Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Law 120

Four freedoms guaranteed to everyone:

1. Freedom of conscience and religion

2. Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression,

including freedom of the press and other media of

communication

3. Freedom of peaceful assembly

4. Freedom of association

These freedoms not absolute – cannot infringe

on the freedoms of others

Right to have the beliefs you choose and

declare them openly without fear.

Express your beliefs through practice, worship,

teaching and dissemination (spreading)

Cannot force someone to act contrary to beliefs

or conscience (clergy do not have to perform

legal same-sex marriages)

Court must determine the intent and extent of

Charter in the case of conflicting rights (blood

transfusions against religion)

R. v. David T. Little, 2008 NBPC 2

(CanLII)

Mr. Little, a devout Roman Catholic, is charged with failing to pay incometax under the Income Tax Act. Mr. Little argues that the Income Tax Actviolates his right to freedom of conscience and religion under s. 2(a) of theCharter and Rights and Freedoms.

Mr. Little had paid his income taxes regularly for a number of years. Eachtime with a notification that his taxes should not be used to fund abortions.He saw no results from this action. Mr. Little then decided to file his returnbut not pay the taxes owed. The government then garnisheed his wages(removed the monies owed from his salary). Mr. Little stated that thegovernment’s action “settled in my soul that this was not OK,” and hestopped filing returns altogether. He believed that unless the governmentcould assure him that his tax money would not help to fund abortions, thenhe would be indirectly supporting an act that violated his religious beliefs.

Furthermore, Mr. Little’s counsel argued that as the preamble to the Charterbegins with the words that Canada is founded upon principles thatrecognize the “supremacy of God,” it supports the proposition that agovernment may not impose a legal requirement on a citizen which takespriority over his religious beliefs.

R. v. David T. Little (continued)

The court rejected Mr. Little’s arguments and found Mr.

Little guilty as charged. While the court recognized that

the law of Canada is rooted in its religious heritage, it is

also bound by the rule of law.

To succeed in a s. 2(a) Charter argument Mr. Little would

have had to demonstrate that he was being

discriminated against based on personal characteristics

as enumerated in the Charter; that he had been subject

to different treatment that made him less worthy of

recognition and value.

There was no evidence that Mr. Little was being treated

any differently than any other citizen who must pay taxes

and there was no connection between paying taxes and

Mr. Little’s opposition to abortion.

Question to Consider

Should people be able to

withhold taxes based on the

concern that their taxes may fund

initiatives they oppose? Why or

why not?

Free to think and believe what you want and

publicly express your opinions through various

art forms. (freedom of the press)

Considered one of the key fundamental

freedoms – court reluctant to restrict

R v. Keegstra – denial of holocaust (limitation of

right of expression/press)

R v. Sharpe – child pornography case (freedom

of expression?)

Assemble for peaceful purposes (rallies against government action)

o Assembly must be peaceful (orderly demonstration vs. riot)

Association refers to the ability to join groups such as unions, political parties, sporting clubs, etc.

o Can have limitations (young offenders on probation, RCMP/Fed lawyers cannot form unions)

Should Internet blogs be

subject to government

monitoring?

R v Fenton – death threat to Prime Minister in blog.

The right to vote (sec 3 of Charter)

o Subject to limitations (age, residence, and

registration)

Right to elect a new government every 5 years

o except during wartime or national emergency

Parliament must hold at least one session a year

o allows elected members and public to question

government actions and policy

Four subsections in the Charter involving rights of Canadian citizens to move in/out of country and between provinces

Majority of Charter cases on mobility rights involve extradition of prisoners

o Send accused person to face trial in another country (except for capital cases in countries where death penalty is legal)

Why are there limitations to Canadian’s rights to move provinces and secure work?

o When Charter was negotiated, richer provinces were worried about flood of unemployed looking for work and access to services paid for by permanent residences. Poor provinces afraid scarce jobs would be taken from those coming from richer provinces. (limit to social services)