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Social Studies 9

Social Studies 9 · Worksheets

The Charter and individual rights

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering The Charter. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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The Charter and individual rights

Social Studies 9 · maddyhelps.com

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Circle the best answer for each question. Use the space to note the reasoning or the source detail that decided it.

  1. A summary: "In 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Alberta's human rights law must protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation, even though the legislature had left it out." What does this source show about the Charter's impact?

    1. a) Courts can require a law to change to meet the Charter
    2. b) Alberta used the notwithstanding clause to reverse the ruling
    3. c) Human rights laws no longer apply in Alberta workplaces
    4. d) The Charter applies to federal laws but not to provincial ones

  2. Because the Charter is part of the Constitution, a court can strike down a law if the law

    1. a) is opposed by most voters in a public opinion poll
    2. b) passed the Senate by only a few votes
    3. c) breaks a Charter right and cannot be justified
    4. d) was passed by a minority government

  3. A workplace notice: "We have installed a ramp and changed Dana's shift times so she can keep working here after her spinal injury." Which idea does this show?

    1. a) Affirmative action in hiring new employees
    2. b) Mobility rights for workers who move provinces
    3. c) The right of workers to form and join a labour union
    4. d) The duty to accommodate a worker with a disability

  4. A news report: "Students from a Grande Prairie high school hold a peaceful rally outside the provincial legislature, calling for action on climate change." Which part of the Charter protects what they are doing?

    1. a) Equality rights (section 15)
    2. b) Fundamental freedoms (section 2)
    3. c) Mobility rights (section 6)
    4. d) Democratic rights (section 3)

  5. Speaker 1: "Elected legislators, not appointed judges, should have the final word on the hardest questions." Speaker 2: "A right that a majority can switch off whenever it likes is not really a right." The two speakers disagree most directly about

    1. a) whether judges in Canada should be elected
    2. b) whether the Charter should protect free expression
    3. c) whether the Charter should apply to businesses
    4. d) whether governments should be able to use section 33

  6. A provincial government plans to use the notwithstanding clause. Which of these rights is it NOT able to override?

    1. a) Protection from unreasonable search (s. 8)
    2. b) Minority-language education (s. 23)
    3. c) Equality before the law (s. 15)
    4. d) Freedom of religion (s. 2)

  7. A nurse who trained and worked in Nova Scotia moves to Red Deer and takes a job at the hospital there. Which Charter right protects her ability to do this?

    1. a) Language rights (section 16)
    2. b) Legal rights (section 7)
    3. c) Equality rights (section 15)
    4. d) Mobility rights (section 6)

  8. A newspaper column: "Free speech has limits. Someone who publicly promotes hatred against an identifiable group can be charged under the Criminal Code, even though expression is a Charter freedom." Which part of the Charter allows a limit like this?

    1. a) Section 15, equality rights
    2. b) Section 33, the notwithstanding clause
    3. c) Section 1, reasonable limits
    4. d) Section 2, fundamental freedoms

  9. A job ad for a provincial government office reads: "Applicants must be under 40 years of age." Which Charter section is this ad most likely to break?

    1. a) Section 15, equality rights
    2. b) Section 2, fundamental freedoms
    3. c) Section 7, life, liberty and security
    4. d) Section 6, mobility rights

  10. In which year did the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms become part of Canada's Constitution?

    1. a) 1867
    2. b) 1985
    3. c) 1960
    4. d) 1982

Answer key · The Charter and individual rights

Social Studies 9 · maddyhelps.com

  1. a) Courts can require a law to change to meet the Charter — In Vriend v. Alberta, the Court found that leaving sexual orientation out breached section 15 and read the protection into the law. The Charter applies to provincial laws as well as federal ones, and Alberta chose not to use section 33 in response.
  2. c) breaks a Charter right and cannot be justified — The Constitution is the supreme law, so a law that unjustifiably breaks a Charter right has no force. Popularity and the size of a vote do not matter to a court; only whether the law fits the Constitution does.
  3. d) The duty to accommodate a worker with a disability — Human rights law requires employers to accommodate a disability up to the point of undue hardship, and disability is also a ground listed in the Charter's section 15. Affirmative action is about who gets hired, and Dana already has the job.
  4. b) Fundamental freedoms (section 2) — Peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are fundamental freedoms in section 2. Democratic rights look tempting because the rally is political, but section 3 is specifically the right of citizens to vote and to run in elections.
  5. d) whether governments should be able to use section 33 — Speaker 1 defends letting legislatures override court rulings, which is what section 33 allows; Speaker 2 argues that such an override makes rights fragile. Neither proposes electing judges: Speaker 1 compares elected and appointed people only to argue about who should decide.
  6. b) Minority-language education (s. 23) — Section 33 reaches only section 2 and sections 7 to 15. Minority-language education rights, like voting and mobility rights, sit outside it, so a majority government cannot switch them off.
  7. d) Mobility rights (section 6) — Section 6 lets citizens and permanent residents move to any province and earn a living there. Alberta can still require her to register with its nursing regulator, because the right is subject to rules that apply to everyone in the province.
  8. c) Section 1, reasonable limits — Section 1 allows limits on rights that are set out in law and can be justified in a free and democratic society, and the Supreme Court has upheld the law against promoting hatred on that basis. Section 33 is different: it overrides a right outright, and no government used it here.
  9. a) Section 15, equality rights — Age is one of the grounds listed in section 15. The Charter applies here because the employer is a government; a private company's ad would fall under Alberta's human rights law instead, which also protects against age discrimination in hiring.
  10. d) 1982 — The Charter is part of the Constitution Act, 1982. The 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights came earlier but was an ordinary federal law that courts rarely used, and 1985 is when the equality rights in section 15 took effect, three years after the rest of the Charter.