As reported in the Western Standard, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has launched a courtchallenge against the government’s COVID-19 restrictions on behalf of two churches and two individuals in Alberta. The JCCF is arguing that the lockdown measures imposed by the Alberta government violate multiple Charter-protected rights..Fighting for one’s rights is a good thing. However, there is an unfortunate weakness in the legal arguments; namely, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms itself. For decades, Canadians have been led to believe that the Charter is a wonderful document that everyone should celebrate as the basis of individual rights. But there is another perspective that needs to be considered..Firstly, do we remember who moved heaven and earth to entrench the Charter in the constitution? None other than Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Did Pierre Trudeau make Canada a better and freer country in his time as prime minister? .Ask yourself this: Did the man who tried to crush Alberta under the National Energy Program, who drove the country into a debt crisis through uncontrolled government spending, and who cozied-up to communist dictators like Fidel Castro, really wanted to improve Canadians’ liberties with his Charter? .Trudeau had a consistent and deeply-held far-left ideology that propelled all of his political activity, including his insistence on the need for a Charter. The Charter was the centerpiece of his ideological agenda..Before the Charter was adopted in 1982, Canada was already one of the freest countries in the history of the world. In fact, there was plenty of resistance to Trudeau’s proposed Charter in the early 1980s, mostly from libertarians and conservatives..When the motion to approve Trudeau’s new constitution – which had been signed by the Queen on April 17, 1982 – was presented in the Alberta Legislature, MLA Gordon Kesler of the Western Canada Concept Party of Alberta said, “I think April 17 will go down in history as one of the saddest days we’ve ever experienced in this country.” .During the legislative debate about celebrations for Trudeau’s new constitution, Kesler had suggested instead flying the Alberta flag at half-mast. It’s how many Westerners and conservatives felt..Manitoba Premier Sterling Lyon was among those who offered the strongest opposition to the Charter. He argued that Canada was already one of the best and freest countries in the world and therefore didn’t need Trudeau’s Charter. In short, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Of course, Lyon’s arguments were much more sophisticated than that, but you get the picture. There were other outspoken opponents of the Charter as well. .So, does Trudeau’s Charter protect our rights better than what we had under Canada’s old system? Well, consider what constitutional experts are saying in the media about the current legal challenges to the lockdowns. .In an article for the CBC, University of Alberta law professor Eric Adams is quoted as saying, “No amount of pointing to your rights infringements will win a case in a constitutional system which specifically contemplates that rights can be reasonably limited.” .The constitutional system he’s referring to is the Charter..Similarly, a Globe and Mail article quotes University of New Brunswick law professor Kerri Froc. .“The Charter is [not] this magic wand that is going to thwart the government from doing any of these things that put a cramp in our style. The Charter just doesn’t work that way.”.And in an earlier Globe and Mail piece, Max Fawcett argues in favour of a stricter lockdown for Alberta, noting that Charter rights are narrower than many believe. He quotes from a 2004 speech by former Supreme Court of Canada chief justice Beverly McLachlin where she discussed the difference between the Canadian Charter of Rights and the American Bill of Rights. She said that the differences between the two are best seen by how they treat freedom of expression. As she put it, “The words of the Canadian guarantee acknowledge the state’s right to limit free speech; the words of the American guarantee forbid the state from doing so.” .“The state’s right to limit free speech,” should terrify anyone with an understanding of liberty..Fawcett goes on to quote McLachlin as saying that, “As a general rule, individual rights in Canada are more circumscribed, and collective or ‘group’ rights, protecting linguistic, religious or aboriginal communities, are more generous than in the United States.” .The JCCF is the most important civil liberties organization in the country, and Western Standard readers should fully support it. The JCCF lawyers need to base their arguments on the Charter because that’s the only tool available for such challenges. But people shouldn’t get their hopes up. Experience confirms the perspective of libertarians and conservatives from long ago that Trudeau’s Charter would not be an improvement over Canada’s existing constitution. In fact, some – myself included – would see its long-term effects as primarily harmful. .Libertarian and conservative-minded people view the government restrictions imposed by the lockdowns as violations of their rights. So-called “progressives,” on the other hand, overwhelmingly believe that the lockdowns should be stricter, and that the government must be obeyed without question. .Pierre Trudeau’s Charter was not designed to defend liberties in the way that most people think of them. It was designed to prescribe some of them, and give the state the power to limit them..Don’t be surprised when it does just that this time..MichaelWagner is a columnist for the Western Standard
As reported in the Western Standard, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) has launched a courtchallenge against the government’s COVID-19 restrictions on behalf of two churches and two individuals in Alberta. The JCCF is arguing that the lockdown measures imposed by the Alberta government violate multiple Charter-protected rights..Fighting for one’s rights is a good thing. However, there is an unfortunate weakness in the legal arguments; namely, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms itself. For decades, Canadians have been led to believe that the Charter is a wonderful document that everyone should celebrate as the basis of individual rights. But there is another perspective that needs to be considered..Firstly, do we remember who moved heaven and earth to entrench the Charter in the constitution? None other than Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Did Pierre Trudeau make Canada a better and freer country in his time as prime minister? .Ask yourself this: Did the man who tried to crush Alberta under the National Energy Program, who drove the country into a debt crisis through uncontrolled government spending, and who cozied-up to communist dictators like Fidel Castro, really wanted to improve Canadians’ liberties with his Charter? .Trudeau had a consistent and deeply-held far-left ideology that propelled all of his political activity, including his insistence on the need for a Charter. The Charter was the centerpiece of his ideological agenda..Before the Charter was adopted in 1982, Canada was already one of the freest countries in the history of the world. In fact, there was plenty of resistance to Trudeau’s proposed Charter in the early 1980s, mostly from libertarians and conservatives..When the motion to approve Trudeau’s new constitution – which had been signed by the Queen on April 17, 1982 – was presented in the Alberta Legislature, MLA Gordon Kesler of the Western Canada Concept Party of Alberta said, “I think April 17 will go down in history as one of the saddest days we’ve ever experienced in this country.” .During the legislative debate about celebrations for Trudeau’s new constitution, Kesler had suggested instead flying the Alberta flag at half-mast. It’s how many Westerners and conservatives felt..Manitoba Premier Sterling Lyon was among those who offered the strongest opposition to the Charter. He argued that Canada was already one of the best and freest countries in the world and therefore didn’t need Trudeau’s Charter. In short, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Of course, Lyon’s arguments were much more sophisticated than that, but you get the picture. There were other outspoken opponents of the Charter as well. .So, does Trudeau’s Charter protect our rights better than what we had under Canada’s old system? Well, consider what constitutional experts are saying in the media about the current legal challenges to the lockdowns. .In an article for the CBC, University of Alberta law professor Eric Adams is quoted as saying, “No amount of pointing to your rights infringements will win a case in a constitutional system which specifically contemplates that rights can be reasonably limited.” .The constitutional system he’s referring to is the Charter..Similarly, a Globe and Mail article quotes University of New Brunswick law professor Kerri Froc. .“The Charter is [not] this magic wand that is going to thwart the government from doing any of these things that put a cramp in our style. The Charter just doesn’t work that way.”.And in an earlier Globe and Mail piece, Max Fawcett argues in favour of a stricter lockdown for Alberta, noting that Charter rights are narrower than many believe. He quotes from a 2004 speech by former Supreme Court of Canada chief justice Beverly McLachlin where she discussed the difference between the Canadian Charter of Rights and the American Bill of Rights. She said that the differences between the two are best seen by how they treat freedom of expression. As she put it, “The words of the Canadian guarantee acknowledge the state’s right to limit free speech; the words of the American guarantee forbid the state from doing so.” .“The state’s right to limit free speech,” should terrify anyone with an understanding of liberty..Fawcett goes on to quote McLachlin as saying that, “As a general rule, individual rights in Canada are more circumscribed, and collective or ‘group’ rights, protecting linguistic, religious or aboriginal communities, are more generous than in the United States.” .The JCCF is the most important civil liberties organization in the country, and Western Standard readers should fully support it. The JCCF lawyers need to base their arguments on the Charter because that’s the only tool available for such challenges. But people shouldn’t get their hopes up. Experience confirms the perspective of libertarians and conservatives from long ago that Trudeau’s Charter would not be an improvement over Canada’s existing constitution. In fact, some – myself included – would see its long-term effects as primarily harmful. .Libertarian and conservative-minded people view the government restrictions imposed by the lockdowns as violations of their rights. So-called “progressives,” on the other hand, overwhelmingly believe that the lockdowns should be stricter, and that the government must be obeyed without question. .Pierre Trudeau’s Charter was not designed to defend liberties in the way that most people think of them. It was designed to prescribe some of them, and give the state the power to limit them..Don’t be surprised when it does just that this time..MichaelWagner is a columnist for the Western Standard
