The Charter of Rights and Freedoms — what rights do you have?
Summary
TLDRThis video discusses the Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights, explaining their historical context and significance. It delves into the Constitution's role in defining rights and government, and how the Charter acts as a 'living document'. The video also addresses the unique 'notwithstanding clause', allowing provinces to override certain rights, and ponders the balance between individual freedoms and societal needs, especially relevant during crises like the coronavirus pandemic.
Takeaways
- 📜 The video discusses the Canadian Constitution and where rights in Canada come from, contrasting philosophical theories with practical applications.
- 🏛️ A constitution is defined as a set of principles or laws that form the foundation of a nation's governance, including how the state is governed and the rights and requirements of its citizens.
- 🇬🇧 The United Kingdom does not have a single document constitution like the United States, but rather a collection of laws and legal precedents.
- 📜 The British North America Act of 1867 is considered Canada's founding document, establishing the country as a confederation of four provinces.
- 📚 Prior to 1982, Canada's rights were scattered across various documents like the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Human Rights Act, complicating their application and interpretation.
- 🌐 The Constitution Act of 1982, which includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, unified Canada's constitutional laws into a single document, clarifying rights and legal processes.
- 🤔 The video raises questions about the balance between individual rights and government actions, especially in times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 🏢 The 'notwithstanding clause' (Section 33) allows federal or provincial parliaments to override certain sections of the Charter, sparking debates about the permanence and hierarchy of rights.
- 🗣️ The Charter includes fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, and legal rights, emphasizing the importance of these rights in Canadian society.
- 👥 The video suggests that understanding the Constitution and the Charter is crucial for discussing rights, as it provides a common framework for these discussions.
- 🔮 The video concludes by hinting at future discussions on the concept of the Constitution as a 'living document,' which may evolve in interpretation over time.
Q & A
What is the primary function of a constitution?
-A constitution serves as a set of principles or laws that are the foundational laws of a nation or state, outlining how the state will be governed, including the rights and requirements of its citizens.
How does the Canadian Constitution differ from the American Constitution?
-The Canadian Constitution is not a single document but a combination of documents and British common law, whereas the American Constitution is a single written document.
What is the significance of the British North America Act of 1867?
-The British North America Act of 1867, also known as the Constitution Act 1867, is the founding document of Canada, establishing it as a confederation of four provinces.
What is the role of the Statute of Westminster in Canada's constitutional history?
-The Statute of Westminster in 1931 granted the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, including Canada, legislative equality with the UK, effectively allowing them to govern themselves.
Why was the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution necessary?
-The repatriation was necessary because prior to 1982, Canada's constitution was still under the legislative jurisdiction of the British Parliament, and Canada wanted to have full control over its own constitutional laws.
What is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
-The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a part of the Constitution Act 1982, which outlines the basic rights and freedoms of individuals in Canada.
How does the Constitution Act 1982 affect the interpretation of rights in Canada?
-The Constitution Act 1982, by including the Charter, provides a unified legal framework for interpreting rights in Canada, making it easier for courts to apply and balance rights between individuals and the state.
What is the 'notwithstanding clause' or Section 33 of the Canadian Charter?
-Section 33, also known as the 'notwithstanding clause', allows federal or provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the Charter, effectively exempting laws from certain Charter rights.
Has the 'notwithstanding clause' ever been used in Canada?
-Yes, the 'notwithstanding clause' has been used at the provincial level, notably in Quebec for language laws, but it has never been invoked at the federal level.
What does the term 'living document' mean in the context of a constitution?
-A 'living document' refers to the idea that a constitution can be interpreted and applied in response to changing societal values and circumstances, even though the original text remains the same.
How does the Canadian Constitution address the balance between individual rights and the needs of society?
-The Canadian Constitution, through the Charter, outlines individual rights but also allows for reasonable limits on those rights as prescribed by law and justified in a free and democratic society.
Outlines
📜 Introduction to Constitutional Rights
The speaker begins by addressing the feedback from the last video, where they discussed the theoretical concept of rights. The audience asked for a more practical discussion about the Canadian constitution and the source of rights. The video aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The speaker defines a constitution as a foundational set of principles or laws that govern a nation. They differentiate between the American Constitution and the Canadian approach, which includes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The British North America Act of 1867 is highlighted as the foundational document of Canada, establishing it as a confederation of provinces. The speaker also discusses the evolution of Canada's constitutional framework, including the influence of British common law, until the Constitution Act of 1982, which repatriated the constitution and included the Charter.
🇨🇦 The Constitution Act 1982 and the Charter
The speaker delves into the Constitution Act of 1982, which is Canada's current constitution, and the inclusion of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They explain how this act became the supreme law of Canada, unifying various rights documents under one. The Charter outlines fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, and legal rights. The speaker also discusses the implications of the coronavirus crisis on these rights, such as the balance between government decisions and individual freedoms. Historical context is provided with a video clip of Queen Elizabeth signing the Charter in 1982, symbolizing Canada's constitutional independence from Britain.
🚫 Limits of Rights and the Notwithstanding Clause
The speaker explains the concept of limits on rights, using the example of criminal activity, where certain rights can be justifiably restricted to maintain law and order. They introduce the 'notwithstanding clause' or Section 33 of the Charter, which allows federal or provincial parliaments to override certain rights. This clause has been controversial due to its potential to undermine fundamental freedoms. The speaker notes that while it has never been used at the federal level, provinces like Quebec have invoked it for language laws, suggesting a reordering of rights rather than a complete dismissal.
🌐 The Charter as a Living Document
The speaker discusses the notion of the Charter as a living, breathing document, suggesting that its interpretation can evolve over time. They emphasize the importance of societal understanding and upholding of rights, as these are ultimately enforced by the government. The speaker also sets up for a future discussion on how to interpret constitutional documents, especially in light of changing societal norms and the potential for reinterpretation of rights.
📢 Closing Remarks and Call to Action
In the concluding part, the speaker summarizes the video's content and encourages viewers to engage with the topic of constitutional rights. They mention the relevance of discussions on rights in the context of current events, such as the pandemic and debates on gun rights. The speaker invites viewers to subscribe and stay updated with their channel for further exploration of these topics. The video ends with a reminder for viewers to stay safe and take care during challenging times.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Constitution
💡Charter of Rights and Freedoms
💡Repatriation
💡British North America Act (BNA Act)
💡Statute of Westminster
💡Supreme Court of Canada
💡Notwithstanding Clause
💡Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
💡Democratic Rights
💡Common Law
Highlights
The video addresses the concept of rights in Canada, moving from a theoretical discussion to a more practical one, focusing on the Canadian Constitution.
A constitution is defined as a set of fundamental principles or laws that govern a nation, including how the state operates and individual rights.
Canada’s constitution evolved from a series of documents rather than a single one, starting with the British North America Act of 1867, which established Canada as a confederation.
The Constitution of Canada differs from the United States in that Canada followed British common law traditions, making its legal framework more complex.
The Statute of Westminster in 1931 granted Canada more autonomy from the UK, but the country’s highest court was still the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the UK until later reforms.
Canada repatriated its Constitution in 1982 under Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, leading to the creation of the Constitution Act of 1982, which included the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Charter is now the highest law of Canada, codifying individual rights and freedoms while balancing them with the role of the state.
The speaker emphasizes the Charter’s relevance during crises like the coronavirus pandemic, where government actions and individual rights are often in tension.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees fundamental rights like freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, and expression, subject to reasonable limits in a free and democratic society.
The speaker introduces the 'notwithstanding clause' (Section 33), which allows Parliament or provincial legislatures to override certain Charter rights in specific cases, a unique aspect of Canadian law.
Section 33 has never been used at the federal level but has been invoked in provincial laws, such as Quebec’s language laws, highlighting the complexities of balancing rights.
The speaker explains the importance of understanding rights in the same way within society, using the Charter as a guide to how rights are applied and respected in Canada.
The video touches on the evolving nature of constitutional interpretation, with the Charter being described as a 'living, breathing document' that can adapt to modern circumstances.
A comparison is made to other countries, especially the United States, where constitutional interpretation is a significant point of debate.
The video concludes by inviting viewers to explore more topics related to Canadian rights, including gun rights, and encourages active engagement with the ongoing legal discussions in Canada.
Transcripts
so in my last video I spoke about the
concept of rights I wanted to keep it
more theoretical and have that
discussion really be about the idea of
what is right where do these ideas come
from now in the feedback some of you
asked me to talk about the actual
constitution of Canada and where our
rights here come from as opposed to more
of the philosophical or theoretical idea
which I still want to explore a bit more
but in this video I think will tackle
some of the more practical things so
let's start right at the beginning we're
going to jump right in so first of all
we have to address what is a
constitution where our rights come from
you guys have heard words of like the
Charter I spoke last time about the
Charter being repatriated so what does
that kind of thing mean and we'll
explore all these ideas but first the
definitions so the definition of a
constitution a lot of people tend to
think I think about the American
Constitution they might understand the
Charter or know what the Charter is but
not necessarily understand it as sort of
a constitution it's really a part of the
canvass constitutional laws but the
Constitution itself is an important idea
that we need to understand and so a
constitution in its most basic sense is
a set of principles or laws these are
sort of the underlying foundational laws
that a nation or state would have and
this basically talks about how the state
is going to be governed it can have
about the rights or the requirements it
can talk about when the government has
to meet so for example how often the
Parliament or the legislature or the
Congress what needs to sit so these are
the basic laws that a country would have
now interestingly enough you would say
okay well you know I guess every country
has a constitution if you look at for
example the United Kingdom so you can
see right here the United Kingdom
because of its age and historical
precedence does not actually have a
single document like the Americans so
the Americans in 77 1776 declare
independence there's the Declaration of
Independence and the later on there's
the Constitution of the United States
and all the amendments and you guys I'm
sure familiar with the 1st and 2nd
amendment at the very least if not maybe
some of the other ones but the
Constitution can
a single written document or it could be
a group of documents and this is
actually what Canada had so if we go to
these guys these are the founding
fathers of the country at the time when
Canada was created as an a singular
entity made up of the original four
provinces there was an act in the
British Parliament known as the British
North American North America act the BNA
act this was in 1867 and this is
commonly referred to today as the
Constitution Act 1867 but this is really
the founding document that says okay you
guys are gonna be a confederation this
is gonna be a new New Commonwealth
country that is gonna be called Canada
it's made up of these four provinces the
four original provinces and so this is
sort of the first attempt at a
constitution so at this point in 1867
we're still not like the Americans with
a singular document Constitution because
we have what's called British common law
and that's again similar to what's going
on actually in the UK where sets of laws
sets of a legal precedent all combine to
sort of make up our Constitution now
this continues all the way until 1931
which in which the statute of
Westminster which is another law that
was passed in in the UK that basically
said that certain parts of the
Commonwealth would be given self-rule
they would be given the ability to to
self govern and so this this act sort of
made up an additional part of Canada's
rights now interestingly enough because
we did not have our own constitution and
because we were so tied into Britain as
we still are in many ways today the
Queen is the official head of state the
governor-general as her representative
is the official head of state on paper
as much as the Prime Minister might
actually be the de facto head of state
which is the in reality head of state
but the the way that our Constitution
was set up and the way that our laws
were set up the Supreme Court of Canada
actually was not even the highest court
in the in the country the highest court
in the country was actually something
called the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council
and that's in the UK so you could appeal
your you could appeal everything all the
way to the Supreme Court but then you
didn't like the Supreme Court decision
so you could appeal to what's called the
J CPC the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council and so that's where the
final final decisions would be made now
why is this relevant to the Constitution
or why is this relevant to everything
before we even get into the Charter so
first of all again the Constitution sets
up basic laws it sets out your rights
and freedoms so prior to 1982 you have
your rights contained in a number of
different places you would have the
Canadian Bill of Rights 1960 and the
Canadian Human Rights Act 1977 but
because of the fact that none of these
is actually in a constitutional document
it creates a bit of difficulty for the
judiciary so for the courts to try and
figure out which one of the Rights how
how the government is going to apply or
what happens if your rights are violated
because some of the governance documents
and some of the rights documents are all
different places and so the court really
has to sort of figure it out and again
in the UK to use the UK example because
they don't have a written constitution
that on one hand might be difficult but
they have centuries of British common
law and precedent where court cases have
been decided and how government is going
to respect or uphold human rights so
they have a lot of that history and
that's why for them it's a bit easier to
to to figure things out so back to
Confederation and back to the founding
fathers so again we have a number of
different documents then comes Pierre
Elliot Trudeau so in the elder Trudeau
and he decides that Canada is going to
have to have its own constitution so
we're gonna have to what's called
repatriate our constitution again unlike
the Americans who started off as British
colony in much as we did they decided to
break away declare independence so they
have a declaration of independence and
then they have the Constitution with us
because we stayed part of the
Commonwealth we stayed part of the
British Empire we never had that so we
had to repatriate so pay Trading
repatriating bring our Constitution back
home as
commonly referred to so we had to bring
that back home and that was done in 82
so that is what is called the
Constitution Act 80
that's where the Charter was adopted so
here you can see this is the
Constitution Act 1982 and this is also
the Charter but it's got many many
sections and there's a lot of things
about how you apply it and where the the
rights and responsibilities come from
what is the role you can see I was
looking up some principles here so this
is the big Constitution Act 1982 and
again this is when Canada officially
gets its own constitution so this is now
the highest document the highest legal
document in the country and so we can
use this to understand how we're going
to apply all the rights how we're going
to understand different rights and how
we're going to balance rights between
individuals and operations of the state
so this is all the document and I do
want to go through some of the Charter
just to talk about some of the issues
because again because of the coronavirus
crisis many people have questions what
right does the government have to make
these decisions these sometimes
arbitrary seeming decisions what right
does the government have and what are my
rights and how are these two things
balanced but just before there you can
see here here's a nice video of this is
1982 when the Queen came to actually
sign the Charter so she signed it
which again begs all kinds of
interesting questions about the sort of
Independence of Canada again we're still
very tied to the British monarchy and I
think you know there's some people who
have some issues with that some people
who have don't something do not have
issues with that for me it really all
depends on I guess the the de facto
state of affairs which means the in
reality state of affairs there's a lot
to be said for tradition and there's a
lot to be said for institutions
especially very old institutions so
shouldn't necessarily throw them out
immediately and really you know it all
depends on the how things are in
practice right in in Canada we have a
lot of ties to the British monarchy but
we're not necessarily on an everyday
day-to-day basis we're not really run by
the British monarchy or by the British
Parliament so you know again there's a
lot to parse out there I think maybe
that's the topic for another video
regardless I just wanted to pull up this
this cool video
show you a bit of that history in the
Canadian history so here back to the
Constitution Act 1982 so this is the
Charter and this part of the video if
you've been watching until now this part
of the video were actually gonna go
through some of the Charter and try and
talk about what that means so again here
is the Constitution Act 1982 this is now
the highest law of the land so right off
the bat whereas Canada is founded upon
principles that recognized the supremacy
of God and the rule of law in my last
video I spoke about sort of the natural
rights the god-given rights the
inalienable rights the fact the rights
that you have or that is believe you
have simply because you are a person and
then the rights that government has to
give to you these are the positive again
and negative rights the negative rights
leave me alone you don't need to do
anything so freedom speech just let me
say what I want positive rights you have
to give me something I have a right to
education and right to health or to
housing all these types of things so
again it's important I think that the
supremacy of God is in there because it
speaks to I guess the available and
natural rights of the person so we have
here that the Canadian Charter of Rights
guarantees rights of freedom said on a
subject only to reasonable limits
prescribed by law as and be demonstrably
justified in a free and democratic
society so here we go this is sort of
right off the bat I guess an interesting
one and this talks about the limits now
obviously you can think there might be
limits or when there would be a limit on
somebody's rights that's if they break a
law or if they're doing something
they're not supposed to be doing then
obviously their rights would have to be
violated because that prevents them from
fighting violating other people's rights
so again you commit a crime you're
arrested something you don't have the
right to go anywhere you don't have the
right to do a number of the things you
used to do you lost your free speech you
know you probably should still have the
right to remain free of unlawful search
and seizure which is in here but you
know you've lost a number of rights and
that is a justifiable that is very
justifiable because that's what it takes
to to keep a an orderly and lawful
society so right off the bat here is
sort of one of the founding principles
then we get to the actual freedoms so
this is a freedom of conscience and
religion freedom of thought belief
opinion expression freedom to press on
over there media and communication in a
peaceful assembly freedom of association
implied in this one interesting enough
is freedom to not associate so I can
choose to associate but I can also
choose not to associate some very
interesting legal cases there that
you'll talk about in another video so
these are the sort of the fundamental
freedoms then here's the democratic
rights talking about the right to vote
talking about in time of war you know
what must be done in the House of
Commons this one is especially
interesting interesting because the
coronavirus crisis is put to put to the
test some of these sort of democratic
principles there was quite an issue with
the house meeting or not meeting rather
and early on until we got some virtual
virtual parliamentary sittings able to
be done and so that again is very
interesting since it specifically
outlined what happens to do in what
should we do in a wartime where's this
one again there's a crisis of pandemic
you know probably not thought of when
the authors wrote this but again some
some parallels their mobility rights
talking about moving and in remaining
Canada moving to different provinces
these are the legal rights you have the
right to life liberty security the
person the right to be secure against
unreasonable search and seizure so I
spoke about that before the right to not
be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned
again some very important very
fundamental rights and in the legal
rights as opposed to sort of the
fundamental freedoms so right now the
government is not I don't think anyone
is arguing the government is violating
your freedom of conscience freedom of
religion I don't think they're talking
about some of these other rights you
know thought belief opinion peaceful
assembly maybe because you can't really
go anywhere freedom of association again
you can't really go anywhere so that
somewhat connected but the real one is
the legal rights the right to not be
arbitrarily detained the right to not be
in prison that's again you know
purporting with the with the stay home
orders with the property rights you can
go to your cottage you cannot go to your
cottage you know these these separate
rights and I think this is where people
are finding that question where have our
rights gone
what are happening to our rights and how
do we sort of make sense of all these
things because rights are I guess the
most basic fundamental block of building
a society the fact that everyone is
equal and has rights is something that's
not common throughout history because
throughout history you would have had
baby rulers
aristocrats the wealthy landowners you
know different categories of people
maybe different races different
categories of people they had different
rights than perhaps others you know so
you could have a slave or a indentured
servant or a bondsman we would have less
rights maybe no rights then you know
then different categories of people so
you know me everyone here everyone
everyone everyone that's really critical
and again that's part of the discussion
right now if well if everyone then how
are you how are you telling me this how
are you telling me to stay home how are
you telling me all these things because
everyone it's not just you know some
people so this is all part of that
discussion ongoing right now that I
think is important for us to look at the
most important part though that I think
most people do not know or understand
and I'm gonna have to control F to find
is the right here so this is the sorry
this is male and female that's them I'm
not the correct notwithstanding this is
a section 33 okay
section 33 now this is the I think most
misunderstood part of the charter of the
Canadian Constitution and I want to talk
about it because it doesn't really exist
in the same way in a lot of other
countries and this is what is called the
notwithstanding Clause so
notwithstanding Clause here I'll read it
up first let me talk about it Parliament
or legislature of a province may
expressly declare an act of Parliament
or of the legislature as the case may be
that any act or provision thereof shall
operate notwithstanding a provision so
you're not including a provision
including in section 2 or sections 7 to
15 so in section 2 this is up here this
is your fundamental freedoms or 7 to 15
the legal rights all the way down here
to 15 in quality rights okay so what
does that mean back to section 33 back
to the notwithstanding Clause so ok that
means that Parliament to the federal
parliament or a provincial legislature
can say can especially declare that an
act of Parliament or the legislature is
going to be in effect regardless of what
it says in section 2 or sections 7
through 15 so again so theoretically a
provincial government could pass a law
saying that you know you do not have
freedom of religion right there's only
going to be one
official religion or you do not have
freedom of association you do not have
the right going forward to be safe from
unlawful search and seizure so
theoretically a province could pass that
and therefore your rights as guaranteed
by the Charter are now not guaranteed
because section 33 the notwithstanding
Clause notwithstanding Clause has sort
of unguaranteed them in a particular
sense again this brings up a lot of
discussion of when is it valid when is
it a right that is permanent that it can
never be violated are there times when
it is appropriate to be violated this
section it is important to note has
never been used on the federal level so
the House of Commons has never actually
had to use the notwithstanding Clause
but provinces have used the
notwithstanding Clause and the most
famous example is Quebec with some of
the language laws to pull up a link here
I'll try and pull it up in a second but
some of the language laws in Quebec then
those ones you get around the the
Charter because there's a
notwithstanding notwithstanding Clause
that's being invoked and therefore they
can just get away and say okay well you
know we understand that we understand
that you know it says these rights here
and you know we believe in these lights
however the you know notwithstanding
because of special issues in Quebec
special dynamics in Quebec so therefore
we believe that this particular right is
it's more important to enforce another
right which is language rights and
French language rights as opposed to
this right of people so it's important
to look at these rights and the
notwithstanding Clause in one context
that it can be used to differentiate
between rights or perhaps reorder the
rights in different tiers so you might
say okay well you have two competing
rights but we are gonna now reorder them
so it doesn't necessarily have to be we
don't think you have freedom of religion
we don't think you have freedom of
conscience doesn't necessarily have to
be that it could be simply a reordering
a reordering of all different rights
different i'ts that are competing and so
that is something that I think is
something we need to keep in mind but
regardless the fact that there is a
section 33 that is
is different than I think a lot of other
countries where they have a straight
section that talks about how we're going
to deal with this is very important on
one hand but again this all ties into
the fact that you have to have and I
mentioned in previous video you have to
have a society who's willing to uphold
your rights and in our society in our
you know in the times of we're living
and it's the government that is
upholding your right so in a certain
sense the government is giving your
rights and I'm gonna you know you what
marks the government is giving you your
rights because ultimately it doesn't
matter if the rights are inalienable and
their god-given because the government
society at large is upholding those
rights for you
but then again here we're talking about
the way how to deal with those rights
and so the Charter as a document again
is super important because not only did
it finally bring together as in 1982 did
it finally bring together the laws of
the land in Canada under one document
which makes it much easier and sort of
more important it codifies them as the
basic law of this country but it's
important because right now a lot of the
discussion should revolve around the
Constitution around the Charter and
around our right because we can't talk
about rights unless we all understand
rights in the same way and that's what
this document is trying to do now I do
want to set up for the next for the next
video and I want to talk about you may
have heard this concept of the
Constitution or the Charter is a living
breathing document you may have heared
from her from the US people talking
about the Constitution literally or are
reading into it different things so I
want to talk about that and that's a bit
of a complex issue and that's how we
understand the Charter going forward how
do you read this document I mean this
was written in 1982 so much more recent
but if you're talking about other
documents how do you read them if
they're two three four hundred years old
or in the case of British krama how do
you read that if this is like eight
hundred years old right so something
about to talk about for another video
but other than that I really hope that
everyone found this video somewhat
useful and if you have any questions
about the Constitution I'd love to be
able to try and explore that to get
with you and you know keep posted
subscribe to our YouTube channel here at
true north I know a lot of the tune of
contributors my colleagues are talking
about a lot of very very important
things there's a lot of discussions
going on right now some of them many of
them have especially been speaking about
gun rights which is super super
important and I might even talk about
that depending on where we are sort of
in a week or so but so definitely
subscribe stay tuned like our social
media pages and follow us so you can
stay up to date on the latest
information other than that have a great
day wash your hands stay safe and I'm
Sam Ashkenazi for TrueNorth
thanks so much and hope you enjoyed
Weitere ähnliche Videos ansehen
Law: The Legitimacy of Charter
Law : The Charter and the Courts intro
Chapter 4 Evolution of the Philippine Constitution and 1897: Constitution of Biak na Bato
What is Constitution? | Ano Ang Konstitusyon? | Constitution Defined | Filipino English Video |
School of Law Shampa Dev 2023 24 Articles 19
The Magna Carta Explained: Global History Review
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)