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{{Short description|Federal civil rights statute in Canada}}
{{About|the Canadian federal statute enacted in 1960|the charter of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada|Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms}}
{{Infobox legislation
| short_title = ''Canadian Bill of Rights''
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{{italictitle}}
{{Constitutional history of Canada}}
The '''''Canadian Bill of Rights'''''<ref>Canadian Bill of Rights, S.C. 1960, c. 44.</ref> ({{lang-langx|fr|Déclaration canadienne des droits}}) is a federal statute and [[bill of rights]] enacted by the [[Parliament of Canada]] on August 10, 1960.<ref name="CampbellGoldsworthy2006">{{cite book|author1=Tom Campbell|author2=Jeffrey Denys Goldsworthy|author3=Adrienne Sarah Ackary Stone|title=Protecting Rights Without a Bill of Rights: Institutional Performance and Reform in Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T_yFsltlrsUC&pg=PA265|year=2006|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-2558-2|page=265}}</ref> It provides [[Canadians]] with certain rights at Canadian federal law in relation to other federal statutes. It was the earliest expression of [[Human rights in Canada|human rights law at the federal level in Canada]], though an [[implied Bill of Rights]] had already been recognized in the Canadian Common[[common Lawlaw]].<ref name=magnet>Joseph E. Magnet, [http://www.constitutional-law.net/chartersample.html ''Constitutional Law of Canada'', 8th ed., Part VI, Chapter 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008084158/http://www.constitutional-law.net/chartersample.html |date=2007-10-08 }}, Juriliber, Edmonton (2001). URL accessed on March 18, 2006.</ref>
 
The ''Canadian Bill of Rights'' remains in effect but is widely acknowledged to be limited in its effectiveness because it is a federal statute only, and so not directly applicable to provincial laws.<ref name="BoyleFinnie2002">{{cite book|author1=Alan E. Boyle|author2=Wilson Finnie|author3=Andrea Loux, Chris Himsworth, Hector MacQueen|title=Human Rights and Scots Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZSSuFFsD_QC&pg=PA177|year=2002|publisher=Hart Publishing|isbn=978-1-84113-044-6|page=177}}</ref><ref name="Turner2009">{{cite book|author=Francis J. Turner|title=Encyclopedia of Canadian Social Work|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=StvfAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA42|date=23 July 2009|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press|isbn=978-1-55458-807-7|pages=41, 42}}</ref> These legal and constitutional limitations were a significant reason that the ''[[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]]'' was established as an unambiguously-constitutional-level Bill of Rights for all Canadians, governing the application of both federal and provincial law in Canada, with the [[patriation]] of the [[Constitution of Canada]] in 1982. Since patriation, its usefulness at federal law in Canada is mostly limited to issues pertaining to the enjoyment of property, as set forth in its section 1(a)]—a slightly-broader "life, liberty, and security of the person" right than is recognized in [[Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|section seven of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'']].<ref name="Greene2014">{{cite book|author=Ian Greene|title=The Charter of Rights and Freedoms: 30+ years of decisions that shape Canadian life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vv6lBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT66|date=18 November 2014|publisher=James Lorimer Limited, Publishers|isbn=978-1-4594-0662-9|page=66}}</ref>
 
==Background==
*[[{{See|Human rights in Canada]]}}▼
 
===Saskatchewan's Bill of Rights===
In 1947, [[Saskatchewan]] passed into lawenacted a bill of rights which covered both fundamental freedoms and equality rights. It was influenced by proposals for a federal bill of rights made by [[John Diefenbaker]], then an opposition member in the House of Commons from [[Prince Albert, Saskatchewan]].<ref>[https://cjhr.ca/articles/vol-4-no-2-2015/saskatchewan-the-patriation-of-the-constitution-and-the-enactment-of-the-charter-looking-back-and-looking-forward/ BillThomson Irvine, "Saskatchewan, the Patriation of Rights|the Constitution and the Enactment of the Charter: Looking Back and Looking Forward" (2015) 4:2 Can J Hum Rts 259, at p. 264, note 13.]</ref> In turn, the [[Saskatchewan's Bill of Rights]] is considered to have had a formative influence on [[JohnPrime Minister Diefenbaker]], who was from [[Prince Albert, Saskatchewan]]. Thirteenthirteen years later, Diefenbakerin 1960, successfully introduced the ''Canadian Bill of Rights, in 1960''.<ref>Greene, Ian (1989). [https://archive.org/details/charterofrights0000gree/page/23 <!-- quote="Saskatchewan bill of rights". --> The Charter of Rights.] Toronto, James Lorimer and Company, p. 23</ref>
 
===United Nations===
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On March 16, 1950, a decade before the ''Canadian Bill of Rights'' became law, Diefenbaker, then a Saskatchewan MP, told a public forum why such a law was needed. Individuals' freedoms of religion, press, speech and association are threatened by the state, he said. A Bill of Rights was needed to take a "forthright stand against discrimination based on colour, creed or racial origin".<ref>Radio Clip: [http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/john-diefenbaker-dief-the-chief/the-canadian-bill-of-rights.html John Diefenbaker: Dief the Chief. The Canadian Bill of Rights.]</ref>
 
Diefenbaker advocated for the adoption of a bill of rights during the federal election campaign of 1957.<ref name="McMillanYellowhorn2009">{{cite book|author1=Alan D. McMillan|author2=Eldon Yellowhorn|title=First Peoples In Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tvSrEUFH3vkC&pg=PA323|date=1 December 2009|publisher=D & M Publishers|isbn=978-1-926706-84-9|page=323}}</ref> In 1960, as prime minister, Diefenbaker introduced the ''Canadian Bill of Rights'', and it was enacted by Parliament.<ref name="Schabas2008" />
 
==Features==
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Section 2 of the Bill of Rights reads as follows:
 
:2. Every law of Canada shall, unless it is expressly declared by an Act of the Parliament of Canada that it shall operate notwithstanding the ''Canadian Bill of Rights'', be so construed and applied as not to abrogate, abridge or infringe or to authorize the abrogation, abridgement or infringement of any of the rights or freedoms herein recognized and declared, and in particular, no law of Canada shall be construed or applied so as to:
 
::(a) authorize or effect the arbitrary detention, imprisonment or exile of any person;
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:(2) A regulation need not be examined in accordance with subsection (1) if prior to being made it was examined as a proposed regulation in accordance with section 3 of the Statutory Instruments Act to ensure that it was not inconsistent with the purposes and provisions of this Part.
 
==Criticism and support of the ''Canadian Bill of Rights''==
Criticism of the Bill of Rights has mostly centred on its limited effect. The ineffectiveness of the Bill of Rights in achieving its stated aim was the main reason that, two decades later, it was thought necessary<ref name=Kasoff>{{Cite book| last1 = Kasoff| first1 = Mark J. | last2 = James| first2 = Patrick| title = Canadian Studies in the New Millennium, Second Edition (Google eBook)| publisher = University of Toronto Press| year = 2013| location = Toronto, Ontario, Canada| page = | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gYqBAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT95&dqq=%22both+the+supreme+court+and+the+bill+of+rights+quickly+came+to+be+perceived+as+ineffective%22&hlpg=en&sa=X&ei=ZCRSUoniIMz3rAHy6oHgAQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22both%20the%20supreme%20court%20and%20the%20bill%20of%20rights%20quickly%20came%20to%20be%20perceived%20as%20ineffective%22&f=falsePT95| isbn = 978-1-4426-4693-3}}</ref> to adopt a constitutionally-entrenched charter.
 
The Bill of Rights was (and is) limited in several ways.
 
FirstFirstly, it does not explicitly amend any conflicting statutes, either to remove conflicts or to insert explicit allowances for the statutes to operate notwithstanding the Bill of Rights.<ref name="Peaslee1956">{{cite book|author=Amos Jenkins Peaslee|title=Constitutions of nations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6aUGNB3qteMC&pg=PA207|year=1956|publisher=Brill Archive|page=207|id=GGKEY:3DG2ENRE077}}</ref> When called upon to apply conflicting laws, the courts typically sought to interpret a later statute as creating a minimal disturbance of earlier law.<ref name="Macklem2001">{{cite book|author=Patrick Macklem|title=Indigenous Difference and the Constitution of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=quM1xyFyfhQC&pg=PA210|year=2001|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8049-3|pages=162, 210}}</ref> In practice, thisthat meant that the courts relied on Parliament to repeal or amend any laws contrary to the Bill of Rights.<ref>Adam Dodek. [https://policymagazine.ca/pdf/27/PolicyMagazineJulyAugust-2017-Dodek.pdf "The Supreme Court at Canada's 150th"]. ''Policy'', July/August 2017, page 24.</ref> Disappointments for those who wanted courts to enforce rights vigorously included ''[[Bliss v. Canada (AG)]]'' and ''[[AttorneyCanada General of Canada(AG) v. Lavell]]''. A notable exception was ''[[R. v. Drybones]]''.
 
Second, since the Bill of Rights was not a constitutional amendment, there was some{{explain|date=February 2022}} debate{{by who|date=February 2022}} as to whether it was binding on future Parliamentsparliaments.
 
Third, because it is an ordinary statute, the authority of the Bill of Rights is limited to matters set out in [[Section 91 of the Constitution Act, 1867]], as being under the legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada.
 
However, the 1960 Act does enumerateenumerates some rights (such as property rights and specific legal rights, for example) not protected under the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms''. For thisthat and other reasons, the 1960 Act is regularlyoccasionally referenced in court decisions today.<ref>[https://nowtoronto.com/news/looking-forward-thinking-back/ "Looking forward, thinking back"]. ''NOW Magazine'', by Joshua Errett, October 14, 2008</ref>
 
==See also==
{{Portal|Canada|Law}}
*''[[Canadian Human Rights Act]]'' of 1977
*[[Constitution of Canada]]
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*[[New Zealand Bill of Rights Act]]
*''[[Saskatchewan Bill of Rights]]''
▲*[[Human rights in Canada]]
 
==References==
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==External links==
*[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-12.3/FullText.html ''Canadian Bill of Rights'' (full text)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050504204636/http://www.canadianprisonlaw.com/misc/billofrights.htm Annotated bill of rights]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040927181825/http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/cgi-bin/srch.pl?database=en%2Fjug Supreme Court cases which use the 1960 Bill of Rights]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110711171412/http://www.historyofrights.com/PDF/jeh_wit_pub_bofr.pdf Canada's Need for a Written Bill of Rights. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.] About 1949.
* [http://www.historyofrights.com/ Canada's Human Rights History]
 
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[[Category:Human rights in Canada]]
[[Category:National human rights instruments]]
[[Category:August 1960 events in Canada]]
[[Category:1960 in Canadian politics]]
[[Category:1960 documents]]
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