Democratic Rights: A Broad Charter Guarantee

Jun 25
08:29

2012

Jeremy Maddock

Jeremy Maddock

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Democratic Rights, and specifically the right to vote in provincial and federal elections, enjoy broad constitutional protection in Canada, pursuant to Section 3 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This section states that “Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of the members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.”

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Interestingly,Democratic Rights: A Broad Charter Guarantee Articles unlike freedom of expression which has been relatively limited in Canada due to Section 1 of the Charter, Canadian courts have interpreted Section 3 as being virtually immune to “reasonable limits.” This is demonstrated by the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Sauvé v. Canada (Chief Electoral Officer), where it was determined that even convicted criminals serving prison sentences had a right to vote in elections.

The court determined that a prohibition on voting by incarcerated criminals did not deter crime or serve any other “valid objective”, and may actually further disenfranchise individuals who are already marginalized in society.

The Supreme Court of Canada’s broad attitude to Section 3 of the Charter, especially when viewed alongside the myriad of supposedly “reasonable” restrictions that have been placed on freedom of expression, suggests that the Supreme Court of Canada is more concerned with the safeguarding the concept of a “democratic society” than that of a “free society”.

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