New Canadian Bill of Rights Adopted; Provides for Non-discrimination

The new Canadian Bill of Rights, adopted unanimously by the House of Commons, and in the Senate without a recorded vote, affirms that the human rights and fundamental freedoms the bill enumerates “have existed and shall continue to exist without discrimination by reason of race, national origin, color, religion or sex.”

The rights and freedoms so guaranteed were listed as: “the right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law; the right of the individual to equality before the law and the protection of the law; freedom of religion; freedom of speech; freedom of assembly and association and freedom of the press, “

The measure specifies that every federal law of Canada must conform to the Canadian Bill of Rights unless Parliament, by special act, decreed otherwise. It has jurisdiction only in the federal or Dominion field, not in the areas of concern to the Canadian provinces. As an act of Parliament, it can be repealed by Parliament at a later date.

Prior to adoption of the act, a Canadian Jewish Congress delegation urged a special parliamentary committee that special clauses be inserted in all relevant federal legislation asserting specifically the principle of non-discrimination specified in the Bill of Rights.

In Toronto, the influential Globe and Mail editorially lauded Prime Minister John Diefenbaker for securing enactment of the Canadian Bill of Rights. The paper asserted, however, that “a Bill of Rights with so many loopholes, with such restricted authority, is hardly the sort of charter, of grand concept and design, for which Mr. Dicfenbaker has been striving all these years. Such a charter can take the form only of an amendment to the Constitution, the British North America Act.” The paper urged the Prime Minister to work for such a constitutional amendment.