POLI COURT

S.33 “Notwithstanding Clause”

• Parliament or provincial legislatures may pass a law declaring it valid despite s. 2 (fundamental freedoms) and ss. 7-15 (legal and equality)

• Immune to judicial review for 5 years

S. 24

• Guarantee of rights enforcement through courts, power of courts to remedy violations

  • Immediate or delayed invalidation

“Reading in”: interpretation of laws other than precise wording of textsS. 2: Fundamental Freedoms

S. 2

• Fundamental Freedoms: Conscience and religion; belief, expression, press; peaceful assembly; association

R v. Keegstra (1990) S.2

• validity of hate speech laws

Ford v. Quebec (1988) s.2

• constitutionality of Bills 101’s French-only sign clause

SS. 3-5

• Democratic rights

(Sauve v. Canada), 2002 s. 3-5

Prisoners’ right to vote

SS. 7-14

• legal rights

  • Right to life, liberty, and security of the person; unreasonable search or seizure; rights upon arrest; criminal proceedings; cruel and unusual treatment

R. v. Morgentaler (1988) ss. 7-14

strikes down restrictions on abortion based on securities of the person profound

Carter v. Canada (AG), 2015: overturns Rodriguez (1993) ss. 7-14

• Prohibition of assisted dying is unconstitutional 

Canada (AG) v. PHS COmmunity Services SOciety, 2011 ss. 7-14

• Minister cannot refuse to exempt supervised injection sites from CDSA

S. 15 Equality rights

• Equality under the law;

• Equal protection and benefit of law without discrimination based on race, nationality, origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental and physical disability; exception for affirmative action

Egan v. Canada (1995) s.15

• discrimination based on sexual orientation violarws s.15 equality protection, but is relevant and justifiable

Vriend v. ALberta (1998)

•  sexual orientation should be “read in” to ALberta rights law

M. v. H (1999) s.15

• opposite-sex definition of spouse in Ontario’s Family Law Act violates s. 15 and cannot be saved under s. 1