# Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Federal Draft (January 8, 1979)

* related portals: Constitutional documents of Canada.
* sister projects: Wikipedia article.
Draft from the Meeting of Officials on the Constitution, January 11 to 12, 1979.
Sourced from Bayefsky, Canada's Constitution Act 1982 & Amendments: A Documentary History at pp. 537 to 540
Document: 840-153/004
| | | DIVISION III: RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS WITHIN THE CANADIAN FEDERATION |
| | | General |
| Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms | 5. | The provisions of this division, which may be cited as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, set forth rights and freedoms that, in a free and democratic society, must be assured to the people and that are consistent with Canada's recognition of the standards proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. |
| | | Fundamental Freedoms |
| Fundamental freedoms | 6. | (1) Everyone has the right to the following fundamental freedom: a) freedom of conscience and religion; b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media for the dissemination of news and the expression of opinion and belief; and c) freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) The manifestation or exercise of the freedoms declared by this section may be made subject only to such limitations as are reasaonbly justifiable in a free and democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety, order, health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others. |
| | | Democratic Rights |
| Democratic rights of citizens | 7. | Consistent with the principles of free and democratic elections to the House of Commons and to the legislative assemblies, and of universal suffrage for that purpose, every citizen of Canada shall, without unreasonable distinction or limitation, have the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein. |
| Duration of elected legislative bodies | 8. | (1) Every House of Commons and legislative assembly of a province shall continue for five years, or in the case of a legislative assembly for five or such lesser number of years as is provided for by the constitution of the province, from the date of the return of the writs for the choosing of its members and no longer, subject to its being sooner dissolved in accordance with the law. |
| Continuation in special circumstances | | (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), in time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection, a House of Commons may be continued by Parliament and a legislative assembly of a province may be continued by the legislature thereof beyond the time limited therefor by or under subsection (1), if such continuation is not opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the members of the House of Commons or the legislative assembly, as the case may be. |
| Annual sitting of legislative bodies | 9. | There shall be a sitting of Parliament and of each legislature at least once every year and not more than twelve months shall intervene between sittings. |
| | | Legal Rights |
| Legal rights | 10. | (1) Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of his or her person and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law, which process encompasses the following: a) the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures; b) the right to protection against arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; c) the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned; d) the right on arrest or detention (i) to be informed promptly of the reason for the arrest or detention, (ii) to be provided with the opportunity to retain and consult counsel without delay, and (iii) to the remedy by way of habeas corpus for the determination of the validity of his or her detention and for release if the detention is not lawful; e) the right as an accused person (i) to be informed of the specific charge, (ii) to be tried within a reasonable time, (iii) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, (iv) not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause having been established, and (v) not to be found guilty on account of any act or omission that at the time of the act or omission did not constitute an offence; f) the right not to be tried or punished more than once for an offence of which he or she has been finally convicted or acquitted; g) the right to the benefit of the lesser punishment where the punishment for an offence of which he or she has been convicted has been varied between the time of commission and the time of conviction; h) the right not to be subjected to any cruel or inhuman treatment or punishment; i) the right not to give evidence before any court, tribunal, commission, board or other authority, if unreasonably denied counsel or if denied protection against self-crimination or other constitutional safeguard; j) the right to the assistance of an interpreter in any proceedings before a court, tribunal, commission, board or other authority, if the party or witness does not understand or speak the language in which the proceedings are conducted; and k) the right to a fair hearing in accordance with the principle! of fundamental justice for the determination of his or her rights or obligations. |
| Justifiable derogation | | (2) In time of serious public emergency, the existence of which is officially proclaimed through the invocation of the War Measures Act or by specific reference to this subsection, the rights mentioned in this section other than the right to life and those mentioned in sub-paragraphs (d) (ii) and (e) (v) and paragraphs (h), (i) and G) may be derogated from to the extent strictly required by the circumstances of the emergency. |
| Idem | | (3) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as precluding the enactment of or rendering invalid a law that authorizes the holding of all or part of a proceeding in camera in the interests of national security, public safety or order or morality, in the interest of the privacy of one or more of the parties or where, in the opinion of the tribunal, publicity would prejudice the interests of justice. |
| | | Non-discrimination Rights |
| Equality before the law and equal protection of the law | 11. | (1) Everyone has the right to equality before the law and to equal protection of the law without distinction or restriction other than any distinction or restriction provided by law that is fair and reasonable having regard to the object of the law. |
| Affirmative action programs | | (2) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as precluding the enactment of or rendering invalid any affirmative action program on behalf of disadvantaged persons or groups. |
| | | Mobility Rights |
| Rights of citizens | 12. | (1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada. |
| Rights of citizens and persons lawfully admitted for permanent residence | | (2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has been lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence and has not lost the status of a permanent resident has the right a) to move and to take up residence in any province or territory, and b) to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province or territory without distinction based on province or territory of previous residence or domicile. |
| Justifiable limitations | | (3) The rights declared by this section may be made subject only to such limitations as are reasonably justifiable in a free and democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety, order, health or morals or where there exist overriding economic or social considerations. |
| | | Property Rights |
| Property rights | 13. | (1) Everyone has the right to the use and enjoyment of property, individually or in association with others, and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with law that is fair and just. |
| Justifiable limitations | | (2) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as precluding the enactment of or rendering invalid laws controlling or restricting the use of property in the public interest or securing against property the payment of taxes or other levies or penalties. |
| Idem | | (3) The rights declared by this section may be made subject only to such limitations in addition to those refered to in subsection (2) as are reasonably justifiable in a free and democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, order, health or morals. |
This work is in the public domain in the U.S. because it is an edict of a government, local or foreign. See § 313.6(C)(2) of the Compendium II: Copyright Office Practices. Such documents include "legislative enactments, judicial decisions, administrative rulings, public ordinances, or similar types of official legal materials" as well as "any translation prepared by a government employee acting within the course of his or her official duties."
These do not include works of the Organization of American States, United Nations, or any of the UN specialized agencies. See Compendium III § 313.6(C)(2) and 17 U.S.C. 104(b)(5).
A non-American governmental edict may still be copyrighted outside the U.S. Similar to {{PD-in-USGov}}, the above U.S. Copyright Office Practice does not prevent U.S. states or localities from holding copyright abroad, depending on foreign copyright laws and regulations.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse