2022 CLF Symposium on Religion, Law & Human Rights

CLF's Annual Symposium on Religion, Law & Human Rights

Limiting Rights in a Free and Democratic Society: Reimagining Section 1 of the Charter

"[I]t is dangerously misleading to conceive of s. 1 as a rigid and technical provision, offering nothing more than a last chance for the state to justify incursions into the realm of fundamental rights [...] [I]n the body of our nation’s constitutional law it plays an immeasurably richer role, one of great magnitude and sophistication."

––Chief Justice Brian Dickson, R v Keegstra, [1990] 3 SCR. 697 at 735.

About the Symposium

The Section 1 Symposium will closely examine some of the under-developed features of section 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which reads as follows:

• “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.”

Given its concern with when it is legitimate to curtail any of the rights and freedoms found in the Charter, a good case could be made that section 1 is the most consequential part of the Charter. And yet, 40 years after the Charter arrived, a number of section 1’s elements have not been fully examined.

For example, while section 1 is understandably referred to as the “limitations” clause of the Charter, it is often forgotten that, in its opening words, section 1 “guarantees” the rights and freedoms that are contained in the Charter. What does it mean to “guarantee” a right or freedom in a constitution? Does this verb speak to the stringency of the standard for limiting a right or freedom?

At the other end of the text of section 1, the concept and meaning of a “free and democratic society” has received little attention from Canadian courts. What are the ingredients and requirements of such a society?

These are just some of the questions that the Symposium will explore. The ultimate goal of the Symposium is to develop a more accurate understanding of the Charter and encourage treatments of the Charter by the state that are faithful to that understanding. But the knowledge created by the Symposium is not only relevant to Canada. The matter of when it is justified to limit human rights is a universal question that all countries and legal orders must answer.

This event takes place in conjunction with Christian Legal Fellowship's  2022 National Law Student Conference at UBC (learn more about the Student Conference here).

Registration

Registration for in-person attendance is by donation only. There is no cost to attend this event for law students. Lawyers can make a donation to support the work such as this on our website.

The Symposium will also be live-streamed. Please register on Zoom here if you prefer to participate remotely.

Schedule

The Symposium will bring together leading thinkers from across Canada, and will feature a number of keynote addresses by esteemed jurists, including The Hon. Ian Binnie, C.C., Q.C., former Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

You can access the complete Schedule here. Tickets include access to the day program (8:45AM-5:15PM; meals and evening program not included).

This program qualifies for 5.00 CPD hours (Law Society of BC).

For Ontario, only Professionalism and EDI hours must be accredited by the Law Society of Ontario. Lawyers and paralegals are to determine for themselves whether an activity is an eligible educational activity for CPD and qualifies for Substantive Hours. For more information about Ontario’s Substantive hours, please see CPD Requirement.

We welcome your participation for this full-day event. 

This year's Symposium includes the following panelists:

• Prof. Jamie Cameron (Osgoode)
• Carmelle Dieleman (Provincial Health Services Authority of British Columbia)
• Prof. Debra Haak (Queen's)
• Prof. Hoi Kong (UBC)
• Mark Mancini (UBC)
• Prof. Marcus Moore (UBC)
• Prof. Dwight Newman, Q.C. (Saskatchewan)
• Prof. Paul Paton, Q.C. (Alberta
• Prof. Mary Shariff (Manitoba)
• Prof. Grégoire Webber (Queen’s)
• Prof. Lorraine Weinrib (Toronto)
• Benjamin Woodfinden (McGill)

The 2022 Symposium Committee:

• Prof. Brian Bird (UBC): Program Co-Chair
• Derek B.M. Ross (Christian Legal Fellowship): Program Co-Chair

Find out more about Christian Legal Fellowship's Annual Symposium, here.

The 2022 Symposium is supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).