Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Victoria Charter
The Victoria Charter was a set of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada in 1971. This document represented a failed attempt on the part of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to patriate the Constitution, add a bill of rights to it and entrench English and French as Canada's official languages; he later succeeded in all these objectives in 1982 with the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982.
The Charter would have also terminated the powers of disallowance and reservation, which remain in the Constitution. There was also a bill of rights and a new amending formula.
The Victoria Charter began with the title "Part I – Political Rights", which contained nine "articles." This bill of rights, however, was not as elaborate as Canada's current constitutional bill of rights, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The first article "declared" the existence of freedom of expression and freedom of religion, and like the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights, stipulated that "all laws shall be construed and applied so as not to abrogate or abridge any such freedom." Article 2 established the applicability of the bill of rights to Parliament and the legislatures, and article 3 allowed for reasonable limits on rights (compare this to section 1 of the Charter).
Article 4 recognized the importance of the right to vote, and article 5 elaborated on this by saying the right could not be denied due to race, religion or sex. Articles 6 and 7 set the maximum duration of the House of Commons of Canada and provincial legislatures at five years (a function now assumed by section 4 of the Charter).
Language rights were covered by Part II of the Victoria Charter. Article 10 recognized Canada's official bilingualism and article 11 allowed bilingualism in Parliament and in the legislatures of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.
Parts IV and V dealt with the court system of Canada, with Part IV discussing the Supreme Court of Canada. Article 22 recognized the existence of the Supreme Court, in contrast to the Constitution Act, 1867, which merely permitted Parliament to create such a court.
Articles 24 to 33 dealt with Supreme Court appointments. Article 25 would have constitutionalized the requirement that three judges should come from Quebec, and articles 26 to 30 assigned partial responsibility of appointments to both federal and provincial justice ministers. Their choices, however, would be narrowed down and approved by a council (under article 31).
Hub AI
Victoria Charter AI simulator
(@Victoria Charter_simulator)
Victoria Charter
The Victoria Charter was a set of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada in 1971. This document represented a failed attempt on the part of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to patriate the Constitution, add a bill of rights to it and entrench English and French as Canada's official languages; he later succeeded in all these objectives in 1982 with the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982.
The Charter would have also terminated the powers of disallowance and reservation, which remain in the Constitution. There was also a bill of rights and a new amending formula.
The Victoria Charter began with the title "Part I – Political Rights", which contained nine "articles." This bill of rights, however, was not as elaborate as Canada's current constitutional bill of rights, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The first article "declared" the existence of freedom of expression and freedom of religion, and like the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights, stipulated that "all laws shall be construed and applied so as not to abrogate or abridge any such freedom." Article 2 established the applicability of the bill of rights to Parliament and the legislatures, and article 3 allowed for reasonable limits on rights (compare this to section 1 of the Charter).
Article 4 recognized the importance of the right to vote, and article 5 elaborated on this by saying the right could not be denied due to race, religion or sex. Articles 6 and 7 set the maximum duration of the House of Commons of Canada and provincial legislatures at five years (a function now assumed by section 4 of the Charter).
Language rights were covered by Part II of the Victoria Charter. Article 10 recognized Canada's official bilingualism and article 11 allowed bilingualism in Parliament and in the legislatures of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.
Parts IV and V dealt with the court system of Canada, with Part IV discussing the Supreme Court of Canada. Article 22 recognized the existence of the Supreme Court, in contrast to the Constitution Act, 1867, which merely permitted Parliament to create such a court.
Articles 24 to 33 dealt with Supreme Court appointments. Article 25 would have constitutionalized the requirement that three judges should come from Quebec, and articles 26 to 30 assigned partial responsibility of appointments to both federal and provincial justice ministers. Their choices, however, would be narrowed down and approved by a council (under article 31).