Unit 1 - Legal Foundations Pt. 4 Flashcards
Principle of Equalization
Section 36 of the Charter - tax money equally distributed to finance public services.
Consecutive Sentences
Served one after the other.
Concurrent Sentences
Merge sentences together.
Magna Carta
Established RULE OF LAW: Requiring King John of England to be held accountable under the law so her wouldn’t abuse his power seizing other properties… SET A PRECEDENT under the British Commonwealth.
Glorious Revolution
Got rid of King James II bc English refused to be led by an absolute ruler.
CONSTITUTIONAL»>TRADITIONAL MONARCHY
3 Mechanisms Supporting the Rule of Law
- Judicial Independence: No external influence
- Judicial Impartiality: No bias
- Judicial Accountability: ex. mistake –> appeal
Wiretapping Phones
Supreme Court struck down a law that allows police to tap phones w/out a warrant. Asked Parliament to rewrite wiretap legislation.
Privacy & Disclosure Obligation
Bc of the Charter, there is more protection for privacy + more disclose between the Crown & Defence.
Women’s Reproductive Rights
Mortentaler Case - 1988: Supreme Court ruled that the Criminal Code sections on abortions was constitutional. No legislation for abortions BUT STILL LEGAL.
Linguistic Rights for Francophones outside Quebec
Charter gave access to French schools, school board, + hospitals = generation called “ Section 23 kids.”
Strengthened Indigenous Rights
Charter imposed gov. duty to consult Indigenous Peoples when gov changes affect them.
BUT PARTICIPATION ≠ VETO
Sparrow Decision - 1990
Supreme Court affirmed certain historic rights as a part of an ongoing judiciary obligation.
Judicial Activism
- Charter “amounts to a significant transfer of policy making to the courts,” especially in an area described as “mortality issues”
- Canadian legislatures do not have less power than before the Charter
–> Wide-ranging authority +
“notwithstanding clause”
How does the rule of law protect our liberty?
- Protects citizens from authorities abusing their power.
- Protecting citizens from positions imposing unjust legislation = liberty is secured.
Describe how s. 1 both guarantees and limits Charter rights.
- Justifying infringement is mentioned in s. 1 of the Charter = constitutionally guaranteeing rights
- Section 1: “reasonable limits clause”
- can be used to limit an individual’s rights bc
Charter rights aren’t absolute.
What happens if the government cannot show that a Charter infringement is justified (i.e. it does not satisfy the elements of the s. 1 analysis)?
They cannot limit the individual’s rights. Section 1 of the Charter guarantees the rights of an individual and is responsible for limiting those rights based on certain criteria, therefore, without sufficient justification the government cannot infringe rights from the Charter.
If a law is declared to have no force or effect, can Parliament or the legislature do anything about it?
Parliament can pass a constitutional amendment. This way they will be changing the constitution so that the law can be in effect.
