Section (27 - 32)
- Auswah Imaan
- Jan 28, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 29, 2021
Section 27 - Multicultural Heritage
Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a section of the Charter that, as part of a range of provisions within the section 25 to section 31 bloc, helps determine how rights in other sections of the Charter should be interpreted and applied by the courts. It is believed that section 27 "officially recognized" a Canadian value, namely multiculturalism.
The purpose of section 27 is to preserve and enhance Canada’s multicultural heritage. Jurisprudence indicates that section 27 does not confer substantive rights that can be limited, but rather serves to interpret other Charter rights and freedoms.
Section 28 - Gender equality rights
Section 28 requires that the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Charter be implemented without discrimination between the sexes. Section 28 is often cited as a companion section with section 15 in cases alleged to raise gender discrimination issues. It does not, however,
create an equality rights regime separate and apart from that contained in section 15 of the Charter. Instead, it serves an interpretive, confirmatory, and adjunctive function.
Specifically, section 28 addresses concerns of sexual equality, and is analogous to (and was modelled after) the proposed Equal Rights Amendment in the United States
Section 29 - Denominational school
Section 29 is merely an interpretive provision for greater certainty to ensure that section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (denominational school rights and privileges) are fully guaranteed.
Section 29 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the section of Charter that most specifically addresses rights regarding denominational schools and separate schools.
Section 29 is not the source of these rights but instead reaffirms the pre-existing special rights belonging to Roman Catholics and Protestants, despite freedom of religion and religious equality under sections 2 and 15 of the Charter. Such rights may include financial support from the provincial governments. In the case Mahe v. Alberta (1990), the Supreme Court of Canada also had to reconcile denominational school rights with minority language educational rights under section 23 of the Charter.
Section 30 - Application to the territories and territorial authorities
Section 30 of the Charter, together with section 32, makes it plain that Charter rights apply in respect of matters within the authority of the legislative assembly of a territory.
Section 30 does not specifically mention Nunavut. However, an interpretation implicitly extending the effect of section 30 to Nunavut presumably must apply, whether by virtue of section 32 or other means. Jurisprudence has applied the Charter to matters within the competence of the Nunavut legislative assembly.
Section 30 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a section that, like other provisions within the section 25 to section 31 block, provides a guide as to how Charter rights should be interpreted and applied by Canadian courts. Section 30's particular role is to address how the Charter applies in the territories of Canada. In 1982, when section 30 first became law, these were the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory. The Yukon Territory has since been renamed Yukon, and Nunavut was created from the eastern Northwest Territories to become Canada's third territory. Section 30 and by extension, the Charter applies to Nunavut.
Section 32 - Application of the Charter
Section 32 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms concerns the application and scope of the Charter. Only claims based on the type of law contemplated by this section can be brought before a court.
Section 32(1) describes the basis on which all rights can be enforced. Section 32(2) was added in order to delay the enforcement of section 15 until government was given time to
amend their laws to conform to the section.
The Charter is not intended to govern relations between private actors. “The exclusion of private activity from the Charter was not a result of happenstance. It was a deliberate choice that must be respected. We do not really know why this approach was taken, but several reasons suggest
themselves. Historically, bills of rights, of which that of the United States is the great constitutional exemplar, have been directed at government. Government is the body that can enact and enforce rules and authoritatively impinge on individual freedom”.
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