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Charter Cases. Test Review. Reasonable Limits: No right or freedom can be absolute. There must be limits (covered in Section 1 of the charter).
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Charter Cases Test Review
Reasonable Limits: • No right or freedom can be absolute. There must be limits (covered in Section 1 of the charter). • The person alleging that his or her rights or freedoms have been infringed must prove that there has been an infringement. They must state what section has been violated. • The Crown must then defend the law by showing that the infringement is both reasonable and justified. (Demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society; for example the breathalyser law)
Charter Tests: • The Supreme Court of Canada developed “tests” for applying the Charter. • The court has developed seven broad tests. Not all of them are applicable to every case.
Charter Tests: • Rational Connection: An infringement must have a sufficiently important objective to warrant overriding a Charter right. • Proportionality: The means (measures) chosen and used by the government must be in proportion to the objective. The measures cannot be unfair or irrational; they must restrict the Charter right as little as possible; and the impact on the person must be in proportion to the objective being sought.
Charter Tests: • Bona Fide Legislative Objective: The need for a law must be self-evident or at least defensible in its intent. There must be a pressing need for legislation to deal with a serious problem that cannot be ignored. (ex. breathalyser test = saves lives) • Minimal Interference: If the solution to a problem infringes upon Charter rights, the infringement must be minimal and tolerable in a free and democratic society. (ex. RIDE program: You are only stopped for a short period of time) Reduced Impaired Driving Everywhere
Charter Tests: • Bona Fide Legislative Objective Standards established for employment must be necessary and not arbitrary. False qualifications cannot be created just to deny opportunity to a target group. (ex. Height requirements for being a police officer were set high to keep women out of the police force) • Reasonable Accommodation Employers must make a reasonable effort to accommodate special needs of employees; in particular, the religious needs of employees.
Charter Tests: • Stigma Test A law or employment standard cannot put a mark of disgrace upon people in such a way as to degrade their self-worth. People should not be maligned without fault. ( malicious intent) • Human Dignity - A law or employment standard should not cause people to feel unfairly degraded. Similar to the stigma test, human dignity refers to how people feel when confronted by a law.