Democratic Rights

CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS Ontario Justice Education Network IN BRIEF Ss. 3-5-Democratic Rights These sections set out the rights and provisions concerning the Canadian political process and the exercise of democracy for Canadian citizens. These include: • The right of citizens to vote and run for government office (s. 3); • The guarantee that no legislative body or House of Commons will be in power for more than five years without a democratic election, except in very limited circumstances (s. 4); and • The guarantee that Parliament and every other legislature will be working for a set period (a "sitting") out of every 12 months (s. 5). S.6-Mobility Rights Mobility rights concern the freedom of Canadian citizens to be, and move within, Canada. Citizens have the right to: • Travel in any province or territory; • Work in any province or territory; and • Enter, remain in, and leave Canada. Note that while the latter applies only to Canadian citizens, the provisions for travelling and working in Canada also apply to permanent residents. In some professions, such as teaching and practicing law, provincial standards and certifications vary, and individuals must meet these to work in these jurisdictions. Ss. 7-14-Legal Rights Legal rights refer to the ways in which persons in Canada are protected in encounters with the justice systern. Covering eight individual sections of the Charter, these are multifaceted and complex. Among other protections, everyone has the right: • To life, liberty and security of the person, and to not be deprived of these except under special circumstances (s. 7); • To be secure against unreasonable search or seizure (s. 8); • To not be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned (5.9); • To retain and instruct a lawyer to represent them in justice proceedings (s. 10); • To have a trial within a reasonable time period (s. 11(b)); • To be innocent until proven guilty (s. 11(d)); To not be subjected to any cruel or unusual treatment or punishment (s. 12). S. 15-Equality Rights Individuals in Canada have a right not to be discriminated against by the government or government agents based on a set of grounds that relate to being members of certain communities and social identity groups. Many of these groups were originally included in this section (enumerated grounds), while others that have since been added by the courts (analogous grounds). • Enumerated grounds include race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age and mental or physical disability. • Analogous grounds currently include sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship and Aboriginality-residence. )