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Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

  1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Canadian Constitution. The Charter sets out the rights and freedoms of all Canadians. The Charter sets out:
    • democratic rights
    • mobility rights
    • legal rights
    • equality rights
    • language rights
    • Aboriginal rights
  2. Section 15 of the Charter sets out equality rights, similar to human rights laws. The Charter states that all Canadians are equal regardless of:
    • age
    • colour
    • ethnic or national origin
    • mental or physical disability
    • race
    • religion
    • sex
    • sexual orientation
  3. The rights and freedoms protected under the Charter are not absolute. Section 1 of the Charter states that these rights and freedoms are subject to "reasonable limits prescribed by law that are considered fair and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society".
  4. The Charter only applies to the federal, provincial and territorial governments. Therefore, private individuals, private employers, business or organizations are not subject to the Charter.
  5. If a person believes that his or her rights have been infringed, he or she may apply to the court to seek a remedy. Unlike with human rights, there is no commission or organization that administers a complaint process for the Charter outside the court system.
  6. There are 3 types of remedies that can be sought:
    • a remedy that is "appropriate and just in the circumstances"
    • an order that evidence obtained through a Charter violation is inadmissable in court, or that criminal proceedings cannot continue at all due to a Charter violation
    • a ruling that a law that violates Charter rights is of no force


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