Lesson 8 — Activity 1: Legal Rights

All Canada's laws must follow the legal rights stated in the Charter. Legal rights are what an individual or group is legally allowed to do in Canada. These rights ensure that all Canadians can feel safe, all are assured of fair treatment, and innocent people are not criminally convicted. The legal rights that protect Canadians are stated in the Charter and cover all aspects of Canada's justice system.

Under Section 7 of the Charter:

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.

• Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.

• Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.

• Everyone has the right on arrest or detention:

1. to be informed promptly of the reasons therefore
2. to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right 
3. to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is not lawful

Let's take a look at each of these rights in more detail. These first three rights cover how a citizen must be dealt with if suspected of committing a crime.

Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.

Before the police can enter a home or business or search a vehicle, they must have a search warrant or reasonable grounds to believe that a crime is in progress or has been committed by the citizen in question. A search warrant is issued by a judge only if specific evidence supports a search. Any evidence that is unlawfully obtained may be excluded at trial.

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Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.

A person accused of a crime must be held in custody on reasonable grounds and must be brought before a judge as soon as possible or within 24 hours of detention to decide if the detention is lawful (habeas corpus). At that time, the person must be released until the date of the court appearance. Depending on the charge and the person's history, this may be done with or without payment of bail. In extreme cases, if the accused is perceived as a threat to others or seen as a flight risk, the person may be kept in custody.

Everyone has the right on arrest or detention to be informed promptly of the reasons and to consult counsel without delay and to be informed of that right.

A person who is arrested must be given an explanation of why the arrest was made, and the person must be given the opportunity to receive legal advice. Both of these must be offered soon after an arrest.

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In the event that you have been charged with an offence, you have the following rights.

• Everyone is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Crown counsel must present evidence to an unbiased judge or jury in an open court to prove the accused’s guilt. The accused does not have to prove anything or call any evidence.

• Everyone has the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time.

• Everyone has the right to be tried by a judge and jury where the punishment for the offence charged is over five years imprisonment.

• Everyone has the right not to be forced to be a witness and to remain silent when accused of a crime.

• Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. The punishment should fit the crime and it should meet with the broad public standard of acceptability.

This section of the Charter guarantees the process that protects a person's rights following an arrest. The person must be informed of the crime of which he or she is accused, and he or she must be granted a trail within a reasonable time. Following an arrest, the accused is not required to make any statements to the police, and he or she is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Unless there are sound reasons to deny it, the person must be granted bail. If facing a possible prison term of five years or more, an accused person is guaranteed a trial by jury. No one can be retried for a crime after being found not guilty of it. If found guilty, any time served in jail reduces by the number of days already spent in prison while the person was waiting for trial.

Finally, there are two last sections of the Charter. These sections for the protection of anyone who witnesses a crime as follows:

• 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 proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of contradictory evidence.

• 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.

If a person gives information to the police about the actions of someone who committed a crime and this information indicates that the person giving the evidence was also involved in the crime, then the police cannot use that evidence against the person who gave it. If however, the witness lied while under oath or then gave evidence that contradicted an earlier statement, that person can be charged for lying in court or obstructing justice.

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Everything must be done to ensure a fair trial. Even someone who seems to speak English well may be at a disadvantage in a courtroom during a trial. This could be the result of the stressful situation, the use of terms and vocabulary that are specific to law, or the use of a level of language above the person's day-to-day functioning English. Someone who is hearing impaired most certainly needs assistance to follow the proceedings.

The legal rights protected under the Charter do not prevent the courts from punishing citizens when they break the law, but it guarantees that citizens are treated fairly by the police and the courts and that only those who are guilty of crimes are punished.

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