John Diefenbaker holds the Bill of Rights

The Canadian Bill of Rights is a federal statute and bill of rights enacted by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's government on August 10, 1960. It provides Canadians with certain quasi-constitutional^[1] rights in relation to other federal statutes. It was the earliest expression of human rights law at the federal level in Canada, though an Implied Bill of Rights had already been recognized^[1]. The Canadian Bill of Rights remains in effect, but its widely acknowledged ineffectiveness was the main reason that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was adopted in 1982. Image File history File links John_Diefenbaker_holding_Canadian_Bill_of_Rights. ... Image File history File links John_Diefenbaker_holding_Canadian_Bill_of_Rights. ... John George Diefenbaker, CH, PC, QC, BA, MA, LL.B, LL.D, DCL, FRSC, FRSA, D.Litt, DSL, (18 September 1895 – 16 August 1979) was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada (1957 – 1963). ... A bill of rights is a list or summary of which is considered important and essential by a group of people. ... Regions Political culture Foreign relations Other countriesAtlas  Politics Portal      The Prime Minister of Canada (French: Premier ministre du Canada), is the Minister of the Crown who is head of the Government of Canada. ... John George Diefenbaker, CH, PC, QC, BA, MA, LL.B, LL.D, DCL, FRSC, FRSA, D.Litt, DSL, (18 September 1895 – 16 August 1979) was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada (1957 – 1963). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Implied Bill of Rights is a judicial theory in Canadian jurisprudence that recognizes that certain basic principles are underlying the Constitution of Canada. ... The Charter, signed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1981. ...

Features

The Canadian Bill of Rights protects numerous rights, most of which were later included in the Charter. Examples include:

• Freedom of speech and freedom of religion (now in Section 2 of the Charter)
• Limited equality rights (more complete rights are contained in Section 15 of the Charter)
• The right to life, liberty and security of the person, and in another section, rights to fundamental justice (the Charter combines those rights in Section 7)
• The right to enjoyment of property, which is not enshrined in the Charter
• The right to counsel (now in Section 10 of the Charter).

Section 2 of the Bill of Rights begins as follows: This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen guarantees freedom of religion, as long as religious activities do not infringe on public order in ways detrimental to society. ... The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. ... Social equality is a social state of affairs in which certain different people have the same status in a certain respect, minimally at least in voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and property rights. ... Section Fifteen of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms consist of the equality rights guarantee of the Charter against all forms of discrimination perpetrated by the government with the exception of ameliorative programs (affirmative action). ... The term right to life is a political term used in controversies over various issues that involve the taking of a life (or what is perceived to be a life). ... Liberty is generally considered a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has immunity from the arbitrary exercise of authority. ... Security of person or security of the person is a human right guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948. ... Fundamental justice is a term in Canadian administrative law that signifies those basic procedural rights that are afforded anyone or anybody facing an adjudicative process or procedure that affects fundamental rights. ... Section Seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a constitutional provision that protects an individuals autonomy and personal legal rights from actions of the government. ... 10. ...

2 Every law of Canada shall, unless it is expressly declared by an Act of the Parliament of Canada that it shall operate notwithstanding the Canadian Bill of Rights, be so construed and applied as not to abrogate, abridge or infringe or to authorize the abrogation, abridgment or infringement of any of the rights or freedoms herein recognized and declared...

The notwithstanding wording of Section 2 is a precursor to the notwithstanding clause of the Charter. Section Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Constitution of Canada. ...

While the Bill of Rights is only considered quasi-constitutional because of its nature as a statute (as opposed to superstatute), it contains a unique provision that is often forgotten by many who dismiss the importance of the document. This section reads as follows:

3. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister of Justice shall, in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed by the Governor in Council, examine every regulation transmitted to the Clerk of the Privy Council for registration pursuant to the Statutory Instruments Act and every Bill introduced in or presented to the House of Commons by a Minister of the Crown, in order to ascertain whether any of the provisions thereof are inconsistent with the purposes and provisions of this Part and he shall report any such inconsistency to the House of Commons at the first convenient opportunity.

(2) A regulation need not be examined in accordance with subsection (1) if prior to being made it was examined as a proposed regulation in accordance with section 3 of the Statutory Instruments Act to ensure that it was not inconsistent with the purposes and provisions of this Part.

Criticism and support of the Canadian Bill of Rights

Criticism of the 1960 Bill of Rights has mostly centred on its limited effect.

It did not explicitly amend any conflicting statutes, either to remove conflicts or to insert explicit allowances for the statutes to operate notwithstanding the Bill of Rights. When called upon to apply conflicting laws, the courts typically sought to interpret a later statute as creating a minimal disturbance of earlier law. In practise this meant that the courts relied on Parliament to repeal or amend any laws contrary to the Bill of Rights. Disappointments for those who wanted courts to enforce rights vigorously included Bliss v. Canada and Attorney General of Canada v. Lavell. A notable exception was R. v. Drybones. Court membership Chief Justice: Bora Laskin Puisne Justices: Ronald Martland, Roland Ritchie, Wishart Spence, Louis-Philippe Pigeon, Brian Dickson, Jean Beetz, Willard Estey, Yves Pratte Reasons given Unanimous reason by: Ritchie J. Bliss v. ... Attorney-General of Canada v. ... R. v. ...

Since the Bill of Rights was not a constitutional amendment, there was some debate as to whether it was binding on future Parliaments. However, Section 3 requires the Minister of Justice to notify Parliament that a proposed law (nominally) denies protected rights. The intent of this provision was presumably to discourage Parliament from doing so.

Another criticism of the 1960 Act is that its authority is limited to matters set out in Section 91 of the BNA Act (the Constitution Act, 1867), i.e. powers of the federal government, and not those of the provincial governments. The Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act, 1867, and still known informally as the BNA Act), constitutes a major part of Canadas Constitution. ...

However, one of the benefits of the 1960 Act is that it protects some rights (property rights for instance) not mentioned in the newer Charter of Rights and Freedoms (but permitted to exist under section 26 of the Charter). For this and other reasons, the 1960 Act continues in force and is regularly cited in court decisions today. Section Twenty-six of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, like other provisions within the section 25 to 31 bloc, provides a guide in interpreting how the Charter should affect Canadian society. ...

Another positive impact of the 1960 Act, including the problems experienced in enforcing its intent (see above), is that it formed part of the res gestae that served to elevate the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms to an entrenched and therefore pre-eminent part of the law. The ineffectiveness of the Bill of Rights was the main reason that it was thought necessary to adopt a Canadian Charter of Rights entrenched in the constitution.

Footnotes

See also

• Canadian Human Rights Act of 1977
• Constitution of Canada
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Veterans' Bill of Rights
• New Zealand Bill of Rights Act

The Canadian Human Rights Act is a statute originally passed by the Government of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be vicitims of discriminatory practices based on a set prohibited grounds such as gender, disability, or religion. ... The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada. ... The Charter, signed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1981. ... The Veterans Bill of Rights is a bill of rights in Canada for veterans of the Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. ... The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 is an enactment of the New Zealand Parliament setting out the rights and fundamental freedoms of the citizens of New Zealand. ...

External links

• Canadian Bill of Rights (full text)
• annotated bill of rights
• Supreme Court cases which use the 1960 Bill of Rights