Canadian Bill of Rights

The Canadian Bill of Rights is a federal statute and bill of rights enacted by the Parliament of Canada on August 10, 1960. It provides Canadians with certain rights at Canadian federal law in relation to other federal statutes. It was the earliest expression of human rights law at the federal level in Canada, though an implied Bill of Rights had already been recognized in the Canadian common law. The Canadian Bill of Rights remains in effect but is widely acknowledged to be limited in its effectiveness because it is a federal statute only, and so not directly applicable to provincial laws. These legal and constitutional limitations were a significant reason that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was established as an unambiguously-constitutional-level Bill of Rights for all Canadians, governing the application of both federal and provincial law in Canada, with the patriation of the Constitution of Canada in 1982. Since patriation, its usefulness at federal law in Canada is mostly limited to issues pertaining to the enjoyment of property, as set forth in its section 1(a)]—a slightly-broader "life, liberty, and security of the person" right than is recognized in section seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Background Saskatchewan's Bill of Rights In 1947, Saskatchewan enacted a bill of rights which covered fundamental freedoms and equality rights. It was influenced by proposals for a federal bill of rights made by John Diefenbaker, then an opposition member in the House of Commons from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. In turn, the Saskatchewan Bill of Rights is considered to have had a formative influence on Prime Minister Diefenbaker, who thirteen years later, in 1960, successfully introduced the Canadian Bill of Rights.