The Charter 23 years later

Sunday shopping. Unregulated abortion. Voting rights for convicts. Restrictive evidentiary rules. Legal protection for non-citizens. Redefinition of pornography. Judicial salaries set by unelected commissions. No extradition for criminals facing capital punishment in other countries. Import exemptions for S&M products. Expanded defence for child pornography. Lower age of consent for sodomy. Criminalization of "hate speech." Separate schools for francophones. Equality rights for homosexuals. Protection for gays in the military and police. Spousal benefits for same-sex couples. Adoption rights for homosexuals. Legalization of same-sex marriage.

That's just a partial list of the most controversial changes that occurred in Canadian law after the Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into effect in 1982. They all arose from judicial interpretations of the charter's guarantees of "fundamental freedoms" for all, and specific rights for women, accused criminals and minorities. -- Western Standard