Under “Fundamental Freedoms: 2a”, it states that everyone has the “freedom of conscience”. I believe “freedom of conscience” is a very vague term, and was almost removed by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien when negotiating the Charter because of its difficulty in definition, as many of you may be also aware. I believe that one of the controversial issues present today is abortion. There have been many debates about the ethical issues behind abortion, as well as the right of a person to abort their baby. However, under Section 2a, it states that everyone has a “freedom of conscience”. Hence, abortion is a moral decision and a conscience decision. Therefore, according to the charter, a person has the right to decide for themselves whether they want to abort their baby. In British Columbia alone, roughly 14,738 fetuses were aborted in 2004. However, this right contradicts a legal right – that “everyone has the right to life, liberty…” The baby should have a right to life, and if aborted, is deprived of life without any principles of justice. These two clauses hence contradict each other. As well, the “freedom of conscience” can be interpreted as the freedom to make conscience decisions. Hence, does it also imply that a person can legally kill another? To kill another person is a conscience decision and the charter guarantees that everyone has the freedom to make conscience decisions. Although the “freedom of conscience” is a fundamental freedom, I believe that it should be removed from the charter.
Section 2b in “Fundamental Freedoms” talks about the right of expression. I believe that this right only applies if the expression is not intentionally made to harm others. For example, we are encouraged to expression our ideas at school during class discussions. However, what if we were to promote bullying another, or violence? Not only does it not serve to benefit society as a whole, it causes chaos and lack of order. Like in the Holocaust, Hitler promoted the idea that all Jews were bad. I feel that giving the freedom of expression to a person that only promotes negative values is wrong, hence 2b should be changed to “freedom of thought, belief… only if it doesn’t promote harm to another under unjustifiable reasons.”
Under “Democratic Rights”, Section 3 states that “Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election”. However, I disagree with this right because frankly, it’s not true. I can’t vote, despite being a Canadian citizen. My 8 year old brother cannot vote either, and he’s a Canadian citizen. I believe that this section failed to include a requirement because without an age requirement, my rights of voting are being denied. I believe this section should be rephrased by include “Every citizen of Canada that has reached the age of majority has the right to vote…”
Under “Equality Rights”, Section 15(1), it states that “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability”. However, it fails to list any other causes of discrimination such as marital status, employment, and most notable of lately, sexual orientation. Things such as “gay marriages” have been one of the recent controversial issues of late, subject to much ridicule and harassment. I believe that it is wrong to do so, and hence Section 15 should be rephrased to “… without discrimination base on race… and any other justifiable factor not listed in the Charter.” As well, under “General”, Section 28 states that “…the rights and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons”. I believe this should be rephrased into “people of all genders” because it fails to take hermaphrodites into consideration. Hermaphrodites are people who possess both female and male genitals, and hence can’t really be classified as either male or female. Hence, does that mean people that are hermaphrodites are not looked upon as equal in regards to men and women, hence not guaranteed the same rights? A counter argument may be that hermaphrodites are rare in our population. However, statistics (and research) show that as many as 1 in every 100 people have bodies that are different from the standard male or female. This shows that intersexuality isn’t as uncommon as people may think.
Under “Enforcement”, Section 24(2), it states that “evidence shall be excluded if it is established that, having regard to all the circumstances, the admission of it in the proceedings would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.” According to an online dictionary, “disrepute” means “disfavour”. Hence, this can be interpreted that it is legal to withhold evidence if it makes the justice system look bad. I think this is wrong, because it gives the justice system a chance to be corrupt without the public knowing. I do not understand the purpose of this law, hence I think it should be rephrased into “the evidence shall be excluded if it is established to be unrelated to the case … admission of it in the proceedings would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.”
Lastly, under “Citation”, section 34 states that “This part may be cited as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms”. I believe it means that the whole document, from section 1-34, is known as the “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom”. However, does it also mean that if any more laws were added, they are hence not part of the Canadian Charter?
These are the many notes and questions I had when reading through the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I hope that you’ll take my ideas into consideration. Thank you for your time.
Bibliography
"CANADIAN ABORTION STATISTICS." Valleyinfo.ca. 2004. A Pro-Life Canada Index. 25 July 2009.
"Canadian Bill of Rights ( 1960, c. 44 ) ." Department of Justice Canada. 17 June 2009. Government of Canada. 25 July 2009. <http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-12.3/>.
"Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ." Department of Justice Canada. 1 June 2009. Government of Canada. 25 July 2009. <http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/>.
Dreger, Alice. "How common is intersexuality?." Mindfully.org. 13 Febuary 2001. . 25 July 2009. <http://www.mindfully.org/Health/Intersexuality-Data.htm>
Egerton, George. "Trudeau, God, and the Canadian Constitution: Religion, Human Rights, and Government Authority in the Making of the 1982 Constitution." In Rethinking Church, State, and Modernity: Canada between Europe and America. Eds. Daniel Lyon and Marguerite Van Die. University of Toronto Press.
Hogg, Peter W. Canada Act 1982 Annotated. Toronto, Canada: The Carswell Company Limited, 1982.
Makin, Kirk. "20th Anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Equal Marriage for Same Sex Couples. 10 April 2002. The Globe and Mail. 25 July 2009. <http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/legal/charter.htm>.
MCCONNELL, W.H.. "Canadian Bill of Rights." The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2009. . 25 July 2009. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001264>.
"Population by religion, by province and territory (2001 Census) ." Statistics Canada. 25 January 2005. Government of Canada. 25 July 2009. <http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo30a-eng.htm>.
"The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Canadian Heritage. 11 March 2009. Government of Canada. 25 July 2009. <http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/canada/frdm-eng.cfm>.
