(Disponible en français : Assurer l’accès à une éducation de qualité aux élèves inscrits dans les écoles de la minorité) The constitutional right to an education in one’s own language Under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter), parents are entitled to have their children educated in a minority language…
(Disponible en français : Résumé – Les langues officielles et le Parlement) In the Canadian parliamentary context, English and French enjoy equality of status and use. In fact, there are a number of constitutional and legislative provisions governing the use of both official languages in Parliament. These provisions, which have evolved over the course of…
(Disponible en français : L’équité en matière d’emploi dans la fonction publique fédérale du Canada) Employment Equity: The Legal Framework The federal public service strives to achieve employment equity in its workforce; that is, it aims to correct disadvantages that particular groups face in employment. As the largest employer in Canada, the public service’s employment…
2 July 2020, 11:45 a.m. (Disponible en français : La pandémie de COVID-19 et les droits des personnes handicapées) The COVID-19 pandemic presents multiple risks to the rights and wellbeing of persons with disabilities. Approximately 6.2 million Canadians over the age of 15 live with one or more disabilities. Although definitions vary, the Accessible Canada…
(Disponible en français : Le droit de ne pas être importuné et les pouvoirs policiers au Canada : une mise à jour s’impose‑t‑elle?) One of the pillars of the law is predictability. Yet decisions of Canada’s highest court on the expectation of privacy and police powers are so hard to predict that they resemble a…
27 April 2020, 9:15 a.m. (Disponible en français : Défis associés à la liberté d’expression et à l’accès à l’information en temps de pandémie : points de vue national et international) Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart…
24 April 2020, 9:10 a.m. (Disponible en français : Les services consulaires du Canada et leur intervention face à la COVID-19) In February 2020, the Government of Canada chartered two flights out of Wuhan, China, the capital of Hubei province and the initial epicentre of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The government also secured seats…
(Disponible en français : La liberté d’expression : un débat qui se poursuit) “Everyone has the … freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” – Section (2b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Freedom of Expression The constitutional right to expression is a…
1 April 2020, 2 p.m. (Disponible en français : Le respect des droits de la personne dans les situations d’urgence) In addition to obligations during peacetime, States have duties to respect and ensure human rights during wartime and national emergencies. In situations that represent a severe threat to a nation, however, the International Covenant on Civil…
(Disponible en français : Résumé – L’aide médicale à mourir au Canada après l’arrêt Carter c. Canada) In February 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada released Carter v. Canada (Attorney General) (the Carter decision), an important decision about the law on assisted dying. The law had been unsuccessfully challenged twenty years earlier at the Supreme Court in Rodriguez v. British…