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Canadian Charter of Rights
Canadian Charter of Rights
Canadian Charter of Rights
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Police should be responsible for upholding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada. The more police abide by the Charter, the more criminal cases will be prosecuted in the court system. As police officers are usually the first point of contact within the criminal justice system for the public, it is very important that they respect individual’s rights and freedoms, as well as perform searches and collect evidence legally and by the book. The more they do this, the more they will see their collected evidence used in trials and used to convict the individuals they arrested.An example that examines this is the case against Mohamed Hamed in Ottawa. In 2015, the officer in this case, pulled Hamed over for swerving his vehicle while driving. …show more content…
Hamed was asked to step outside of the vehicle and upon the investigation the police officer found a few flakes of marijuana inside the car. During the arrest, Hamed began the tense up and resist being put into the police cruiser. The officer then struck him twice in the side of the head as hard as he could to get Hamed to cooperate. The officer did not read Hamed his rights and did not let him know why he was arresting him. The officer would also not let Hamed contact his lawyer while being detained. After the arrest the officer continued to search the vehicle without a warrant and found more marijuana in a backpack along with counterfeit money.As this case went to trial, Hamed was found not guilty of the charges laid against him during the unlawful arrest. Judge Bourgeois found several charter violations that lead to this case being dismissed from the criminal justice system. Bourgeois could not accept the evidence from the officer that proved Hamed veered or swerved before being pulled over. She also stated
Crime control and due process are two different ideal types of criminal justice. One could say they are extremes on a continuum. The role of crime control is to get the criminal off the street and to protect the innocent. The due process model of criminal justice is like an obstacle course, you have to keep going through legal obstacles to ensure in the end you convict the right person. In Canada the police lean toward crime control and the courts lean toward due process. This causes tension between the police and the courts. I will argue for both crime control and due process, putting more weight on due process If we did not have due process in Canada, people in positions of power, could manipulate the system for their own personal or political gain and railroad the innocent off to prison.
Apart from the other laws in Canada’s constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is an important law that affects every Canadian’s rights and freedoms. It was created in 1981 by former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to provide legal protection for the most important rights and freedoms. These rights include fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, and legal rights. Most but not all articles included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are protected in the constitution. However, if a Canadian feels that their rights are violated, they can challenge laws and unfair actions using the justice system. In my opinion, I believe the Canadian Charter of Human Rights somewhat protects Canadians’ rights and freedoms to some extent depending on the situation.
The Ontario Provincial Police serve the province of Ontario in many functions, including the safety of traffic (Ontario Provincial Police , 2009). The safety of traffic is essential for a secure society; however when a law enforcement member deviates from legislated policing practices causing an unjustified accusation of a civilian, are the people of the Province of Ontario any safer? This issue can be examined in the case of R. v. Harrison, as Constable Bertoncello of the Ontario Provincial Police conducted a traffic stop of Bradley Harrison, which was not justified. Harrison was pulled over for only having a rear licence plate, however the vehicle was registered in the province of Alberta, making this vehicle legal (R. v. Harrison, 2009). The police officer justified his actions to the Supreme Court of Canada by insisting on the importance of upholding police integrity in the public mind, and this regular traffic stop resulted in a search and seizure of cocaine and a charge of driving with a suspended licence. (R. v. Harrison, 2009).This was not sufficient reasoning for Bertoncello’s actions according to the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada. An examination of the evidence presented before the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of R. v. Harrison, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms violations, precedent cases, and investigative police procedures along with legal proceedings will rationalize the ruling of the court for excluding narcotic paraphernalia for trafficking indictment.
Section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom states that no individual within the country of Canada will be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. This law encompasses things such as prison sentences, executions and torture. One of the arguments used in the defense of Daniel Peltier’s case is that his verdict could possibly be considered cruel and unusual punishment. However, Mr. Peltier has admitted to supply underage youth with alcohol and medically prescribed drugs - which was originally meant for his mother - for money. As a result of this infringement, one of the youths that had consumed the drug had an inauspicious medical crisis and had to immediately be hospitalized. Fortunately, the youth recuperated. This all could’ve all been avoided had Daniel Peltier had not sold drugs to underage kids. He is capable of making sane and mature decisions as he is mentally stable and
As police officers own right to carry out an investigation on the suspect, public arise concerning on negligent investigation. In the Hill v. Hamiton-Wentworth case, Mr. Hill was accused robbery and then was proved innocent. Mr. Hill filled a lawsuit against police officers on the tort of negligent investigation, and the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Hill’s appeal. Moreover, a majority of the court recognizes there is a tort of negligent investigation in Canada, but Mr. Hill was investigated under code of care and no tort of negligent investigation during his investigation. While the argument of minority believes the tort of negligent investigation should be recognized in Canada, and the police had been negligent, the argument of minority is more compelling than majority.
Three decades ago, honorable Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was establishing the renowned Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since the three decades of being established, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has protected the individual rights and freedoms of thousands of Canadians. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms has become a part of the national identity and has become a big patriotic symbol for the country. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the document the truly separates Canada from all the other powerful nations and is really something that Canadian take a pride in. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms brings up many questions, but the biggest and most common question is How effectively does Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect your individual rights? . To exactly know how effectively it protects your rights you can look at situations where it has protected and has not protected the rights of Canadians. The Charter of Rights and Freedom protects legal rights of Canadian whether they are a teenager or an adult, protects equality rights of Canadian and provides government services to all Canadians no matter what, ensures all laws are passed according to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and provides equality rights and fundamental freedoms to Canadians for practicing their religion and other rights without interference.
“A body-worn camera in public policing is a miniature audio and video recording device which allows recording of officers’ duties and citizen interaction,” notes Thomas K. Bud. Police body-cameras are significantly growing in popularity across Canada. While legislation has not confirmed definite rules regarding the use of body-cameras, local police departments have begun their implementation. Canadian police services involved in these projects include Toronto, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, and Amherstburg Police Services. The results of these projects have revealed mixed thoughts regarding body-camera effectiveness. Is it a good idea for police to wear body-cameras? While the cost of police wearing body cameras seems prohibitive, police wearing
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was signed into law by Queen Elizabeth II April 17, 1982. Often referred to as the Charter, it affirms the rights and freedoms of Canadians in the Constitution of Canada. The Charter encompasses fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, language rights and equality rights. The primary function of the Charter is to act as a regulatory check between Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments and the Canadian people. Being a successor of the Canadian Bill of Rights that was a federal statute, amendable by Parliament, the Charter is a more detailed and explicit constitutional document that has empowered the judiciary to render regulations and statutes at both the federal and provincial levels of government unconstitutional. Although the rights and freedoms of Canadians are guaranteed, Sections one and seven of the Charter permit the federal and provincial governments to limit the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Canadians. Section one of the Charter designated ‘Rights and freedoms in Canada’ states “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.” This section is frequently referred to and better known as the reasonable limits clause. The second rights and freedoms limiting section of the Charter, known as the ‘notwithstanding clause’ is Section thirty-three entitled ‘Exception where express declaration’ declares
Although accountability has always been an issue, the injustices that are currently occurring make it priority. Police officers are getting “special treatment” and are not facing charges for crimes they have committed. Police officers are not held accountable for their a...
Many people and nations around the world are deprived of human rights. The government in the countries or nations usually can not help the people being deprived. Either because the government is too poor to, it is not one of the things the government is looking into, or the government does not know or care. Because of this certain people, or even whole populations are denied human rights and their living conditions and way of life are usually not on the positive side of things. There are many wealthier countries trying to help but sometimes that is not enough. To what extent should Canada have a role in working to increase human rights protection in other nations?
Jack Donnelly, Alison D. Renteln, and Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim all have different opinions when it comes to human rights and the exact way we should go about discussing human rights. The debate between the scholars and me come from the debate between the two principles of Liberal Universalism and Cultural Relativism. In my own opinion, I believe that it discussing human rights has to involve both theories and a cross-cultural discussion between us all so that we can come to an agreement when looking for a solution in certain cases.
This research proposal seeks to establish the level of police discretion used on duty. It aims to understand when it is appropriate for police to use discretion as well as given reasons for abusing their decisions. It focuses on issues with police discretion maintaining the responsibility to be ethical such as racial profiling, socioeconomic status and excessive force. Although police discretion can have positive factors, it also difficult to determine whether it is fair for police to make a decision during situations.
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is a document which brings together all of the Fundamental Human Rights together in one, single document. Before the inception of EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the member states of the European Union had many conflicting opinions on what exactly a human right entailed, therefore the need for a single, codified document outlaying the basic Fundamental Human Rights was great. The Charter was issued in 2000 and at this time, according to Jesse Norman, The Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Industry and Energy, ‘The charter was then described as a ‘solemn proclamation’ and was designed to strengthen the EU’S political legitimacy, containing rights and freedoms as well as strengthening the rights of
The focus is on the issues of police accountability in modern society, and in particular why their accountability is more important than other professions. This is not surprising considering the amount of power and discretion police officers have, and the level of trust that the public holds with these civil servants. Police officers accountability is the biggest thing in their profession which has been an issue of concern they have to be accountable to the police department who want the officer to be an effective and responsible person, to people in the community who have best expectation from an officer and being accountable to themselves for their acts. An ordinary citizen of a country cannot obtain the powers that police officer’s have.
Police decisions can affect life, liberty, and property, and as guardians of the interests of the public, police must maintain high standards of integrity. Police discretion concerning how to act in a given situation can often lead to ethical misconduct (Banks 29).