The Rule of the Courts

M. Akram Faizer

In 1985, the Court concluded that the Charter provisions applied to all persons on Canadian territory, when it concluded that Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 7 that purportedly guarantees “everyone... 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” applies to refugee claimants. 137 The Court concluded that provisions of the Immigration Act violated Section 7 when it denied refugee claimants the ability to know the government’s case against them and denied them and an oral due process hearing. 138 That same year, the Court concluded that the Lord’s Day Act, which mandated all businesses to be closed on Sunday, violated the Charter Section 27, which recognizes Canada’s multicultural heritage. 139 This is because the Act forced everyone in Canada to observe the rules of Christianity and limited freedom of religion for everyone else. 140 This case recognizes that obliging Canadians to conform to a specific religious tradition cannot be reconciled with religious freedom. 141 In 1988, the Court struck down the abortion provisions of the Criminal Code because it forced women to carry a fetus to term, even in situations that would cause physical and emotional harm. 142 The Supreme Court concluded this to be a violation of the right to security of the person because it interfered deeply with a woman’s bodily integrity. 143 Justice Bertha Wilson also concluded that the abortion laws on the books interfered with women’s right to liberty, since it did not allow women to make crucial decisions about their own life or health free from state interference. 144 The majority of the Court also found that the Act was not demonstrably justified in a

137 Singh v. Minister of Employment and Immigration, [1985] 1 SCR 177 138 Id. 139 R. v. Big M Drug Mart, [1985] 1 SCR 295

140 Id. 141 Id. 142 R. v. Morgentaler, [1988] 1 SCR 30

143 Id. 144 Id.

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