Canada Act, 1981
----------------
THAT, WHEREAS in the past certain amendments to the Constitution
of Canada have been made by Parliament of the United Kingdom at
the request and with the consent of Canada:
AND WHEREAS it is in accord with the status of Canada as an
independent state that Canadians be able to amend their
Constitution in Canada in all respects;
AND WHEREAS it is also desirable to provide in the Constitution
of Canada for the recognition of certain fundamental rights and
freedoms and to make other amentments to that Constitution;
A respectful address be presented to Her Majesty the Queen in the
following words:
TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY:
MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN:
We, Your Majesty's loyal subjects, the House of Commons of Canada
in Parliament assembled, respectfully approach Your Majesty,
requesting that you may graciously be pleased to cause to be laid
before the Parliament of the United Kingdom a measure containing
the recitals and clauses hereinafter set forth:
An Act to give effect to a request by the Senate and House of
Commons of Canada
Whereas Canada has requested and consented to the enactment of an
Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom to give effect to the
provisions hereinafter set forth and the Senate and the House of
Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled have submitted an
address to Her Majesty requesting that Her Majesty may graciously
be pleased to cause a Bill to be laid before the Parliament of
the United Kingdom for that purpose.
Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by
and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and
by the authority of the same, as follows:
1. The Constitution Act, 1981 set out in Schedule B to this
Act is hereby enacted for and shall have the force of law in
Canada and shall come into force as provided in that Act.
2. No Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed
after the Constitution Act, 1981 comes into force shall extend to
Canada as part of its law.
3. So far as it is not contained in Schedule B, the French
version of this Act is set out in Schedule a to this Act and has
the same authority in Canada as the English version thereof.
4. This Act may be cited as the Canada Act.
CONSTITUTION ACT, 1981
PART I SCHEDULE B
CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the
supremacy of God and the rule of law:
Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms
1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees
the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such
reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably
justified in a free and democratic society.
Fundamental Freedoms
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including
freedom of the press and other media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association.
Democratic Rights
3. Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an
election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative
assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.
4.(1) No House of Commons and no legislative assembly shall
continue for longer than five years from the date fixed for the
return of the writs at a general election of its members.
(2) In time of real or apprehended war, invasion or
insurrection, a House of Commons may be continued by Parliament
and a legislative assembly may be continued by the legislature
beyond five years if such continuation is not opposed by the
votes of more than one-third of the members of the House of
Commons or the legislative assembly, as the case may be.
5. There shall be a sitting of Parliament and of each
legislature at least once every twelve months.
Mobility Rights
6.(1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in
and leave Canada.
(2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the
status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right
(a) to move to and take up residence in any province; and
(b) to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.
(3) The rights specified in subsection (2) are subject to
(a) any laws or practices of general application in force in a
province other than those that descriminate among persons
primarily on the basis of province of present or previous
residence; and
(b) any laws providing for reasonable residency requirements as a
qualification for the receipt of publically provided social
services.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not preclude any law, program
or activity that has as its object the amelioration in a province
of conditions of individuals in that province who are socially or
economically disadvantaged if the rate of employment in that
province is below the rate of employment in Canada.
Legal Rights
7. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of
the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in
accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.
8. Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable
search or seizure.
9. Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or
imprisoned.
10. Everyone has the right on arrest or detention
(a) to be informed promptly of the reasons therefor;
(b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be
informed of that right; and
(c) to have the validity of the detention determined by way of
habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is not
lawful.
11. Any person charged with an offence has the right
(a) to be informed without unreasonable delay of the specific
offence;
(b) to be tried within a reasonable time;
(c) not to be compelled to be a witness in proceedings against
that person in respect of the offence;
(d) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law
in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial
tribunal;
(e) not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause;
(f) except in the case of an offence under military law tried
before a military tribunal, to the benefit of trial by jury
where the maximum punishment for the offence is imprisonment
for five years or a more severe punishment;
(g) not to be found guilty on account of any act or omission
unless, at the time of the act or omission, it constituted an
offence under Canadian or international law or was criminal
according to the general principles of law recognized by the
community of nations;
(h) if finally acquitted of the offence, not to be tried for it
again and, if finally found guilty and punished for the
offence, not to be tried or punsihed for it again; and
(i) if found guilty of the offence and if the punishment for the
offence has been varied between the time of commission and
the time of sentencing, to the benefit of the lesser
punishment.
12. Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel
and unusual treatment or punishment.
13. A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right
not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to
incriminate that witness in any other proceeding, except in a
prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory
evidence.
14. A party or witness in any proceedings who does not
understand or speak the language in which the proceedings are
conducted or who is deaf has the right to the assistance of an
interpreter.
Equality Rights
15.(1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and
has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the
law without discrimination and, in particular, without
discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour,
religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
(2) Sunsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or
activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of
disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are
disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour,
religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability
Official Languages of Canada
16.(1) English and French are the official languages of Canada
and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to
their use in all institutions of the Parliament and government of
Canada.
(2) English and French are the official languages of New
Brunswick and have equality of status and equal right and
privileges as to their use in all institutions of the legislature
and government of New Brunswick.
(3) Nothing in the Charter limits the authority of Parliament
or a legislature to advance the equality of status or use of
English and French.
17.(1) Everyone has the right to use English or French in any
debates or other proceedings of Parliament.
(2) Everyone has the right to use English or French in any
debates and other proceedings of the legislature of New
Brunswick.
18.(1) The statutes, records and journals of Parliament shall be
printed and published in English and French and both language
versions are equally authoritative.
(2) The statutes, records and journals of the legislature of
New Brunswick shall be printed and published in English and French
and both language versions are equally authoritative.
19.(1) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or
in any pleading in or process issuing from, any court established
by Parliament.
(2) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or
in any pleading or process issuing from, any court of New
Brunswick.
20.(1) Any member of the public in Canada has the right to
communicate with, and to receive available services from, any
head or central office of an institution of the Parliament or
government of Canada in English or French, and has the same right
with respect to any other office of any such institution where
(a) there is a significant demand for communications with and
services from that office in such language; or
(b) due to the nature of the office, it is reasonable that
communications with and services from that office be
available in both English and French.
(2) Any member of the public in New Brunswick has the right
to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any
office of an institution of the legislature or government of New
Brunswick in English or French.
21. Nothing in sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates from
any right, privilege or obligation with respect to the English
and French languages, or either of them, that exists or is
continued by virtue of any other provision of the Constitution of
Canada.
22. Nothing in section 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates from
any legal or customary right or privilege acquired or enjoyed
either before or after the coming into force of this Charter with
respect to any language that is not English or French.
Minority Language Educational Rights
23.(1) Citizens of Canada
(a) whose first language learned and still understood is that of
the English or French linguistic minority population of the
province in which they reside, or
(b) who have received their primary school instruction in Canada
in English or French and reside in a province where the
language in which they received that instruction is the
language of the English or French linguistic minority
population of the province,
have the right to have their children receive primary and
secondary school instruction in that language in that province.
(2) Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or is
receiving primary or secondary school instruction in English or
French in Canada, have the right to have all their children
receive primary and secondary school instruction in the same
language.
(3) The right of the citizens of Canada under subsections (1)
and (2) to have their children receive primary and secondary
school instruction in the language of the English or French
linguistic minority population of a province
(a) applies wherever in the province the number of children of
citizens who have such a right is sufficient to warrant the
provision to them out of public funds of minority language
instruction; and
(b) includes, where the number of those children so warrants, the
right to have them receive that instruction in minority
language educational facilities provided out of public funds.
Enforcement
24.(1) Anyone whose rights or freedoms, as guaranteed by this
Charter, have been infringed or denied may apply to a court of
competent jurisdiction to obtain such remedy as the court
considers appropriate and just in the circumstances.
(2) Where, in proceedings under subsection (1), a court
concludes that evidence was obtained in a manner that infringed
or denied any rights or freedoms guaranteed by this Charter, the
evidence shall be excluded if it is established that, having
regard to all the circumstances, the admission of it in the
proceedings would bring the administration of justice into
disrepute.
General
25. The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and
freedoms shall not be construed so as to abrogate or derogate
from any aboriginal, treaty or other rights or freedoms that
pertain to the aboriginal peoples of Canada including
(a) any rights or freedoms that have been recognized by the Royal
Proclamation of October 7, 1763; and
(b) any rights or freedoms that may be acquired by the aboriginal
peoples of Canada by way of land claims settlement.
26. The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and
freedoms shall not be construed as denying the existence of any
other rights or freedoms that exist in Canada.
27. This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent
with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural
heritage of Canadians.
28. Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the rights and
freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and
female persons.
29. Nothing in this Charter abrogates or derogates from any
rights or privileges guaranteed by or under the Constitution of
Canada in respect of denominational, separate or dissentient
schools.
30. A reference in this Charter to a province or to the
legislative assembly or legislature of a province shall be deemed
to include a reference to the Yukon Territory and the Northwest
Territories, or to the appropriate legislative authority thereof,
as the case may be.
31. Nothing in this Charter extends the legislative powers of
any body or authority.
Application of Charter
32.(1) This Charter applies
(a) to the Parliament and government of Canada in respect of all
matters within the authority of Parliament including all
matters relating to the Yukon Territory and the Northwest
Territories; and
(b) to the legislature and government of each province in respect
of all matters within the authority of the legislature of
each privince.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), section 15 shall not have
effect until three years after this section comes into force.
33.(1) Parliament or the legislature of a province may expressly
declare in an Act of Parliament or of the legislature, as the
case may be, that the Act or a provision thereof shall operate
nothwithstanding a provision included in section 2 or section 7
to 15 of this Charter.
(2) An Act or provision of an Act in respect of which a
declaration made under this section is in effect shall have such
operation as it would have but for the provision of this Charter
referred to in the declaration.
(3) A declaration made under subsection (1) shall cease to
have effect five years after it comes into force or on such
earlier date as may be specified in the declaration.
(4) Parliament or a legislature of a province may re-enact a
declaration made under subsection (1).
(5) Subsection (3) applies to a re-enactment made under
subsection (4).
Citation
34. This Part may be cited as the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms.
PART II
RIGHTS OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLES OF CANADA
35.(1) The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the
aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed.
(2) In this Act, "aboriginal peoples of Canada" includes the
Indian, Inuit and Metis peoples of Canada.
PART III
EQUALIZATION AND REGIONAL DISPARITIES
36.(1) Without altering the legislative authority of Parliament
or of the provincial legislatures, or the rights of any of them
with respect to the exercise of their legislative authority,
Parliament and the legislatures, together with the government of
Canada and the provincial governments, are committed to
(a) promoting equal opportunities for the well-being of
Canadians;
(b) furthering economic development to reduce disparities in
opportunities; and
(c) providing essential public services of reasonable quality
to all Canadians.
(2) Parliament and the government of Canada are committed to
the principle of making equalization payments to ensure that
provincial governments have sufficient revenues to provide
reasonably comparable levels of public service at reasonably
comparable levels of taxation.
PART IV
CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE
37.(1) A constitutional conference composed of the Prime
Minister of Canada and the first ministers of the provinces shall
be convened by the Prime Minister of Canada within one year after
this Part comes into force.
(2) The conference convened under subsection (1) shall have
included in its agenda an item respecting constitutional matters
that directly affect the aboriginal peoples of Canada, including
the identification and definition of the rights of those peoples
to be included in the Constitution of Canada, and the prime
Minister of Canada shall invite representatives of those peoples
to participate in the discussions on that item.
(3) The Prime Minister of Canada shall invite elected
representatives of the governments of the Yukon Territory and the
Northwest Territories to participate in the discussions on any
item on the agenda of the conference convened under subsection
(1) that, in the opinion of the Prime Minister, directly affects
the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.
PART V
PROCEDURE FOR AMENDING CONSTITUTION OF CANADA
38.(1) An amendment to the Constitution of Canada may be made by
proclamation issued by the Governor General under the Great Seal
of Canada where so authorized by
(a) resolutions by the Senate and House of Commons; and
(b) resolutions of the legislative assemblies of at least
two-thirds of the provinces that have, in the aggregate,
according to the latest general census, at least fifty
percent of the population of all the provinces.
(2) An amendment made under subsection (1) that derogates
from the legislative powers, the proprietary rights and any other
rights or privileges of the legislature or government of a
province shall require a resolution supported by a majority of
the members of each of the Senate, the House of Commons and the
legislative assemblies required under subsection (1).
(3) An amendment referred to in subsection (2) shall not have
effect in any province the legislative assembly of which has
expressed its dissent thereto by resolution supported by a
majority of its members prior to the issue of the proclamation to
which the amendment relates unless that legislative assembly,
subsequently, by resolution supported by a majority of its
members, revokes its dissent and authorizes the amendment.
(4) A resolution of dissent made for the purpose of
subsection (3) may be revoked at any time before or after the
issue of the proclamation to which it relates.
39.(1) A proclamation shall not be issued under subsection 38(1)
before the expiration of one year from the adoption of the
resolution initiating the amendment procedure thereunder, unless
the legislative assembly of each province has previously adopted
a resolution of assent or dissent.
(2) A proclamation shall not be issued under subsection 38(1)
after the expiration of three years from the adoption of the
resolution initiating the amendment procedure thereunder.
40. Where an amendment is made under subsection 38(1) that
transfers provincial legislative powers relating to education or
other cultural matters from provincial legislatures to
Parliament, Canada shall provide reasonable compensation to any
province to which the amendment does not apply.
41. An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to
the following matters may be made by proclamation issued by the
Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada only where
authorized by resolutions of the Senate and House of Commons and
of the legislative assembly of each province:
(a) the office of the Queen, the Governor General and the
Lieutenant Governor of a province;
(b) the right of a province to a number of members in the House
of Commons not less than the number of Senators by which the
province is entitled to be represented at the time this Part
comes into force;
(c) subject to section 43, the use of the English or the French
language;
(d) the composition of the Supreme Court of Canada; and
(e) an amendment of this Part.
42.(1) An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to
the following matters may be made only in accordance with
subsection 38(1):
(a) the principle of proportionate representation of the
provinces in the House of Commons prescribed by the
Constitution of Canada;
(b) the powers of the Senate and the method of selecting
Senators;
(c) the number of members by which a province is entitled to be
represented in the Senate and the residence qualifications of
Senators;
(d) subject to paragraph 41(d), the Supreme Vourt of Canada;
(e) the extention of existing provinces into the territories; and
(f) notwithstanding any other law or practice, the establishment
of new provinces.
(2) Subsections 38 (2) to (4) do not apply in respect of
amendments in relation to matters referred to in subsection (1).
43. An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to
any provision that applies to one or more, but not all,
provinces, including
(a) any alteration to boundaries between provinces, and
(b) any amendment to any provision that relates to the use of
the English or the French language within a province,
may be made by proclamation issued by the Governor General under
the Great Seal of Canada only where so authorized by resolutions
of the Senate and House of Commons and of the legislative
assembly of each province to which the amendment applies.
44. Subject to sections 41 and 42, Parliament may exclusively
make laws amending the Constitution of Canada in relation to the
executive government of Canada or the Senate and House of
Commons.
45. Subject to section 41, the legislature of each province
may exclusively make laws amending the constitution of the
province.
46.(1) The procedures for amendment under sections 38, 41, 42
and 43 may be initiated either by the Senate or the House of
Commons or by the legislative assembly of a province.
(2) A resolution of assent made for the purposes of this Part
may be revoked at any time before the issue of a proclamation
authorized by it.
47.(1) An amendment to the Constitution of Canada made by
proclamation under section 38, 41, 42 or 43 may be made without a
resolution of the Senate authorizing the issue of the
proclamation if, within one hundred and eighty days after the
adoption by the House of Commons of a resolution authorizing its
issue, the Senate has not adopted such a resolution and if, at
any time after the expiration of that period, the House of
Commons again adopts the resolution.
(2) Any period when Parliament is prorogued or dissolved
shall not be counted in computing the one hundred and eighty day
period referred to in subsection (1).
48. The Queen's Privy Council for Canada shall advise the
Governor General to issue a proclamation under this Part
forthwith on the adoption of the resolutions required for an
amendment made by proclamation under this Part.
49. A constitutional conference composed of the Prime
Minister of Canada and the first ministers of the provinces shall
be convened by the Prime Minister of Canada within fifteen years
after this Part comes into force to review the provisions of this
Part.
PART VI
AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION ACT, 1867
50. The Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly named the British
North America Act, 1867) is amended by adding thereto,
immediately after section 92 thereof, the following heading and
section:
'Non-Renewable Natural
Resources, Forestry Resources and
Electrical Energy
92A. (1) In each province, the legislature may exclusively make laws in
relation to
(a) exploration for non-renewable natural resources and forestry
resources in the province;
(b) develoment, conservation and management of non-renewable
natural resources and forestry resources in the province,
including laws in relation to the rate of primary production
therefrom; and
(c) development, conservation and management of sites and
facilities in the province for the generation and production of
electrical energy.
(2) In each province, the legislature may make laws in relation to the
export from the province to another part of Canada of the primary
production from non-renewable natural resources and forestry resources in
the province and the production from facilities in the province for the
generation of electrical energy, but such laws may not authorize or provide
for discrimination in prices or in supplies exported to another part of
Canada.
(3) Nothing in subsection (2) derogates from the authority of
Parliament to enact laws in relation to the matters referred to in that
subsection and, where such a law of Parliament and a law of a province
conflict, the law of Parliament prevails to the extent of the conflict.
(4) In each province, the legislature may make laws in relation to
the raising of money by any mode or system of taxation in respect of
(a) non-renewable natural resources and forestry products in the
province and the primary production therefrom, and
(b) sites and facilities in the province for the generation of
electrical energy and the production therefrom,
whether or not such production is exported in whole or in part from
province, but such laws may not authorize or provide for taxation that
differentiates between production exported to another part of Canada and
production not exported from the province.
(5) The expression "primary production" has the meaning assigned by
the Sixth Schedule.
(6) Nothing in subsections (1) to (5) derogates from any powers or
rights that a legislature or government of a province had immediately
before the coming into force of this section."
51. The said Act is further amended by adding thereto the following
Schedule:
"THE SIXTH SCHEDULE
Primary Production from
Non-Renewable Natural Resources
and Forestry Resources
1. For the purposes of section 92A of this Act,
(a) production from a non-renewable natural resource is primary production
therefrom if
(i) it is in the form in which it exists upon its recovery or
severance from its natural state, or
(ii) it is a product resulting from processing or refining the
resource, and is not a manufactured product or a product
resulting from refining crude oil, refining upgraded heavy crude
oil, refining gases or liquids derived from coal or refining a
synthetic equivalent of crude oil; and
(b) production from a forestry resources is primary production therefrom
if it consists of sawlogs, poles, lumber, wood chips, sawdust or any other
primary wood product, or wood pulp, and is not a product manufactured from
wood."
PART VII
GENERAL
52.(1) The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of Canada,
and any law that is inconsistent with the provisions of the
Constitution is, to the extent of the inconsistency, of no force
or effect.
(2) The Constitution of Canada includes
(a) the Canada Act, including this Act;
(b) the Acts and orders referred to in Schedule I; and
(c) any amendment to any Act or Order referred to in paragraph
(a) or (b).
(3) Amendments to the Constitution of Canada shall be made
only in accordance with the authority contained in the
Constitution of Canada.
53.(1) The enactments referred to in Column I of Schedule I are
hereby repealed or amended to the extent indicated in Column II
thereof and, unless repealed, shall continue as law in Canada
under the names set out in Column III thereof.
(2) Every enactment, except the Canada Act 1982, that refers to an
enactment referred to in Schedule I by the name in Column I
thereof is hereby amended by substituting for that name the
corresponding name in Column III thereof, and any British North
America Act not referred to in Schedule I may be cited as the
Constitution Act followed by the year and number, if any, of its
enactment.
54. Part IV is repealed on the day that is one year after
this Part comes into force and this section may be repealed and
this Act renumbered, consequential upon the repeal of Part IV and
this section, by proclamation issued by the Governor General
under the Great Seal of Canada.
55. A French version of the protions of the Constitution of
Canada referred to in Schedule I shall be prepared by the
Minister of Justice of Canada as expeditiously as possible and,
when any portion thereof sufficient to warrant action being taken
has been so prepared, it shall be put forward for enactment by
proclamation issued by the Governor General under the Great Seal
of Canada pursuant to the procedure then applicable to an
amendment of the same provisions of the Constitution of Canada.
56. Where any portion of the Constitution of Canada has been
or is enacted in English or French or where a French version of
any portion of the Constitution is enacted pursuant to section
55, the English and French version of that prtion are equally
authoritative.
57. The English and French versions of this Act are equally
authoritative.
58. Subject to section 59, this Act shall come into force on
a day to be fixed by proclamation issued by the Queen or the
Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada.
59.(1) Paragraph 23(1)(a) shall come into force in respect of
Quebec on a day to be fixed by proclamation issued by the Queen
or the Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada.
(2) A proclamation under subsection (1) shall be issued only
where authorized by the legislative assembly or government of
Quebec.
(3) This section may be repealed on the day paragraph
23(1)(a) comes into force in respect of Quebec and this Act
amended and renumbered, consequential upon the repeal of this
section, by proclamation issued by the Queen or the Governor
General under the Great Seal of Canada.
60. This Act may be cited as the Constitution Act, 1982, and
the Constitution Acts 1867 to 1975 (No. 2) and this Act may be
cited together as the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982.