Section Six Of The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms

Section Six of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is the section of the Canadian Constitution 's Charter Of Rights that protects the Mobility Rights of Canadian Citizens , and to a lesser extent that of Permanent Resident s. By mobility rights, the section refers to the individual practice of entering and exiting Canada , and moving within its boundaries. The section is subject to the Section 1 Oakes Test , but cannot be nullified by the Notwithstanding Clause .

Along with the language rights in the ''Charter'' ( Sections 16 - 23 ), section 6 was meant to protect Canadian unity.

TEXT

The section reads,

''6. (1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada.''

(2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right

::''a) to move to and take up residence in any province; and''
::''b) to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.''

(3) The rights specified in subsection (2) are subject to

::''a) any laws or practices of general application in force in a province other than those that discriminate among persons primarily on the basis of province of present or previous residence; and''
::''b) any laws providing for reasonable residency requirements as a qualification for the receipt of publicly provided social services.''

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration in a province of conditions of individuals in that province who are socially or economically disadvantaged if the rate of employment in that province is below the rate of employment in Canada.

PURPOSE

Along with the language rights in the ''Charter'' (sections 16-23), section 6 was meant to protect Canadian unity.Hogg, ''Constitutional Law of Canada''. 2003 Student Ed., pages 704-705. French Canadian s, who have been at the centre of unity debates, are able to travel throughout all Canada and receive government and educational services in their own language. Hence, they are not confined to Quebec (the only province where they form the majority and where most of their population is based), which would polarize the country along regional lines.

SUBSECTION 6(1)

Like Section 7 , section 6 is relevant to laws dealing with Extradition . The precedent, however, has been that even though extradition violates section 6, it is usually justifiable under section 1. Allowing for Canadians to be extradited has been legally upheld in Canada since before Confederation ; Sir William Buell Richards approved of it in '' Re Burley '' in 1865 as a matter of Treaty Law .

In '' United States Of America V. Cotroni '' (1989) it was found extradition violates section 6 rights to stay in Canada, but fighting illegal activities was considered important under a section 1 test, and in '' Kindler V. Canada (Minister Of Justice) '' (1991) it was added that Canada should not attract criminals seeking to escape harsher foreign laws. In the case '' Re Federal Republic Of Germany And Rauca '', an extradition of an individual so old that he would probably die in prison, was technically a denial of his rights to return to Canada as well as to stay, but it was upheld; likewise, in '' United States V. Burns '', it was found extradition of Canadian citizens who might face the death penalty violated section 6 but this was justifiable under section 1, despite arguments that their citizenship and consequent section 6 rights against Exile reinforced their rights under section 7 (the rights claimants won their case anyway, but under section 7). Since '' Canada V. Schmidt '', it is indeed rights to Fundamental Justice under section 7 that are generally used to evaluate whether a particular case of extradition is fair.

SUBSECTION 6(2)

Section 6 has also been held to protect the right of a person to be Employed outside his or her resident province. Specifically, in the Supreme Court case '' Skapinker '' (1984), it was found that one does not actually have to settle in another Province to be able to invoke section 6(2) (b) rights to "pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province." http://canlii.ca/ca/com/chart/s-6-2.html

SUBSECTIONS 6(3) AND (4)

Section 6(2), the rights of citizens and permanent residents to move to and pursue work in any province, has a number of limits provided by sections 6(3) and (4). Section 6(3) apparently recognized and affirmed laws that limited rights to pursue certain careers for persons who had recently entered the province. As Professor Peter Hogg remarked in 1982, when section 6 came into force, some of the laws upheld by section 6(3) could even be discriminatory towards a person based upon where he or she had moved from; this discrimination only becomes unconstitutional when it is "primarily" the reason for the limits on section 6(2) rights. Section 6(3)(b) specifies rights to Social Services , noting that a denial of services to persons who have newly arrived should be "reasonable."

Section 6(4) was added to the Charter in November 1981 to appease the government of Newfoundland And Labrador , making it possible to allow Newfoundlanders who had been in the province for longer a better opportunity to find work in offshore Oil than newcomers. This limit allowing for disparity in opportunity applies anywhere else where Unemployment in the province is worse than in the country as a whole.Hogg, Peter W. ''Canada Act 1982 Annotated.'' Toronto: The Carswell Company Limited, 1982.

NOTES

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Section Six Of The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms