask the courts to decide how the Charter applies to different situations. Before the Charter, there often was little that could be done about unfair laws passed by an elected government. Sometimes there was no protection for minority rights or fundamental freedoms. The charter is a written policy that still has a profound effect on societies across Canada and effects other countries as well. Some of the effects are: Limiting police powers, women’s reproductive rights and recognition