Rights Based Strategies to Address Homelessness and Poverty in Canada: The Charter Framework
Advancing Social Rights in Canada, eds Martha Jackman & Bruce Porter, Toronto: Irwin Law, 2014: pp 65-106.
41 Pages Posted: 29 Nov 2015
Date Written: 2014
Abstract
This chapter explores the extent to which a domestic constitutional framework exists for a rights-based approach to housing and anti-poverty strategies in Canada, compatible with, and informed by, international human rights law and jurisprudence. Particular attention is paid to four Canadian constitutional provisions: 1) the commitment to provide public services of reasonable quality to all Canadians, under section 36 of the Constitution Act, 1982; the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law, under section 15 of the Charter; and Canadian governments’ obligation, under section 1 of the Charter, to balance and limit rights in a manner that is reasonable and demonstrably justifiable.
Keywords: constitution, Canada, human rights, poverty, housing, 36, 7, 15, 1, Charter of Rights, obligation, balance
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