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Whereas Canada is founded
upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God
and the rule of law:
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| Rights
and freedoms in Canada |
1.
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.
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| Fundamental
freedoms |
2.
Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
- a) freedom of
conscience and religion;
-
- b) freedom of
thought, belief, opinion and expression,
including freedom of the press and other media
of communication;
-
- c) freedom of
peaceful assembly; and
-
- d) freedom of
association.
Democratic
Rights
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| Democratic
rights of citizens
| 3.
Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an
election of members of the House of Commons or of a
legislative assembly and to be qualified for
membership therein.
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| Maximum
duration of legislative bodies
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4.
(1) No House of Commons and no legislative assembly
shall continue for longer than five years from the
date fixed for the return of the writs of a general
election of its members.
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| Continuation
in special circumstances
|
(2)
In time of real or apprehended war, invasion or
insurrection, a House of Commons may be continued by
Parliament and a legislative assembly may be
continued by the legislature beyond five years if
such continuation is not opposed by the votes of
more than one-third of the members of the House of
Commons or the legislative assembly, as the case may
be.
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| Annual
sitting of legislative bodies
|
5.
There shall be a sitting of Parliament and of each
legislature at least once every twelve months
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| Mobility
of citizens |
6.
(1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter,
remain in and leave Canada. |
| Rights
to move and gain livelihood |
(2)
Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the
status of a permanent resident of Canada has the
right
- a) to move to and
take up residence in any province; and
-
- b) to pursue the
gaining of a livelihood in any province.
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| Limitation |
(3) The rights
specified in subsection (2) are subject to
- a) any laws or
practices of general application in force in a
province other than those that discriminate
among persons primarily on the basis of province
of present or previous residence; and
-
- b) any laws
providing for reasonable residency requirements
as a qualification for the receipt of publicly
provided social services.
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| Affirmative
action programs |
(4)
Subsections (2) and (3) do not preclude any law,
program or activity that has as its object the
amelioration in a province of conditions of
individuals in that province who are socially or
economically disadvantaged if the rate of employment
in that province is below the rate of employment in
Canada.
|
| Life,
liberty and security of person |
7.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security
of the person and the right not to be deprived
thereof except in accordance with the principles of
fundamental justice. |
| Search
or seizure |
8.
Everyone has the right to be secure against
unreasonable search or seizure. |
| Detention
or imprisonment |
9.
Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily
detained or imprisoned. |
| Arrest
or detention |
10.
Everyone has the right on arrest or detention
- a) to be informed
promptly of the reasons therefore;
-
- b) to retain and
instruct counsel without delay and to be
informed of that right; and
-
- c) to have the
validity of the detention determined by way of habeas
corpus and to be released if the detention
is not lawful.
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| Proceedings
in criminal and penal matters |
11.
Any person charged with an offence has the right
- a) to be informed
without unreasonable delay of the specific
offence;
-
- b) to be tried
within a reasonable time;
-
- c) not to be
compelled to be a witness in proceedings against
that person in respect of the offence;
-
- d) to be presumed
innocent until proven guilty according to law in
a fair and public hearing by an independent and
impartial tribunal;
-
- e) not to be
denied reasonable bail without just cause;
-
- f) except in the
case of an offence under military law tried
before a military tribunal, to the benefit of
trial by jury where the maximum punishment for
the offence is imprisonment for five years or a
more severe punishment;
-
- g) not to be
found guilty on account of any act or omission
unless, at the time of the act or omission, it
constituted an offence under Canadian or
international law or was criminal according to
the general principles of law recognized by the
community of nations;
-
- h) if finally
acquitted of the offence, not to be tried for it
again and, if finally found guilty and punished
for the offence, not to be tried or punished for
it again; and
-
- i) if found
guilty of the offence and if the punishment for
the offence has been varied between the time of
commission and the time of sentencing, to the
benefit of the lesser punishment.
|
| Treatment
or punishment |
12.
Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any
cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. |
| Self-crimination |
13.
A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the
right not to have any incriminating evidence so
given used to incriminate that witness in any other
proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or
for the giving of contradictory evidence. |
| Interpreter |
14.
A party or witness in any proceedings who does not
understand or speak the language in which the
proceedings are conducted or who is deaf has the
right to the assistance of an interpreter.
|
| Equality
before and under law and equal protection and
benefit of law |
15.
(1) Every individual is equal before and under the
law and has the right to the equal protection and
equal benefit of the law without discrimination and,
in particular, without discrimination based on race,
national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex,
age or mental or physical disability. |
| Affirmative
action programs |
(2)
Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or
activity that has as its object the amelioration of
conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups
including those that are disadvantaged because of
race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion,
sex, age or mental or physical disability.
|
| Official
languages of Canada |
16.
(1) English and French are the official languages of
Canada and have equality of status and equal rights
and privileges as to their use in all institutions
of the Parliament and government of Canada. |
| Official
languages of New Brunswick |
(2)
English and French are the official languages of New
Brunswick and have equality of status and equal
rights and privileges as to their use in all
institutions of the legislature and government of
New Brunswick. |
| Advancement
of status and use |
(3)
Nothing in this Charter limits the authority of
Parliament or a legislature to advance the equality
of status or use of English and French. |
| English
and French linguistic communities in New Brunswick |
16.1.
(1) The English linguistic community and the French
linguistic community in New Brunswick have equality
of status and equal rights and privileges, including
the right to distinct educational institutions and
such distinct cultural institutions as are necessary
for the preservation and promotion of those
communities. |
| Role
of the legislature and government of New Brunswick |
(2)
The role of the legislature and government of New
Brunswick to preserve and promote the status, rights
and privileges referred to in subsection (1) is
affirmed. |
| Proceedings
of Parliament |
17.
(1) Everyone has the right to use English or French
in any debates and other proceedings of Parliament. |
| Proceedings
of New Brunswick legislature |
(2)
Everyone has the right to use English or French in
any debates and other proceedings of the legislature
of New Brunswick. |
| Parliamentary
statutes and records |
18.
(1) The statutes, records and journals of Parliament
shall be printed and published in English and French
and both language versions are equally
authoritative. |
| New
Brunswick statutes and records |
(2)
The statutes, records and journals of the
legislature of New Brunswick shall be printed and
published in English and French and both language
versions are equally authoritative. |
| Proceedings
in courts established by Parliament |
19.
(1) Either English or French may be used by any
person in, or in any pleading in or process issuing
from, any court established by Parliament. |
| Proceedings
in New Brunswick courts |
(2)
Either English or French may be used by any person
in, or in any pleading in or process issuing from,
any court of New Brunswick. |
| Communications
by public with federal institutions |
20.
(1) Any member of the public in Canada has the right
to communicate with, and to receive available
services from, any head or central office of an
institution of the Parliament or government of
Canada in English or French, and has the same right
with respect to any other office of any such
institution where
- a) there is a
significant demand for communications with and
services from that office in such language; or
-
- b) due to the
nature of the office, it is reasonable that
communications with and services from that
office be available in both English and French.
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| Communications
by public with New Brunswick institutions |
(2)
Any member of the public in New Brunswick has the
right to communicate with, and to receive available
services from, any office of an institution of the
legislature or government of New Brunswick in
English or French. |
| Continuation
of existing constitutional provisions |
21.
Nothing in sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates
from any right, privilege or obligation with respect
to the English and French languages, or either of
them, that exists or is continued by virtue of any
other provision of the Constitution of Canada. |
| Rights
and privileges preserved |
22.
Nothing in sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates
from any legal or customary right or privilege
acquired or enjoyed either before or after the
coming into force of this Charter with respect to
any language that is not English or French.
|
| Language
of instruction |
23.
(1) Citizens of Canada
- a) whose first
language learned and still understood is that of
the English or French linguistic minority
population of the province in which they reside,
or
-
- b) who have
received their primary school instruction in
Canada in English or French and reside in a
province where the language in which they
received that instruction is the language of the
English or French linguistic minority population
of the province,
have the right to have their
children receive primary and secondary school
instruction in that language in that province. |
| Continuity
of language instruction |
(2)
Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or
is receiving primary or secondary school instruction
in English or French in Canada, have the right to
have all their children receive primary and
secondary school instruction in the same language. |
| Application
where numbers warrant |
(3)
The right of citizens of Canada under subsections
(1) and (2) to have their children receive primary
and secondary school instruction in the language of
the English or French linguistic minority population
of a province
- a) applies
wherever in the province the number of children
of citizens who have such a right is sufficient
to warrant the provision to them out of public
funds of minority language instruction; and
-
- b) includes,
where the number of those children so warrants,
the right to have them receive that instruction
in minority language educational facilities
provided out of public funds.
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| Enforcement
of guaranteed rignts and freedoms |
24.
(1) Anyone whose rights or freedoms, as guaranteed
by this Charter, have been infringed or denied may
apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain
such remedy as the court considers appropriate and
just in the circumstances. |
| Exclusion
of evidence bringing administration of justice into
disrepute |
(2)
Where, in proceedings under subsection (1), a court
concludes that evidence was obtained in a manner
that infringed or denied any rights or freedoms
guaranteed by this Charter, the evidence shall be
excluded if it is established that, having regard to
all the circumstances, the admission of it in the
proceedings would bring the administration of
justice into disrepute.
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| Aboriginal
rights and freedoms not affected by Charter |
25.
The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and
freedoms shall not be construed so as to abrogate or
derogate from any aboriginal, treaty or other rights
or freedoms that pertain to the aboriginal peoples
of Canada including
- a) any rights or
freedoms that have been recognized by the Royal
Proclamation of October 7, 1763; and
-
- b) any rights or
freedoms that now exist by way of land claims
agreements or may be so acquired.
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| Other
rights and freedoms not affected by Charter |
26.
The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and
freedoms shall not be construed as denying the
existence of any other rights or freedoms that exist
in Canada. |
| Multicultural
heritage |
27.
This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner
consistent with the preservation and enhancement of
the multicultural heritage of Canadians. |
| Rights
guaranteed equally to both sexes |
28.
Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the rights
and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed
equally to male and female persons. |
| Rights
respecting certain schools preserved |
29.
Nothing in this Charter abrogates or derogates from
any rights or privileges guaranteed by or under the
Constitution of Canada in respect of denominational,
separate or dissentient schools.(93) |
| Application
to territories and territorial authorities |
30.
A reference in this Charter to a Province or to the
legislative assembly or legislature of a province
shall be deemed to include a reference to the Yukon
Territory and the Northwest Territories, or to the
appropriate legislative authority thereof, as the
case may be. |
| Legislative
powers not extended |
31.
Nothing in this Charter extends the legislative
powers of any body or authority.
|
| Application
of Charter |
32.
(1)This Charter applies
- a) to the
Parliament and government of Canada in respect
of all matters within the authority of
Parliament including all matters relating to the
Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories; and
-
- b) to the
legislature and government of each province in
respect of all matters within the authority of
the legislature of each province.
|
| Exception |
(2)
Notwithstanding subsection (1), section 15 shall not
have effect until three years after this section
comes into force. |
| Exception
where express declaration |
33.
(1) Parliament or the legislature of a province may
expressly declare in an Act of Parliament or of the
legislature, as the case may be, that the Act or a
provision thereof shall operate notwithstanding a
provision included in section 2 or sections 7 to 15
of this Charter. |
| Operation
of exception |
(2)
An Act or a provision of an Act in respect of which
a declaration made under this section is in effect
shall have such operation as it would have but for
the provision of this Charter referred to in the
declaration. |
| Five
year limitation |
(3)
A declaration made under subsection (1) shall cease
to have effect five years after it comes into force
or on such earlier date as may be specified in the
declaration. |
| Re-enactment |
(4)
Parliament or the legislature of a province may
re-enact a declaration made under subsection (1). |
| Five
year limitation |
(5)
Subsection (3) applies in respect of a re-enactment
made under subsection (4).
|
| Citation |
34.
This Part may be cited as the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms.
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