A Declaration of Who We Are

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

In the period 1980 - 82, there was a growing feeling that Canada should be able to amend its own constitution without intervention by the British Parliament that had passed the act creating the Dominion of Canada — the British North America Act, 1867 (the Constitution Act, 1867). The act of “patriation” or bringing it home to Canada was to see the entrenchment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that neither Parliament or any provincial legislature acting alone can change. Proclaimed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Parliament Hill in April 1982, the Charter forms part of the fundamental laws of Canada — formally recognizing that all Canadians are entitled to fundamental freedoms and democratic rights. On the 20th anniversary of the Charter in 2002, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin stated: “In the Charter, I think Canadians saw the reflection of the kind of society they wished to build, for themselves and for generations to come . . . the Charter made a statement about the purposes to which Canada should dedicate itself. Every nation needs a basic statement of what it stands for. For Canada, the Charter was that statement.”

Challenge Yourself!

For more information please visit: http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/pdp-hrp/canada/freedom_e.cfm.