Claiming Social and Economic Rights in Canada1）.ppt

Slaight Communications Inc. v. Davidson, [1989] 1 S.C.R.1038. Employers right to freedom of expression must be limited to protect the right to work as protected in the ICESCR. Charter rights must be interpreted consistently with Canadas international human rights obligations, according to a presumption that the Charter accords at least the same level of protection as international human rights instruments. Slaight Communications “Especially in light of Canadas ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and commitment therein to protect, inter alia, the right to work in its various dimensions found in Article 6 of that treaty, it cannot be doubted that the objective in this case is a very important one. In Reference Re Public Service Employee Relations Act (Alta.), supra, I had occasion to say at p. 349: The content of Canadas international human rights obligations is, in my view, an important indicia of the meaning of the full benefit of the Charters protection. I believe that the Charter should generally be presumed to provide protection at least as great as that afforded by similar provisions in international human rights documents which Canada has ratified.” Slaight Communications Although this Court must not add anything to legislation or delete anything from it in order to make it consistent with the Charter, there is no doubt in my mind that it should also not interpret legislation that is open to more than one interpretation so as to make it inconsistent with the Charter and hence of no force or effect. Legislation conferring an imprecise discretion must therefore be interpreted as not allowing the Charter rights to be infringed. Accordingly, an adjudicator exercising delegated powers does not have the power to make an order that would result in an infringement of the Charter, and he exceeds his jurisdiction if he does so. Baker v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 817.