1.2.1 The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms is written into the Constitution. An amendment made in 1982 put it there, and that placement gives the listed rights very strong protection. The first sentence of the Charter reads: "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law." Two ideas sit behind that sentence. First, religious traditions have mattered a great deal in Canadian society. Second, every human person has dignity and worth.

The Charter does two jobs at once. It gathers the fundamental freedoms into one written summary, and it also sets out further rights beyond them. The most important of those additional rights cover movement inside and out of the country, the rights of Aboriginal peoples, the two official languages and minority language schooling, and multiculturalism. The amended Constitution was proclaimed in Ottawa in 1982, in a ceremony performed by Queen Elizabeth II. From that year onward, these written rights have belonged to Canadians.