Online Charter Series: The Notwithstanding Clause - Is it Justifiable? - Centre for Constitutional Studies

Online Charter Series: The
Notwithstanding Clause – Is
it Justifiable?
Section 33 of the Charter, the “notwithstanding clause,”
allows Canada’s Parliament and legislatures to shield laws
from certain Charter challenges. In this session, Richard
Mailey, PhD Research Associate, asks whether this clause
remains justifiable in light of recent shifts in Canada’s
political culture — especially the rise of populist politics.
To address this question, he will explain why it exists, how
the notwithstanding clause works, and how it has traditionally
been justified. The key question is, do these traditional
justifications hold up?

Speaker: Richard Mailey, PhD
Research Associate, University of Alberta

Online    Charter    Series:
Corporations and Section 12 –
Protection from Cruel and
Unusual Punishment
In November 2020, the Supreme Court determined that
the Charter‘s section 12 only protects humans — and not
corporations — from cruel and unusual punishment. Join
Professor Anna Lund as she discusses the application
of Charter rights to corporations, section 12, and the Supreme
Court’s decisionS.

Watch the webinar below.

Speaker: Anna Lund
Associate Professor, University of Alberta

Excluding illegally obtained
evidence under s. 24(2) of
the   Charter:    Does   the
ideology,     gender,     or
professional background of
judges matter?
Speakers:

Steven Penney

Professor Penney will discuss the results of a study conducted
with Professor Moin Yahya examining the influence of trial
judges’ backgrounds and other factors on the decision to
exclude or admit unconstitutionally obtained under the
Charter. While outcomes are clearly influenced by doctrinal
legal    factors,    such    as   the    seriousness     of
the Charter violation, the study revealed strong evidence that
decisions are also influenced by certain non-legal variables
(but not others).

Online Charter Series: The
Constitutional  Right   of

Religious Freedom in Canada
Speaker:

Dr. Howard Kislowicz, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law,
University of Calgary
Professor Kislowicz will address the basics of the law of
freedom of conscience and religion in section 2(a) of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He will explore the
following questions: What is included in the constitutional
right of “freedom of conscience and religion”? How has the
Supreme Court of Canada interpreted that right? How can the
right be limited according to the Constitution?

This event is free and open to the public.

Online    Charter   Series:
Section 1, the Charter’s
Balancing Provision
Speaker:

Patricia   Paradis,    Executive    Director,    Centre   for
Constitutional Studies

How do courts balance the constitutional protection of
individual rights and freedoms in the Charter with the
interests of the community as whole, especially during a
pandemic? How can governments justify limiting rights? We will
consider some scenarios.

This event is free and open to the public.

Online    Charter    Series:
Constitutional Dissent
Speaker:

Eric M. Adams, Vice Dean and Professor, Faculty of Law,
University of Alberta

What is the line between constitutionally-protected dissent
and the protection of worksites, workplaces, and workers?
Professor Eric M. Adams (U of A) will explore the
constitutional issues raised by Alberta’s Critical
Infrastructure       Defence     Act    in    relation      to
the Charter’s section 2 fundamental freedoms of expression and
peaceful assembly.

This event is free and open to the public.
Register here: https://bit.ly/38YX9SP

Online    Charter    Series:
Contact Tracing Apps
Numerous countries use contact tracing apps to help track

COVID exposure. But how do these apps work? And what impact do
they have on privacy?

Join Professors Emily Laidlaw (U Calgary) and Joel Reardon (U
Calgary) as they discuss how contact tracing apps work, and
explore related security and privacy issues, looking at key
privacy provisions of the Charter and the applicability of
the Charter, including its limits, to address the privacy
concerns of users traced with these apps.

This event is free and open to the public. Reserve your spot
at this Webinar by registering now.

Emily Laidlaw, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University
of Calgary

Joel Reardon, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer
Science, University of Calgary

Online    Charter   Series:
Section 25 of the Charter –
Indigenous Laws in Canadian
Courts
Which prevails, the Charter or the Vuntut Gwitchin
Constitution? The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation enacted their
own Constitution providing for the selection of political
leaders based on their traditional laws, and their right to
self-government. In a recent case, that Constitution was
challenged using the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Join lawyer and PhD candidate Ryan Beaton, University of
Victoria, as he reviews the recent Vuntut Gwitchin decision
from the Yukon Supreme Court, and addresses the complexities

of considering Indigenous Law, and section 25 of the Charter.

Download a copy of the poster here.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION

This online event is free and open to the public.

Online    Charter    Series:
Pandemic Travel Restrictions
–  Do   They  Violate   Your
Mobility Rights?
With the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide have taken
measures that were previously unthinkable. Limitations have
been placed on travel to and from, as well as within Canada.
Does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect
rights to travel?

Join lawyers Arthur M. Grant, Partner at Grant Kovacs Norell,
Vancouver, British Columbia, and Cara Zwibel, Director of the
Fundamental Freedoms Program with the Canadian Civil Liberties
Association, as they discuss Charter rights in the context of
COVID-19 travel restrictions.

This event is free and open to the public. Download a copy of
the poster here.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION