Janis McMath
Editor-in-Chief

 

hile every local tourist gift shop deems the

beaver, the moose, or some other majestic
wild animal as Canada’s symbol, a Statistics
Canada found that our country’s citizens actually
view the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
as the most significant of all Canadian icons...
even more than hockey! Yet another poll—taken
by SES Research for Policy Optons—found that of
those who knew what the Charter is, there were
58.2 percent who thought the Charter was leading
the country in the right direction, while 26 percent
saw it moving Canada in the wrong direction
(some respondents were unsure). So, why is this
document simultaneously highly controversial
and also seen as one of the country’s most revered
symbols? And how has the Canadian Charter
been used to protect the rights of the individual?

A RUNDOWN ON OUR RIGHTS

Two of the main goals of the Charter include
protecting the individual from the government,
and protecting “minorities against parliamentary
majorities.” Since the time of its creation the
Charter has created waves within Canadian
society—with specifically large impacts on the
rights of the incarcerated, minorities, and those
going through a criminal investigation. As a part
of the larger Constitution Act, 1962, the Charter

of Rights and Freedoms deals with seven specific
rights as the Government of Canada’s website
points out: fundamental freedoms, democratic
rights, mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights,
official language nights, and minority language
educational rights.

Examples of fundamental freedoms include
freedom of religion, thought, opinion, expression,
peaceful assembly, association, and freedom of the
press. Democratic rights involve voting and all things
related to voting; mobility rights concern the right to
travel; legal rights include points like the right to not be
unreasonably searched or imprisoned; equality rights
dictate that all people are afforded equal protection
and benefit of the law without discrimination of their
identity; language rights, for example, include the right
to be educated or assisted one own’s language.

     

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UNDERSTANDIN¢
‘CHARTER OF RIGH

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In terms of democratic and legal rights,
the Charter offered huge improvements for the
incarcerated: phone wiretaps rules were made stricter,
it was emphasized that defendants should be presumed
innocent, and it was made so those accused of a crime
were obligated all relevant information on their case in
the interest of making their trial as fair as possible.

HISTORY ALWAYS INVOLVES BETRAYAL
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms was not put

into place until the 1980s. To be clear, Canada
already had the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights which
included many of the same points the Charter
does. Some of the differences between the two
rights documents include the fact that the Canadian
Bull of Rights only applied to federal laws and had
no influence on provincial ones, the document
was not a part of the constitution (so it was less
permanent), and the 1960 bill was seen by many
as a guideline rather than strict rules to adhere
to. The Canadian Bill of Rights did break many

of the boundaries at the time with the help of
Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John
Diefenbaker pushing it through. He started
bringing attention to the importance of the
protection of human rights when he was an MP
in 1940. French Canadians, Indigenous peoples,
Métis, and European immigrants specifically
needed protection from discrimination according
to Diefenbaker. (His Progressive Conservative
Party also gave the right to vote to Indigenous
people— getting rid of the previous prerequisite
of forcing Indigenous people to give up their
Indian status in order to qualify to vote.) This bill,
however, was still in Britain’s hands.

When Canada first put the Constitution Act,
1982 into place, it also was the first time the
country gained full independence from Britain.
Before the act was sworn in, Canada had all
the makings of an independent nation—aside
from control over its constitution While the
idea of Canada’s own constitution had been
floating around persistently for years, it was
officially created during Pierre 'Trudeau’s time
as PM. He and his team had pushed for the
constitution—and with it, they promised the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Trudeau won the

While it was originally claimed by the government

that 75 percent of Charter-related court cases were
unanimously decided, the study found only 48.8
ORM eee oe ee AC OMe UU ELC mb eS BET ee
agreement on the interpretation of the Charter.

favour of the public, but the many skeptics voiced
their long list of concerns. Would it override the
rights of province to make their own laws? Would
the vague language allow too much room for
interpretation? The bill was not put into place
without opposition from multiple provincial
leaders; in fact, there was so much opposition
that Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, Prince Edward
Island, Newfoundland, and British Columbia
organized a group of leaders called The Gang of
Eight (lead by Quebec Premier René Lévesque) to
ensure their concerns were properly addressed.
The values of the provincial leaders were
scattered all over the spectrum, so coming to an
agreement was an arduous process. Many drafts
warranted many complaints until the “kitchen
accord”: a semi-secret and unofficial
dealing. As Trudeau’s justice minister, Jean
Chretien made significant compromises
in trying to seal the deal—and specifically
committed to the notwithstanding
(meaning “in spite of”) clause during
the kitchen accord. Finally, the debate
was coming to an end. Quebec Premier
René Levesque was widely known for his
opposition to the proposed constitution—
and because of this was purposefully not
consulted on the final draft (while many
other premiers were). Lévesque was
enraged by this, stating that he was clearly C
plotted against.
The emotion exhibited by Levesque
is often mirrored by the Quebec separatist
movement, as they often use the Quebec
PM’s experience as a justification for their
desire for provincial independence. The
event is known as by Quebec separatists as
the “night of the long knives.” However,
the Constitution Act, 1962 did not need every
single provincial leader’s signature—so the
act went through unsigned by Quebec,
and still has not been officially endorsed by