Your Rights and Responsibilities Under the Canadian Charter

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a very important law that protects the basic rights and freedoms of every person in Canada. It became part of Canada's Constitution in 1982, thanks to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. You can think of it as a promise that the government makes to treat everyone fairly.

The Charter is part of the Constitution, which is the highest set of laws in Canada. No other law can take away the rights the Charter protects. You will build on what you already know about Basic Human Rights as you explore this important document.

The Charter protects many different kinds of rights. Here are the main types you need to know:

Democratic Rights give you and other Canadians the right to vote and take part in choosing the government through elections. Mobility Rights mean you can live and work anywhere in Canada. If your family moves from Québec to British Columbia, the Charter protects that choice.

Legal Rights protect people who are accused of a crime, making sure they are treated fairly and considered innocent until proven guilty. Equality Rights mean every person must be treated fairly, no matter their race, gender, religion, or disability. The Charter also protects language rights, recognizing English and French as Canada's two official languages.

You also have freedom of expression, which means you can share your thoughts and ideas peacefully. Freedom of religion means you can follow any religion or no religion at all. Freedom of peaceful assembly means you can gather in groups for peaceful purposes. These freedoms connect to what you will explore in Basic Rights and Freedoms.

Having rights also means having responsibilities. A responsibility is a duty that helps you and your community. For example, the right to free speech means you can share opinions, but you must not use words to harm others.

One important responsibility is to follow the law, which keeps everyone safe. Another is to respect the rights of others, just as you want your own rights respected. When you treat every classmate with kindness and fairness, you are living out the values of the Charter. This connects to Standing Up for Rights and Democratic Processes.

The Charter protects everyone who lives in Canada including children, newcomers, and visitors. You do not need to be born in Canada to have your rights protected. The Charter also recognizes the special rights of Canada's Indigenous peoples: First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, who have the right to maintain their cultures, languages, and traditions.

When someone is treated unfairly because of their skin colour or religion, their equality rights are being violated. If you ever see this happening at school, you should speak to a trusted adult like a teacher or principal.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: A special law that is part of Canada's Constitution and protects the basic rights and freedoms of every person in Canada. It became law in 1982.

Democratic Rights: Your right to vote and take part in choosing the government through elections in Canada.

Mobility Rights: Your right to move freely and live or work anywhere in Canada.

Legal Rights: Your right to be treated fairly if you are accused of something, including being considered innocent until proven guilty.

Equality Rights: Your right to be treated fairly and without discrimination, no matter your race, gender, religion, or disability.

Freedom of Expression: Your right to share your thoughts, ideas, and opinions peacefully through speaking, writing, or art.

Freedom of Religion: Your right to follow any religion or no religion at all. No one can force you to believe in a particular religion.

Freedom of Peaceful Assembly: Your right to gather in groups for peaceful purposes, such as community meetings or peaceful protests.

Rights: Basic freedoms and protections that every person in Canada is entitled to have, simply because they are a person.

Responsibility: A duty that you are expected to carry out to help your community and respect the rights of others.

Constitution: The most important set of laws that guides how Canada is governed. The Charter is part of the Constitution.

Discrimination: When someone is treated unfairly because of who they are, such as their race, religion, or gender. The Charter protects you from discrimination.

Indigenous Peoples: The First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples who have lived on the land now called Canada for thousands of years. The Charter protects their rights to their cultures and traditions.

Language Rights: The right to use English or French when dealing with the federal government, reflecting Canada's two official languages.

Pierre Elliott Trudeau: The Prime Minister of Canada who worked hard to bring the Charter of Rights and Freedoms into Canada's Constitution in 1982.

Think about your school day. Can you find examples of rights and responsibilities in action? When your teacher lets everyone share their ideas, that is freedom of expression. When everyone is included in a game at recess, that is equality rights in action.

You can also think about how Making Decisions connects to the Charter. When communities make fair decisions together, they are practising the values the Charter protects. Learning about Making Change will show you how people use their rights to improve their communities.

Before exploring the Charter, you learned about Introduction to Basic Human Rights and Individual Environmental Responsibility, which helped you understand that everyone deserves to be treated fairly and that we all have duties to our world.

You also explored Learning from the Past, which helps you understand why Canada created the Charter in 1982. Understanding Community Support and Shared Responsibility for Helping Others and Regional Decision-Making Processes also prepared you for thinking about how rights and responsibilities work in communities.

This topic connects to many other important ideas. You will explore International Perspectives and International Cooperation to see how other countries also protect human rights. You will also learn about Community Leaders and Consensus vs Traditional Leadership in Decision Making, which show how leaders help protect rights in communities.

After this topic, you will be ready to explore Personal Freedoms, Group Protections, and Civic Duties, which build directly on what you learn here. You will also be prepared to study Democratic Decision-Making in Local Government and Canadian Indigenous Policies: Indian Act, Residential Schools, and Treaties, which explore how rights have been protected and sometimes violated throughout Canadian history.