AT ALL AGES, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
Training module on elder person’s rights
Excerpts from the Québec
Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
Access to the text of the Charter
(59
Kb)
PART I
HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
Chapter I
Fundamental freedoms and rights
1. Every human being has a right to life, and to personal security,
inviolability and freedom. He also possesses juridical personality.
2. Every human being whose life is in peril has a right to assistance.
Every person must come to the aid of anyone whose life is in peril, either personally
or calling for aid, by giving him the necessary and immediate physical assistance,
unless it involves danger to himself or a third person, or he has another valid
reason.
3. Every person is the possessor of the fundamental freedoms,
including freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom of opinion, freedom
of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
4. Every person has a right to the safeguard of his dignity, honour
and reputation.
5. Every person has a right to respect for his private life.
6. Every person has a right to the peaceful enjoyment and free
disposition of his property, except to the extent provided by law.
7. A person's home is inviolable.
8. No one may enter upon the property of another or take anything
therefrom without his express or implied consent.
9. Every person has a right to non-disclosure of confidential
information.
No person bound to professional secrecy by law and no priest or other minister
of religion may, even in judicial proceedings, disclose confidential information
revealed to him by reason of his position or profession, unless he is authorized
to do so by the person who confided such information to him or by an express provision
of law.
The Tribunal must, ex officio, ensure that professional secrecy is respected.
9.1 In exercising his fundamental freedoms and rights, a person
shall maintain a proper regard for democratic values, public order and the general
well-being of the citizens of Québec.
In this respect, the scope of the freedoms and rights, and limits to their exercise,
may be fixed by law.
Chapter I.1
Right to equal recognition and exercise of rights and freedoms
10. Every person has a right to full and equal recognition and
exercise of his human rights and freedoms, without distinction, exclusion or preference
based on race, colour, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, civil status, age except
as provided by law, religion, political convictions, language, ethnic or national
origin, social condition, a handicap or the use of any means to palliate a handicap.
Discrimination exists where such a distinction, exclusion or preference has the
effect of nullifying or impairing such right.
10.1. No one may harass a person on the basis of any ground
mentioned in section 10.
11. No one may distribute, publish or publicly exhibit a notice,
symbol or sign involving discrimination, or authorize anyone to do so.
12. No one may, through discrimination, refuse to make a juridical
act concerning goods or services ordinarily offered to the public.
13. No one may in a juridical act stipulate a clause involving
discrimination.
Such a clause is without effect.
14. The prohibitions contemplated in sections 12 and 13 do not
apply to the person who leases a room situated in a dwelling if the lessor or
his family resides in such dwelling, leases only one room and does not advertise
the room for lease by a notice or any other public means of solicitation.
15. No one may, through discrimination, inhibit the access of
another to public transportation or a public place, such as a commercial establishment,
hotel, restaurant, theatre, cinema, park, camping ground or trailer park, or his
obtaining the goods and services available there.
16. No one may practise discrimination in respect of the hiring,
apprenticeship, duration of the probationary period, vocational training, promotion,
transfer, displacement, laying-off, suspension, dismissal or conditions of employment
of a person or in the establishment of categories or classes of employment.
17. No one may practise discrimination in respect of the admission,
enjoyment of benefits, suspension or expulsion of a person to, of or from an association
of employers or employees or any professional corporation or association of persons
carrying on the same occupation.
18. No employment bureau may practise discrimination in respect
of the reception, classification or processing of a job application or in any
document intended for submitting an application to a prospective employer.
18.1 No one may, in an employment application form or employment
interview, require a person to give information regarding any ground mentioned
in section 10 unless the information is useful for the application of section
20 or the implementation of an affirmative action program in existence at the
time of the application.
18.2 No one may dismiss, refuse to hire or otherwise penalize
a person in his employment owing to the mere fact that he was convicted of a penal
or criminal offence, if the offence was in no way connected with the employment
or if the person has obtain a pardon for the offence.
19. Every employer must, without discrimination, grant equal
salary or wages to the members of his personnel who perform equivalent work at
the same place.
A difference in salary or wages based on experience, seniority, years of service,
merit, productivity or overtime is not considered discriminatory if such criteria
are common to all members of the personnel.
Adjustments in compensation and a pay equity plan are deemed not to discriminate
on the basis of gender if they are established in accordance with the Pay Equity
Act (R.S.Q., c. E-12.001).
20. A distinction, exclusion or preference based on the aptitudes
or qualifications required for an employment, or justified by the charitable,
philanthropic, religious, political or educational nature of a non-profit institution
or of an institution devoted exclusively to the well-being of an ethnic group,
is deemed non-discriminatory.
20.1 In an insurance or pension contract, a social benefits
plan, a retirement, pension or insurance plan, or a public pension or public insurance
plan, a distinction, exclusion or preference based on age, sex or civil status
is deemed non-discriminatory where the use thereof is warranted and the basis
therefor is a risk determination factor based on actuarial data.
In such contracts or plans, the use of health as a risk determination factor does
not constitute discrimination within the meaning of section 10.
Chapter II
Political rights
21. Every person has a right of petition to the National Assembly
for the redress of grievances.
22. Every person legally capable and qualified has the right
to be a candidate and to vote at an election.
Chapter III
Judicial rights
23. Every person has a right to a full and equal, public and
fair hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, for the determination of
his rights and obligations or of the merits of any charge brought against him.
The tribunal may decide to sit in camera, however, in the interest of morality
or public order.
24. No one may be deprived of his liberty or of his rights except
on grounds provided by law and in accordance with prescribed procedure.
24.1 No one may be subjected to unreasonable search or seizure.
25. Every person arrested or detained must be treated with humanity
and with the respect due to the human person.
26. Every person confined to a house of detention has the right
to separate treatment appropriate to his sex, his age and his physical or mental
condition.
27. Every person confined to a house of detention while awaiting
the outcome of his trial has the right to be kept apart, until final judgment,
from prisoners serving sentence.
28. Every person arrested or detained has a right to be promptly
informed, in a language he understands, of the grounds of his arrest or detention.
28.1 Every accused person has a right to be promptly informed
of the specific offence with which he is charged.
29. Every person arrested or detained has a right to immediately
advise his next of kin thereof and to have recourse to the assistance of an advocate.
He has a right to be informed promptly of those rights.
30. Every person arrested or detained must be brought promptly
before the competent tribunal or released.
31. No person arrested or detained may be deprived without just
cause of the right to be released on undertaking, with or without deposit or surety,
to appear before the tribunal at the appointed time.
32. Every person deprived of his liberty has a right of recourse
to habeas corpus.
32.1 Every accused person has a right to be tried within a
reasonable time.
33. Every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty
according to law.
33.1 No accused person may be compelled to testify against
himself at his trial.
34. Every person has a right to be represented by an advocate
or to be assisted by one before any tribunal.
35. Every accused person has a right to a full and complete defence
and has the right to examine and cross-examine witnesses.
36. Every accused person has a right to be assisted free of charge
by an interpreter if he does not understand the language used at the hearing or
if he is deaf.
37. No accused person may be held guilty on account of any act
or omission which at the time when it was committed, did not constitute a violation
of the law.
37.1 No person may be tried again for an offence of which he
has been acquitted or of which he has been found guilty by a judgment that has
acquired status as res judicata.
37.2 Where the punishment for an offence has been varied between
the time of Commission and the time of sentencing, the accused person has a right
to the lesser punishment.
38. No testimony before a tribunal may be used to incriminate
the person who gives it, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving
of contradictory evidence.
Chapter IV
Economic and social rights
39. Every child has a right to the protection, security and attention
that his parents or the persons acting in their stead are capable of providing.
40. Every person has a right, to the extent and according to
the standards provided for by law, to free public education.
41. Parents or the persons acting in their stead have a right
to require that, in the public educational establishments, their children receive
a religious or moral education in conformity with their convictions, within the
framework of the curricula provided for by law.
42. Parents or the persons acting in their stead have a right
to choose private educational establishments for their children, provided such
establishments comply with the standards prescribed or approved by virtue of the
law.
43. Persons belonging to ethnic minorities have a right to maintain
and develop their own cultural interests with the other members of their group.
44. Every person has a right to information to the extent provided
by law.
45. Every person in need has a right, for himself and his family,
to measures of financial assistance and to social measures provided for by law,
susceptible of ensuring such person an acceptable standard of living.
46. Every person who works has a right, in accordance with the
law, to fair and reasonable conditions of employment which have proper regard
for his health, safety and physical wellbeing.
47. Married or civil union spouses have, in the marriage or civil
union the same rights, obligations and responsibilities.
Together they provide the moral guidance and material support of the family and
the education of their common offspring.
48. Every aged person and every handicapped person has a right
to protection against any form of exploitation.
Such a person also has a right to the protection and security that must be provided
to him by his family or the persons acting in their stead.
Chapter V
Special and interpretative provisions
49. Any unlawful interference with any right or freedom recognized
by this Charter entitles the victim to obtain the cessation of such interference
and compensation for the moral or material prejudice resulting therefrom.
In case of unlawful and intentional interference, the tribunal
may, in addition, condemn the
person guilty of it to punitive damages.
PART II
COMMISSION DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE ET DES DROITS DE LA JEUNESSE
Chapter II
Functions
71. The Commission shall promote and uphold, by every appropriate
measure, the principles enunciated in this Charter.
The responsibilities of the Commission include, without being limited to, the
following:
(1) to make a non-adversary investigation, on its own initiative or following
receipt of a complaint, into any situation, except those refered to in section
49.1, which appears to the Commission to be either a case of discrimination within
the meaning of sections 10 to 19, including a case contemplated by section 86,
or a violation of the right of aged or handicapped persons against exploitation
enunciated in the first paragraph of section 48;
(2) to foster a settlement between a person whose rights allegedly have been
violated, or the person or organization representing him, and the person to whom
the violation is attributed;
(3) to report to the Public Curator any case it becomes aware of in the exercise
of its functions where, in its opinion, protective supervision within the jurisdiction
of the Public Curator is required;
(4) to develop and conduct a program of public information and education designed
to promote an understanding and acceptance of the object and provisions of this
Charter;
(5) to direct and encourage research and publications relating to fundamental
rights and freedoms;
(6) to point out any provision in the laws of Québec that may be contrary
to this Charter and make the appropriate recommendations to the Government;
(7) to receive and examine suggestions, recommendations and requests made
to it concerning human rights and freedoms, possibly by inviting any interested
person or body of persons to present his or its views before the Commission where
it believes that the interest of the public or of a body of persons so requires,
with a view to making the appropriate recommendations to the Government;
(8) to cooperate with any organization, dedicated to the promotion of human
rights and freedoms in or outside Québec;
(9) to make an investigation into any act of reprisal or attempted reprisals
and into any other act or omission which, in the opinion of the Commission, constitutes
an offence under this Charter, and report its findings to the Attorney General.
Chapter III
Complaints
74. Any person who believes he has been the victim of a violation
of rights that is within the sphere of investigation of the Commission may file
a complaint with the Commission. If several persons believe they have suffered
a violation of their rights in similar circumstances, they may form a group to
file a complaint.
Every complaint must be made in writing.
A complaint may be filed on behalf of a victim or group of
victims by any organization dedicated to the defence of human rights and freedoms
or to the welfare of a group of persons. The written consent of the victim or
victims is required except in the case of exploitation of aged persons or handicapped
persons contemplated by the first paragraph of section 48.
78. The Commission shall seek, in respect of every situation
reported in the complaint or revealed in the course of the investigation, any
evidence allowing it to decide whether it is expedient to foster the negotiation
of a settlement between the parties, to propose the submission of the dispute
to arbitration or to refer any unsettled issue to a tribunal.
The Commission may cease to act where it believes it would be futile to seek further
evidence or where the evidence collected is insufficient. Its decision shall state
in writing the reasons on which it is based and indicate any remedy which the
Commission may consider appropriate; it shall be notified to the victim and the
complainant. Where the Commission decides to cease to act, it shall give notice
thereof to any person to whom a violation of rights is attributed in the complaint.
79.Where a settlement is reached between the parties, it shall
be evidenced in writing.
If no settlement is possible, the Commission shall again propose arbitration to
the parties; it may also propose to the parties, taking into account the public
interest and the interest of the victim, any measure of redress, such as the admission
of the violation of a right, the cessation of the act complained of, the performance
of any act or the payment of compensation or punitive damages, within such time
as it fixes.
80. Where the parties will not agree to negotiation of a settlement
or to arbitration of the dispute or where the proposal of the Commission has not
been implemented to its satisfaction within the allotted time, the Commission
may apply to a tribunal to obtain, where consistent with the public interest,
any appropriate measure against the person at fault or to demand, in favour of
the victim, any measure of redress it considers appropriate at that time.
81. Where the Commission has reason to believe that the life,
health or safety of a person involved in a case of discrimination or exploitation
is threatened or that any evidence or clue pertaining to such a case could be
lost, it may apply to a tribunal for any emergency measure capable of putting
an end to the threat or risk of loss.
82. The Commission may also apply to a tribunal for any appropriate
measure against any person who attempts to take or takes reprisals against a person,
group or organization having an interest in the handling of a case of discrimination
or exploitation or having participated therein either as the victim, the complainant,
a witness or otherwise.
The Commission may, in particular, request the tribunal to order that, on such
date as it deems fair and expedient under the circumstances, the injured person
be instated in the position or dwelling he would have occupied had it not been
for the contravention.
83. Where the Commission applies to a tribunal, pursuant to sections
80 to 82, for measures for a person's benefit, it must obtain the person's written
consent, except in the case of a person contemplated by the first paragraph of
section 48.