Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Limitations
The liberties granted by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are not absolute. The first section of the charter stipulates that all rights and freedoms are subject to “reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” Many rights in the charter are conditional. For example, a person only has rights against “unreasonable” search and seizure, so searches and seizures that courts determine to be reasonable are legal.
Canadian courts carefully balance the rights of the individual against the needs of society. For example, the Supreme Court of Canada has held that a person's freedom of expression can be limited by the government if the content of that expression is judged to be “hate speech” targeted against a particular group based upon color, race, religion, or ethnic origin.
The Canadian constitution allows provincial legislatures or the national parliament to authorize the “section 33 override clause,” which allows for the temporary suspension of charter rights. The override has only been invoked on three occasions, twice by Québec and once by Saskatchewan. Québec used the override clause during the 1980s to mandate the exclusive use of the French language in advertisements, in violation of Canada's laws requiring bilingualism; and Saskatchewan used the clause to force striking workers to return to their jobs, in apparent violation of their right to assembly. Other governments have threatened to use the override clause, but usually back down in the face of public opposition. When the Supreme Court prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in 1998, the government of Alberta considered invoking section 33 so it could continue policies that discriminated against gay and lesbian workers, but decided against it because of widespread public opposition. (1)
Charter of Rights and Freedoms in this Section: Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Charter of Rights and Freedoms Rights Protected, Charter of Rights and Freedoms Limitations, Charter of Rights and Freedoms Origins and Charter of Rights and Freedoms Comparisons With Laws in Other Countries.