Unit 2 (Charter + Cases)

Question 1

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Answer 1

Considered part 1 of the Canadian Constitution.

Constitutional Law is the highest level of law in Canada

Question 2

R. v Keegstra

Answer 2

Freedom of Expression

-James Keegstra was an Elementary School Teacher
-Charged with unlawfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group
Taught Students that the holocaust was fake
Charges with 1 year in prison, 200 hours of community service

Crown:
Keegstra promoted hate speech against the Jewish
Said students were gonna be taught in University the public’s beliefs of Jewish history to mislead the public
Violated section 15 (everyone is equal)
Freedom of expression is not obsolete (not black and white)

Defense:
Court was violating Keegstras section 2b
No one can be convicted of hate speech if the statements were “true”
Teachings and statements were protected under the charter

Question 3

R v. Zundel

Answer 3

Freedom of Expression

• Ernst Zundel published a book titles “did 6 million really die?”
• Charged with spreading false news
• Ruled after an appeal that pressing charges violated his freedom of expression
• He was released with no charged after the landmark Supreme Court Case

Question 4

Hutterite Brethren Case

Answer 4

-Hutterite People of Alberta believe that they should not have their photo taken as a part of their religion
-Until this case, they held drivers licence without photos
Alberta government demanded the Hutterite people have a valid license, which includes a photo
-Supreme Court ruled that they require a photo ID, against their religion

Question 5

Polygamy Case

Answer 5

• Polygamy is a part of a religion in Canada where men marry as many women as possible
• Section 293 states polygamy is illegal
• Bountiful Community members say their right to religion is being violated, the court maintains the law

Question 6

R v. Marakah

Answer 6

• Police had search warrant of the house, found a locked phone, searched the phone
• Law challenged was section 8 of the charter, which is the section against unlawful search/seizure
• The court decided that the phone was inadmissible as evidence, Marakah was found innocent because of lack of evidence

Question 7

Vriend v. Alberta

Answer 7

• Teachers employment was terminated because he was gay
• Mr. Vriend sought a declaration that the Act violated his equality rights as guaranteed under s. 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
• Court held that this was a violation of s. 15 of the Charter that could not be saved under s. 1, and ordered that sexual orientation be read in to the provincial legislation

Question 8

R v. Oakes

Answer 8

• Oakes was found with a large number of drugs, charged with possession and trafficking
• Argued no proof of trafficking drugs
• Challenged section 8; Innocent until proven guilty
• Found innocent of trafficking charges

Question 9

R v. Morgentaler

Answer 9

• Morgentaler was an abortion rights activists
• Performed illegal abortions
• Charged with performing illegal abortions
• Appealed he was maintaining human rights by performing abortions
• Because of his case, abortion laws were overturned in Canada
• Found innocent of all charges

Question 10

Section 1

Answer 10

Reasonable Limits Clause

Question 11

Section 2a

Answer 11

Freedom of Religion

Question 12

Section 2b

Answer 12

Freedom of Expression

Question 13

Section 2c

Answer 13

Freedom of Peaceful Assembly

Question 14

Section 2d

Answer 14

Freedom of Association

Question 15

Section 7

Answer 15

Life, Liberty, and Security of the Person

Question 16

Section 15

Answer 16

Everyone is equal under the law

Question 17

Analogous Grounds

Answer 17

Personal Characteristics that cannot be changed under the law

Question 18

Enumerated Grounds

Answer 18

Characteristics like race, sex, etc that do not affect law

Question 19

Read in

Answer 19

Something implied but not specifically stated in the Charter