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Canadian Constitution |
Part I |
Herausgeber: Rechtsanwalt Möbius |
German attorney at law |
Whereas Canada is founded upon
the principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:
The
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms
set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as
can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
Everyone has the following fundamental
freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of
thought, belief
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly and
(d)
freedom of association.
Every citizen
of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of
Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership
therein.
(1) No House of
Commons and no legislative assembly shall continue for longer than five
years from the date fixed for the return of the writs at a general
election of its members.
(2) In time of real or apprehended war,
invasion or insurrection, a House of Commons may be continued by
Parliament and a legislative assembly may be continued by the legislature
beyond five years if such continuation is not opposed by the votes of more
than one-third of the members of the House of Commons or the legislative
assembly, as the case may be.
There shall be
a sitting of Parliament and of each legislature at least once every twelve
months.
(1) Every
citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in, and leave
Canada.
(2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status
of a permanent resident of Canada has the right
(a) to move to and take
up residence in an province; and
(b) to pursue the gaining of
livelihood in any province.
(3) The rights specified in Subsection (2)
are subject to
(a) any laws or practices of general application in
force in a province other than those that discriminate among persons
primarily on the basis of present or previous residence; and
(b) any
laws providing for reasonable residency requirements as a qualification
for the receipt of publicly provided social services.
(4) Subsections
(2) and (3) do not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its
object the amelioration in a province of conditions of individuals in that
province who are socially or economically disadvantaged if the rate of
employment in that province is below the rate of employment in Canada.
Everyone has
the right to life, liberty, and security of the person and the right not
to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of
fundamental justice.
Everyone has
the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.
Everyone has the
right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.
Everyone has the right
on arrest or detention
(a) to be informed promptly of the reason
therefor;
(b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be
informed of that right; and
(c) to have the validity of the detention
determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is
not lawful.
Any person charged
with an offence has the right
(a) to be informed without unreasonable
delay of the specific offence;
(b) to be tried within a reasonable
time;
(c) not to be compelled to be a witness in a proceedings against
that person in respect of the offence;
(d) to be presumed innocent
until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an
independent and impartial tribunal;
(e) not to be denied reasonable
bail without cause;
(f) except in the case of an offence under military
law tried before a military tribunal, to the benefit of trial by jury
where the maximum punishment for the offence is imprisonment for five
years or a more severe punishment;
(g) not to be found guilty on
account of any act or omission unless, at the time of the act or omission,
it constituted an offence under Canadian or International law or was
criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by the
community of nations;
(h) if finally acquitted of the offence, not to
be tried for it again and, if finally found guilty and punished for the
offence, not to be tried or punished for it again; and
(i) if found
guilty of the offence and if punishment for the offence has been varied
between the time of commission and the time of sentencing, to the benefit
of the lesser punishment.
Everyone
has the right not to be subjected to any cruel or unusual treatment or
punishment.
A witness who testifies in any proceedings
has the right not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to
incriminate that witness in any other proceedings, except in a prosecution
for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence.
A party
or witness in any proceedings who does not understand or speak the
language in which the proceedings are conducted or who is deaf has the
right to the assistance of an interpreter.
(1) Every individual is equal before the and
under the law
(2) Subsection (1) does not
preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the
amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups
including those that are disadvantaged because or race, national or ethnic
origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability.
(1) English
and French are the official languages of Canada and have equal rights and
privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and
government of Canada.
(2) English and French are the official languages
of New Brunswick and have equality of status and equal rights and
privileges as to the use in all institutions of the legislature and
government of New Brunswick.
(3) Nothing in this Charter limits the
authority of Parliament of a legislature to advance the equality of status
or use of English and French.
(1) The
English linguistic community and the French linguistic community in New
Brunswick have equality of status and equal rights and privileges,
including the right to distinct educational institutions and such distinct
cultural institutions as are necessary for the preservation and promotion
of those communities.
(2) The role of the legislature and the
government of New Brunswick to preserve and promote the status, rights and
privileges referred to in Subsection (1) is affirmed.
(1)
Everyone has the right to use English or French in any debates or other
proceedings of Parliament.
(2) Everyone has the right to use English or
French in any debate and other proceeding of the legislature of New
Brunswick.
(1) The
Statutes, records and journals of Parliament shall be printed and
published in English and French and both language versions are equally
authoritative.
(2) The Statutes, records and journals of New Brunswick
shall be printed and published in English and French and both language
versions are equally authoritative.
(1) Either
English or French may be used by any person in, or in any pleading in or
process issuing from any court established by Parliament.
(2) Either
English or French may be used by any person in, or in any pleading in or
process issuing from any court of New Brunswick.
(1)
Any member of the public of Canada has the right to communicate with, and
to receive available services from, any head or central office of an
institution of the Parliament or government of Canada in English or
French, and has the same right with respect to any other office of any
such institution where
(a) there is significant demand for
communications with and services from that office in such language;
or
(b) due to the nature of the office, it is reasonable that
communications with and services from that office be available in both
English and French.
(2) Any member of the public in New Brunswick has
the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any
office of an institution of the legislature or government of New Brunswick
in English or French.
Nothing in Sections
Nothing
in Sections
(1)
Citizens of Canada
(a) whose first language learned and still
understood is that of the English or French linguistic minority population
of the province in which they reside, or
(b) who have received their
primary school instruction in Canada in English or French and reside in a
province where the language in which they received that instruction is the
language of the English or French linguistic minority population of the
province,
have the right to have their children receive primary and
secondary school instruction in that language in that province.
(2)
Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or is receiving primary
or secondary school instruction in English or French in Canada, have the
right to have all their children receive primary and secondary school
instruction in the same language.
(3) The right of citizens of Canada
under Subsections (1) and (2) to have their children receive primary and
secondary school instruction in the language of the English or French
linguistic minority population of a province
(a) applies wherever in
the province the number of children of citizens who have such a right is
sufficient to warrant the provision to them out of public funds of
minority language instruction; and
(b) includes, where the number of
children so warrants, the right to have them receive that instruction in
minority language educational facilities provided out of public funds.
(1) Anyone
whose rights or freedoms, as guaranteed by this Charter, have been
infringed or denied may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to
obtain such remedy as the court considers appropriate and just in the
circumstances.
(2) Where, in proceedings under Subsection (1), a court
concludes that evidence was obtained in a manner that infringed or denied
any rights or freedoms guaranteed by this Charter, the 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.
The
guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and freedoms shall not be
construed so as to abrogate or derogate from any aboriginal, treaty, or
other rights or freedoms that pertain to the aboriginal peoples of Canada
including
(a) any rights or freedoms that have been recognized by the
Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763; and
(b) any rights or freedoms
that now exist by way of land claims agreements or may be so acquired.
The guarantee in
this Charter of certain rights and freedoms shall not be construed as
denying the existence of any other rights and freedoms that exist in
Canada.
This
Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation
and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians.
Notwithstanding
anything in this Charter, the rights and freedoms referred to in it are
guaranteed equally to male and female persons.
Nothing in
this Charter abrogates or derogates from any rights or privileges
guaranteed by or under the Constitution of Canada in respect of
denominational, separate, or dissentient schools.
A
reference in this Charter to a province or to the legislative assembly or
legislature of a province shall be deemed to include a reference to the
Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories, or to the appropriate
legislative authority thereof, as the case may be.
Nothing in
this Charter extends the legislative powers of any body or authority.
(1) This
Charter applies
(a) to the Parliament and government of Canada in
respect of all matters within the authority of Parliament including all
matters relating to the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories;
and
(b) to the legislatures and governments of each province in respect
of all matters within the authority of the legislature of each
province.
(2) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), Section
(1)
Parliament or the legislature of a province may expressly declare in an
Act of Parliament or of the legislature, as the case may be, that the Act
or a provision thereof shall operate notwithstanding a provision included
in Section
(2) An Act or a provision of an Act in respect
of which a declaration made under this section is in effect shall have
such operation as it would have but for the provision of this Charter
referred to in the declaration.
(3) A declaration made under Subsection
(1) shall cease to have effect five years after it comes into force or on
such earlier date as may be specified in the declaration.
(4)
Parliament or the legislature of a province may re-enact a declaration
made under Subsection (1).
(5) Subsection (3) applies in respect of
re-enactment made under Subsection (4).
This part may be
cited as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
(1) The
existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada
are hereby recognized and affirmed.
(2) In this act, "aboriginal
peoples of Canada" includes the Indian, Inuit, and Metis peoples of
Canada.
(3) For greater certainty, in Subsection (1) "treaty rights"
includes rights that now exist by way of land claims agreements or may be
so acquired.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the
aboriginal and treaty rights referred to in Subsection (1) are guaranteed
equally to male and female persons.
The government of Canada and the provincial
governments are committed to the principal that, before any amendment is
made to Class 24 of Section 91 of the "Constitution Act, 1867", to Section
(a) a constitutional conference that includes
in its agenda an item relating to the proposed amendment, composed of the
Prime Minister of Canada and the first ministers of the provinces, will be
convened by the Prime Minister of Canada; and
(b) the Prime Minister of
Canada will invite representatives of the aboriginal peoples of Canada to
participate in the discussions on that item.
(1)
Without altering the legislative authority of Parliament or of the
provincial legislatures, or the rights of any of them with respect to the
exercise of their legislative authority, Parliament and the legislatures,
together with the government of Canada and the provincial governments, are
committed to
(a) promoting equal opportunities for the wellbeing of
Canadians;
(b) furthering the economic development to reduce disparity
in opportunities; and
(c) providing essential public services of
reasonable quality to all Canadians.
(2) Parliament and the government
of Canada are committed to the principle of making equalization payments
to ensure that provincial governments have sufficient revenues to provide
reasonably comparable levels of public services at reasonably comparable
levels of taxation.
(1) An
amendment to the Constitution of Canada may be made by proclamation issued
by the Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada where so authorized
by
(a) resolutions of the Senate and the House of Commons; and
(b)
resolutions of the legislative assemblies of at least two-thirds of the
provinces that have, in the aggregate, according to the then latest
general census, at least fifty per cent of the population of the
provinces.
(2) An amendment made under Subsection (1) that derogates
from the legislative powers, the proprietary rights or any other rights or
privileges of the legislature or government of a province shall require a
resolution supported by a majority of the members of each of the Senate,
the House of Commons and the legislative assemblies required under
Subsection (1).
(3) An amendment referred to in Subsection (2) shall
not have effect in a province the legislative assembly of which has
expressed its dissent thereto by resolution supported by a majority of its
members prior to the issue of the proclamation to which the amendment
relates unless that legislative assembly, subsequently, by resolution
supported by a majority of its members, revokes its dissent and authorizes
the amendment.
(4) A resolution of dissent made for the purposes of
Subsection (3) may be revoked at any time before or after the issue of the
proclamation to which it relates.
(1) A
proclamation shall not be issued under Section
(2) A proclamation shall not be issued under Section
Where an
amendment is made under Section
An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in
relation to the following matters may be made by proclamation issued by
the Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada only where authorized
by resolutions of the Senate and House of Commons and of the legislative
assemblies of each province:
(a) the office of the Queen, the Governor
General, and the Lieutenant Governor of a province;
(b) the right of a
province to a number of members in the House of Commons not less than the
number of Senators by which the province is entitled to be represented at
the time this part comes into force;
(c) subject to Section
(d) the composition of the
Supreme Court of Canada; and
(e) an amendment to this part.
(1) An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in
relation to the following matters may be made only in accordance with
Section
(a) the principle of proportionate representation of the
provinces in the House of Commons prescribed by the Constitution of
Canada;
(b) the powers of the Senate and the method of selecting
Senators;
(c) the number of members by which a province is entitled to
be represented in the Senate and the residence qualifications of
Senators;
(d) subject to Section
(e) the extension of existing provinces into
the territories; and
(f) notwithstanding any other law or practice, the
establishment of new provinces;
(2)
An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in
relation to any provision that applies to one or more, but not all
provinces, including
(a) any alteration to boundaries between
provinces, and
(b) any amendment to any provisions that relate to the
use of the English or the French language within a province
may be made
by proclamation issued by the Governor General under the Great Seal of
Canada only where so authorized by resolutions of the Senate and House of
Commons and of the legislative assembly of each province to which the
amendment applies.
Subject to
Subject to Section
(1) The procedures
for amendment under
(2) A resolution of assent for
the purposes of this part may be revoked at any time before the issue of a
proclamation authorized by it.
(1) An
amendment to the Constitution of Canada made by proclamation under
(2) Any period when Parliament is prorogued or dissolved
shall not be counted in computing the one hundred and eighty day period
referred to in Subsection (1).
The
Queen's Privy Council for Canada shall advise the Governor General to
issue a proclamation under this part forthwith on the adoption of the
resolution required for an amendment made by proclamation under this part.
A
constitutional conference of the Prime Minister of Canada and the first
ministers shall be convened by the Prime Minister of Canada within fifteen
years after this part comes into force to review the provisions of this
part.
(1) The
Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of Canada, and any law that is
inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution is, to the extent of
the inconsistency, of no force or effect.
(2) The Constitution of
Canada includes
(a) the Canada Act, 1982, including this act;
(b)
the Acts and orders referred to in the Schedule; and
(c) any amendment
to any Act or order referred to in Paragraph (a) or (b).
(3) Amendments
to the Constitution of Canada shall be made only in accordance with the
authority contained in the Constitution of Canada.
(1) The
enactments referred to in Column I of the schedule are hereby repealed or
amended to be extent indicated in Column II thereof, and unless repealed,
shall continue as law in Canada under the names set out in Column III
thereof.
(2) Every enactment, except the Canada Act, 1982, that refers
to an enactment referred to in the schedule by the name in Column I
thereof is hereby amended by substituting for that name the corresponding
name in Column III thereof, and any British North America Act not referred
to in the schedule may be cited as the Constitution Act followed by the
year and number, if any, of its enactment.
Part IV is
repealed on the day that is one year after this part comes into force, and
this section may be repealed and this act renumbered, consequentially upon
the repeal of Part IV and this section, by proclamation issued by the
Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada.
A French
version of the portions of the Constitution of Canada referred to in the
schedule shall be prepared by the Minister of Justice of Canada as
expeditiously as possible and, when any portion thereof sufficient to
warrant action being taken has been prepared, it shall be put forward for
enactment by proclamation issued by the Governor General under the Great
Seal of Canada pursuant to the procedure then applicable to an amendment
of the same provisions of the Constitution of Canada.
Where any portion of the Constitution of Canada has
been or is enacted in English and French or where a French version of any
portion of the Constitution is enacted pursuant to Section
The English and French versions of this act are
equally authoritative.
Subject to Section
(1) Section
(2) A proclamation under Subsection (1) shall be issued
only where authorized by the legislative assembly or government of
Quebec.
(3) This section may be repealed on the day Section
This act may
be cited as the Constitution Act, 1982, and the Constitution Acts 1867 to
1975 and this act may be cited together as the Constitution Acts, 1867 to
1982.
A reference to the "Constitution Acts, 1867 to
1982" shall be deemed be to include a reference to the "Constitution
Amendment Proclamation, 1983".