Canada’s democracy is in peril.
The numerous measures instituted by Canada’s fourteen Governments in the last year and a half speaks to an unprecedented assault on individual rights and freedoms.
This year is only the 40th anniversary of a written Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada that applies to all Canadians. It is the 230th year of America’s Bill of Rights.
The beginning of the Charter says: the Supremacy of God and the rule of law. Everything that follows is within this context.
In Section 52 of the Constitution Act 1982, it declares that the Constitution is the Supreme Law of Canada. And The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a part of the Constitution Act 1982. Hence, the provisions of the Charter are the Supreme Law of Canada.
Section 2 of the Charter lists our individual freedoms: of expression, conscience, religion, and the press. It also lists freedom of assembly and association. Government measures have especially violated the freedom to assemble and associate.
Section 6 of the Charter lists our individual rights of travel anywhere in Canada and to leave Canada. And it lists the right to pursue a livelihood anywhere in Canada. People have lost and are losing their jobs across this nation because of their medical status. Obviously, this violates the right to pursue a livelihood.
Section 7 of the Charter lists the right to life, liberty and the security of the person. By coercing people to take a vaccine, this is a violation of the security of the person, a person’s life and liberty.
And Section 15 lists a person’s right of equality before the law. Presently, many people are not allowed to visit certain public places and places with a public licence because of their medical status. This means that certain people are treated differently under the law, and therefore this violates equality before the law.
There are those who contend that Section 1 of the Charter allows Governments to override the freedoms and rights just enumerated.
This is wrong.
Section 1 applies when the country’s existence is at stake—a war or insurrection or other like dire condition in the country. A medical condition from which 99% of the those affected recover with a fatality rate of 0.08% is hardly a threat to the country. And even when it applies, there are four tests that must be met to qualify: demonstrably justify the action, by law, within reasonable limits, and that the measures must be consistent with the values of a free and democratic society.
Canadians need to stand up and fight for The Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is a National Document (not a Federal or Provincial Act) endorsed by nine Provincial Governments and The Federal Government. There is no other document like it that applies to the rights and freedoms of every Canadian—and it is The Supreme Law of the Country being an integral part of the Constitution Act of 1982.
If it fails to apply, our democracy is lost, and a precedent is set enabling Governments to enact new unilateral actions, without appropriate Parliamentary oversight, suppressing basic individual rights and freedoms.
The Honourable A. Brian Peckford P.C. is the last surviving First Minister that helped craft Canada’s Constitution Act 1982 and its Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Join us January 20th for Frontier’s discussion with him at the next Leaders on the Frontier zoom seminar. Details available shortly.
