Charter Statement - Bill C-66: An Act to establish procedure for expunging certain historically unjust convictions and to make related amendments to other Acts

Charter Statement - Bill C-66: An Act to establish procedure for expunging certain historically unjust convictions and to make related amendments to other Acts The Minister of Justice prepares a “Charter Statement” to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on a government bill. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for consistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for consistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed. A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms. A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill's potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill. Bill C-66 seeks to address this historical injustice by expunging their criminal records to make it as if they had never been convicted of certain offences. This relieves persons of the stigma of a criminal record and recognizes the disadvantage faced by them because of their sexual orientation. 2023-05-17 Department of Justice Canada OG-GO@justice.gc.ca Government and PoliticsLawPersonsProcessesDepartment of JusticeAccess to InformationCanada's System of JusticeJustice Canada PublicationsCharter of Rights and FreedomsCharter Statements42nd Parliament: 1st Session Statement of Potential Charter ImpactsHTML https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/charter-charte/c66.html Statement of Potential Charter ImpactsHTML https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/sjc-csj/pl/charte-charter/c66.html

The Minister of Justice prepares a “Charter Statement” to help inform public and Parliamentary debate on a government bill. One of the Minister of Justice’s most important responsibilities is to examine legislation for consistency with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [“the Charter”]. By tabling a Charter Statement, the Minister is sharing some of the key considerations that informed the review of a bill for consistency with the Charter. A Statement identifies Charter rights and freedoms that may potentially be engaged by a bill and provides a brief explanation of the nature of any engagement, in light of the measures being proposed.

A Charter Statement also identifies potential justifications for any limits a bill may impose on Charter rights and freedoms.

A Charter Statement is intended to provide legal information to the public and Parliament on a bill's potential effects on rights and freedoms that are neither trivial nor too speculative. A Statement is not a legal opinion on the constitutionality of a bill.

Bill C-66 seeks to address this historical injustice by expunging their criminal records to make it as if they had never been convicted of certain offences. This relieves persons of the stigma of a criminal record and recognizes the disadvantage faced by them because of their sexual orientation.

  • Publisher - Current Organization Name: Department of Justice Canada
  • Publisher - Organization Name at Publication: Department of Justice
  • Licence: Open Government Licence - Canada

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