Conclusions And Recommendations – Charter Statements

Conclusions

As a requirement under the Department of Justice Act, Charter Statements have become a routine component of the federal legislative process. Justice has supported the Minister of Justice to ensure that he can successfully fulfil his legal obligation.

The experience gained to date with Charter Statements indicates that there is still some ambiguity regarding the exact nature of these documents. While not legal advice, they are nonetheless describing legal considerations regarding the ways in which a bill may engage Charter rights and freedoms, and the key considerations that support their constitutionality. In this context, the evaluation points to the need to further clarify the intended purpose of Charter Statements.

Justice has established an efficient process for the development of Charter Statements. Expanding the reference documents and templates available for those involved in preparing them will further support the efficiency of this process.

Other Justice groups, notably LSUs, play an important role in supporting the work of HRLS in drafting Charter Statements. Having legal counsel in LSUs maintain a high level of awareness and understanding of the Charter Statements requirement and their role in the drafting process is key to fulfilling this obligation.

While they may find themselves at the centre of parliamentary debates, Charter Statements have added new considerations that have helped to inform discussions on Charter rights and freedoms and potential effects. Non-parliamentarian stakeholders have also turned to these statements to inform their work, and the courts have considered them in examining new legislative provisions.

As considerable efforts are put into these Charter Statements, ongoing efforts are required to ensure that stakeholders are aware of them for all new bills, and that these statements are used in accordance with their intended purpose.

Recommendations

Based on the findings described in the report, the following recommendations are made:

  1. The Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, in consultation with appropriate parties, should clarify that in addition to their primary purpose of identifying the potential effects of government bills on Charter rights and freedoms, Charter Statements also describe key considerations that support the position of the federal government on the constitutionality of a proposed bill.
  2. The Human Rights Law Section should further expand the range of reference documents and templates available to support the efficient and consistent development of new Charter Statements.
  3. The Public Law and Legislative Sector, in consultation with appropriate parties, should take measures to increase legal counsel from LSUs’ awareness and understanding of the Charter Statement requirement and of their role in the drafting process.
  4. The Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, in consultation with appropriate parties, should identify ways to increase external stakeholders’ awareness of Charter Statements associated with new bills.