The Rule of Law and the Courts

Canadian government is based on a respect for the rule of law. Canadian citizens can count on a society based on law and order. They can count on the law being applied equally and impartially. They can also expect that the actions of a government will be grounded in some legal authority. If governments break the law or exercise powers the law has not given them, they can be challenged in the courts, presided over by an independent judiciary.

Impartial courts depend on an independent judiciary. The independence of the judiciary means that judges are free from outside influence, and notably from influence by the executive. The British North America Act, 1867 provided that judges, although appointed by the Crown, could only be removed if both Houses of Parliament so requested. This remains the case today.

Canada’s courts also enforce the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Charter, contained in the Constitution Act, 1982, guarantees:

• democratic rights (the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons and the provincial legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein)

• freedom of conscience, religion, thought, expression, peaceful assembly, and association

• the right to live and work in any province

• legal rights (for example, the right to a fair, reasonably prompt, public trial)

• equality rights (in particular, protection from discrimination on grounds of race, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability)

• official language rights

• minority language education rights.