In a guest post, Barry W Bussey, general counsel to the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, looks at a recent decision on the Charter of Rights.

“Charter values are not Charter rights by another name or in a different setting; they are a different juridical concept,” wrote Justice Bradley Miller in the recent Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in McKitty v Hayani 2019 ONCA 805.

This is but the latest criticism of the controversial use of “Charter values” in Canadian jurisprudence. “Charter values” are “values” derived from the Canadian Charter by a judge who then applies them to the case at hand. They are not listed in the Charter and are often at odds with the enumerated rights of the Charter itself. Hence the controversy over their use. Continue reading →