The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte des droits et libertés de la personne), also known as the "Quebec Charter", is a statutory
bill of rights
A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...
and
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
code passed by the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
on June 27, 1975. It received
Royal Assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
from
Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Hugues Lapointe
Hugues Lapointe (March 3, 1911 – November 13, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer, Member of Parliament and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec from 1966 to 1978.
Life and career
Born in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, the son of the Canadian Member of ...
, coming into effect on June 28, 1976. Introduced by the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
government of
Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just un ...
, the Charter followed extensive preparatory work that began under the
Union Nationale government of
Daniel Johnson.
The Charter recognizes that every person on the territory of Quebec is equal in value and in dignity. Since the Charter aims to guarantee human rights and to harmonize the relations between citizens, and between citizens and institutions, the Charter binds the state (legislature, executive, administrative) and applies to private law relations (between persons). The Charter also establishes the ''
Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse'' (Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission, also known by its acronym "CDPDJ"), charged to promote and apply the Charter, and the
Human Rights Tribunal of Québec (French: ''Tribunal des droits de la personne'').
The Charter ranks among other
quasi-constitutional Quebec laws, such as the ''
Charter of the French Language
The ''Charter of the French Language'' (french: link=no, La charte de la langue française), also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101 (''french: link=no, Loi 101''), or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada ...
'' and the ''
Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information''. Having precedence over all provincial legislation (including the latter), the ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' stands at the pinnacle of Quebec's legal system. Only the
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...
, including 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 ...
'', enjoys priority over the Quebec charter. Other Canadian provinces and territories have adopted similar laws, although they do not guarantee such a large variety of rights as the Quebec Charter.
Provisions
The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' consists of seven parts:
* ''Part I'' defines fundamental
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
. Its six chapters enunciate fundamental freedoms and rights, equality rights, political rights, judicial rights, economic and social rights, and interpretative provisions.
* ''Part II'' establishes the ''
Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse''. The commission is responsible for promoting and upholding the principles of the charter by any appropriate measures, including investigating possible cases of discrimination and the instigation of litigation. Members of the commission are appointed by the National Assembly. The commission's staff members do not belong to the Civil Service, in order to safeguard their independence.
* ''Part III'' provides for affirmative action programs.
* ''Part IV'' guarantees rights to privacy.
* ''Part V'' gives the government regulatory powers.
* ''Part VI'' establishes the
Human Rights Tribunal of Quebec, whose members that hold the decision-making power are chosen from among the judiciary.
* ''Part VII'' provides the final dispositions of the Charter, as well as some punitive sanctions.
Comparison with other human rights instruments
The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' is unique among Canadian (and North American) human rights documents in that it covers not only the fundamental (civil and political) human rights but also a number of important social and economic rights. The protections contained in the Charter are inspired by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...
, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...
and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (GA) on 16 December 1966 through GA. Resolution 2200A (XXI), and came in force from 3 January 197 ...
.
Furthermore, the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination included in the Quebec Charter is extensive; a total of fourteen prohibited grounds are enumerated, including race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, and language. "Social condition" has been a prohibited ground of discrimination since the charter came into force. Discrimination based on sexual orientation has been prohibited since 1977; with that change, Quebec became the first jurisdiction larger than a city or county to prohibit anti-gay discrimination. In 2016,
gender identity or expression was added to the Quebec Charter.
Enforceability
Enforceability to the public and Private sectors
Every person, group, institution, private persons, public and private services, as well as the government of Quebec (its institution and the municipal and school governmental administration) are bound by the Charter. Therefore, an illicit violation of the Charter, whether by a private party or by the
provincial Crown, may give rise to a cease-and-desist order and to compensation for damages. Punitive damages may be awarded in case of an intentional and unlawful violation.
The Quebec Charter does not apply to federally regulated activities in Quebec, such as the federal public services, banks, telecom companies (e.g.: CBC, Bell, Rogers), and air, rail, or sea transport services (e.g.: Air Canada, Via Rail). Those are subject to the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' and/or the ''
Canadian Human Rights Act
The ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' (french: Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be vi ...
''.
Quasi-constitutional status
The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' is called quasi-constitutional because, according to section 52, no provision of any other Act passed by the Quebec National Assembly may derogate from sections 1 to 38, unless such Act expressly states that it applies despite the charter (roughly acting as an equivalent opt-out to the
notwithstanding clause
Section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause (french: clause dérogatoire, links=no or ), sometimes referred to as the override power, and ...
of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms''). A total impossibility to adopt derogating laws could be considered incompatible with
parliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all ...
, a fundamental principle in political systems following the British tradition; however, Canada, of which Quebec is a province, has a tradition of constitutional supremacy. Its Constitution, which includes 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 ...
'', is supreme, binding the federal parliament and the legislative assemblies of Canada's provinces and territories.
The non-supremacy of Economic and Social Rights
The Quebec Charter's supremacy under its section 52 applies to the following categories of rights: fundamental rights and freedoms (the right to life, free speech, freedom of religion, the right to privacy, etc.); the right to equality; political rights; and judicial rights. Economic and social rights do not enjoy supremacy but, according to the
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 ...
in the 2002 case of
Gosselin v. Quebec (Attorney General)
''Gosselin v Quebec (AG)'' 0024 SCR 429, 2002 SCC 84, is the first claim under section 7 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' to a right to an adequate level of social assistance. The Supreme Court of Canada rejected the ''Charter' ...
, failure to respect such a right may give rise to a judicial declaration of violation.
The Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Tribunal
The Charter provides for specific machinery in cases of discrimination (or exploitation of an elderly person or person with a disability). Instead of introducing litigation in court, victims of such a violation may file a complaint with the Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission. The commission will investigate the matter and attempt to foster a settlement between the parties. It may recommend corrective measures. If those are not followed, the commission may introduce litigation before a court (usually, but not necessarily, the Human Rights Tribunal). Victims can be represented free of charge by the Commission (subject to the Commission's discretion).
History
The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' followed extensive preparatory work that began under the
Union Nationale government of
Daniel Johnson.
Before the adoption of the Charter, Quebec did not have a Bill of Rights, unlike some of the other provinces. At that time, the Civil Code (''Code civil du Bas-Canada'') served to protect some Human Rights and Freedoms. The ''Ligue des droits de l'Homme'' (now the ''
Ligue des droits et libertés The ''Ligue des droits et libertés'' (known in English as the Quebec Civil Liberties Union) is a not-for-profit human rights organization based in Montreal in the Canadian province of Quebec. Under the Duplessis regime, some of the founders of the ...
'') convinced the government of the importance of protecting Human Rights through a specific law. Many famous law professors at the time, such as
Paul-André Crépeau
Paul-André Crépeau, (May 20, 1926 – July 6, 2011) was a Canadian legal academic who led the reforms of the Civil Code of Quebec and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
Born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, he studied philoso ...
,
Jacques-Yvan Morin
Jacques-Yvan Morin, (born July 15, 1931 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a former professor of law and a politician in Quebec, Canada. Morin graduated from the McGill University Faculty of Law with a BCL in 1953, where he was the founder of the ''McGi ...
and
Frank Scott, took part in drafting the Bill that would eventually become the Quebec Charter.
On October 29th, 1974, the minister of Justice, the liberal
Jérôme Choquette
Jérôme Choquette (; January 25, 1928 – September 1, 2017) was a lawyer and politician in Quebec, Canada. Choquette ran a private law practice, representing various claimants in a wide range of cases from his office on ''Avenue du Parc'', down ...
, introduced the Bill before the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
. The Charter was adopted unanimously by the Assembly on June 27th, 1975, and came into force on June 28th, 1976.
Since it came into force, the Charter was modified many times in order to better guarantee Human Rights:
* 1977: Sexual orientation was added amongst the forbidden ground of discrimination (s. 10).
* 1979: The right of every worker to fair and reasonable conditions of employment which have proper regard for his health, safety and physical well-being was added amongst the economic and social rights (s. 46).
* 1982: The Charter is modified in order to forbid discriminatory harassment (s. 10.1), discrimination in employment based on criminal records (s. 18.2), as well as discrimination based on disability, pregnancy, and age (s. 10). Part III of the Charter, which regulates Affirmative action programs, was also added.
* 1989: Part IV of the Charter was added, in order to create a
Human Rights Tribunal. Part II of the Charter, regarding the role and powers of the
Human Rights Commission
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
, was modified accordingly.
* 2006: The right of every person to live in a healthful environment in which biodiversity is preserved was added amongst the economic and social rights (s. 46.1).
* 2008: The Charter provides that all rights and freedoms must be guaranteed equally between men and women (s. 50.1).
* 2019: The principle of State laicity (State secularism) is added at s. 9.1 and to the Preamble of the Charter.
* 2022: The importance of protecting the french language is added to s. 9.1 and to the Preamble of the Charter. The Charter also guarantees the right to live in French (s. 3.1) and a new paragraph was added to s. 50, according to which the Charter cannot be interpreted in a way that would suppress or restrict a right that aims to protect French language.
Note that except when the legislator modifies the text of the Charter, the evolution of the Charter and the interpretation of its disposition are the result not only from the decisions of the courts, but also from the struggles carried out by civil society.
[Lucie Lamarche, « », ''Revue Relations'', no 778, mai-juin 2015, p. 32-33]
Notable case law
Notable cases decided under the Charter include:
* ''
Ford v. Quebec (Attorney General)'',
9882 S.C.R. 712 : Freedom of expression and signs
* ''
Devine v. Quebec (Attorney General)
''Devine v Quebec (AG)'', 9882 S.C.R. 790 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the constitutional protection of minority language rights.
Background
Allan Singer was a Montreal printer who mostly served anglophone clientele. For ove ...
''
9882 S.C.R. 790 : Freedom of expression
* ''
Tremblay v. Daigle
''Tremblay v Daigle'' 9892 S.C.R. 530, was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in which it was found that a fetus has no legal status in Canada as a person, either in Canadian common law or in Quebec civil law.Dunsmuir, Mollie. 1991 Revi ...
''
9892 S.C.R. 530 : Abortion
* ''
Godbout v. Longueuil (City)'',
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 : Residency requirements
* ''
Aubry v. Éditions Vice-Versa inc.'',
998
Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...
1 S.C.R. 591 : Privacy rights
* Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse) v Boisbriand (City of), ''Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse)'' v. ''Montreal (City of); Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse)'' v. ''Boisbriand (City of)'', 2000 SCC 27 : Discrimination based on disability (handicap)
* ''
Gosselin v. Quebec (Attorney General)
''Gosselin v Quebec (AG)'' 0024 SCR 429, 2002 SCC 84, is the first claim under section 7 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' to a right to an adequate level of social assistance. The Supreme Court of Canada rejected the ''Charter' ...
''
002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to:
Fiction
*002, fictional British 00 Agent
*''002 Operazione Luna'',
*1965 Italian film
*Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character
Airports
*0O2, Baker Airport
*O02, Nervino Airport
Astronomy
*1996 ...
4 S.C.R. 429, 2002 SCC 84 : Social rights
* ''
Syndicat Northcrest v. Amselem''
0042 S.C.R. 551 : Freedom of religion
* ''
Gosselin (Tutor of) v. Quebec (Attorney General)
''Gosselin (Tutor of) v Quebec (AG)'', 2005 SCC 15, 0051 SCR 238 is a leading case of the Supreme Court of Canada on the constitutional protection of minority language rights under section 23 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms''. Th ...
''
0051 S.C.R. 238 : Minority language education
* ''
Chaoulli v. Quebec (Attorney General)''
0051 S.C.R. 791 : Health care
*
''Mouvement laïque québécois'' v. ''Saguenay (City)'', 2015 SCC 16 : State neutrality in religious matters
''Ward v. Quebec (Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse)'' 2021 SCC 43: discriminatory remarks and conflict of rights
See also
*
Human rights in Canada
Human rights in Canada have come under increasing public attention and legal protection since World War II. Prior to that time, there were few legal protections for human rights. The protections which did exist focused on specific issues, rather t ...
*
Human Rights Tribunal of Quebec
References
External links
LegisQuebec: C-12 - Charter of human rights and freedoms''Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec'' (Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission)Quebec Statutes and Regulations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quebec Charter Of Human Rights And Freedoms
Quebec provincial legislation
Human rights legislation in Canada
1975 in Canadian law
Children's rights legislation
Political charters
1975 in Quebec
1975 documents