What is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is Part I (sections 1 to 34) of the Constitution Act, 1982 and is the core constitutional protection of civil and political rights in Canada. The Charter took effect on April 17, 1982 when Queen Elizabeth II signed the proclamation in Ottawa with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Justice Minister Jean Chretien beside her. It applies to the federal Parliament and government, to provincial legislatures and governments, and to actions taken under their authority.

The Charter is organised into seven categories of rights and freedoms. Section 2 lists fundamental freedoms (conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion, expression, peaceful assembly, association). Sections 3 to 5 protect democratic rights (the right to vote and to stand for election, the maximum five-year term of Parliament and provincial legislatures, the requirement of an annual sitting). Section 6 protects mobility rights. Sections 7 to 14 protect legal rights including life, liberty, and security of the person, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, the presumption of innocence, and the right to counsel. Section 15 protects equality rights.

Sections 16 to 22 protect official-language rights, section 23 protects minority-language education rights, and section 24 sets out remedies for Charter breaches. Section 25 preserves Aboriginal rights (with section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 providing the substantive protection), section 27 directs interpretation consistent with multicultural heritage, and section 28 guarantees gender equality. Section 32 sets out the application to government, and section 33 (the notwithstanding clause) allows legislative override of certain rights for five-year periods.

The Charter is enforced primarily through the courts. Section 24(1) allows anyone whose rights have been infringed to apply to a court for an appropriate remedy, and section 24(2) requires evidence obtained in breach of the Charter to be excluded if its admission would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. The Supreme Court of Canada has decided more than 600 Charter cases, including landmark rulings such as R. v. Oakes (1986, the test for limits), R. v. Big M Drug Mart (1985, religious freedom), R. v. Morgentaler (1988, abortion law), Vriend v. Alberta (1998, sexual orientation), Carter v. Canada (2015, assisted dying), and Reference re Same-Sex Marriage (2004).