''Godbout v Longueuil (City of)'',

997 Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...

3 S.C.R. 844 is a leading

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

decision where the Court found that the city of Longueuil' requirement that all permanent employees of the city must reside within the municipality was in violation of the '' Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms''

Background

Michèle Godbout was hired as a dispatcher for the Longueuil police force. As part of her employment she was required to sign a declaration that she would reside within the city and if she were to move outside of the city her employment would be terminated without notice. Initially she had lived within the city but soon bought a house in the nearby town of Chambly. When she refused to move back in she was fired. Before the Superior Court of Quebec, the parties argued primarily as to whether the '' Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' and the ''

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...

'' applied in this case. Judge Turmel ruled that because the employment contract constituted a matter of

private law Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the ''jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ( ...

between an employer (here the city of Longueuil) and an employee, neither charters applied, in so far as such rights as granted by the charters can, under civil law be willingly waived by contract.

Reasons of the court

Justice La Forest, writing for the Court in a plurality opinion, held that the restriction on residency was unconstitutional. La Forest found that the selection of a place of residence was within the meaning of "private life" which is protected under section 5 of the Quebec Charter. He held that the city could not justify the infringement under section 9.1 of the Charter, which allows for limitations on the scope of rights. La Forest also considered the question of whether the Canadian Charter applied to municipalities. He found that it did as they were government entities. He noted that municipalities were run by elected officials and were accountable to the public, they had the power to collect taxes, and they had the power to make laws which they derived from the provincial government. In addressing the municipality's argument that the residency requirement was merely a private employment contract and not a governmental function, La Forest J. found that once a body is labelled governmental, that body cannot use colourable devices or organize activities to avoid Charter responsibility. La Forest further considered the validity of the law under section 7 of the Canadian Charter. He identified section 7 as protecting personal autonomy which includes the choice of selecting one's home. At no time did Godbout waive that right, even in signing the employment contract that contained the residency restriction. He further found that the restriction did not conform to the

principles of fundamental justice In Canadian and New Zealand law, fundamental justice is the fairness underlying the administration of justice and its operation. The principles of fundamental justice are specific legal principles that command "significant societal consensus" as ...

as there was no compelling reason to have such a restriction. Justice La Forest's decision on the Canadian Charter (joined by L’Heureux-Dubé and McLachlin JJ.) does not have legal force, as the six other justices declined to consider the s.7 claim, after likewise finding that the Quebec Charter was violated.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godbout V. Longueuil (City) Supreme Court of Canada cases Section Seven Charter case law Longueuil 1997 in Canadian case law

Background

Reasons of the court

See also

External links