SAUVÉ vs. CANADA
$1.25
October 31, 2002
Vol XCIII, No. 311
Rights/Laws Involved
Essential Facts & Issues of the Case
“every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the house of commons of a
legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein”
“The Canadian charter of rights and freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by laws as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”
- Sauve serving life in prison argued that prisoners should have the right to vote
- another prisoner serving life in prison had the same issue and argued on that fact three years later
- violates section 3 of the charter that all Canadian citizens have the right to vote
Issues of the case:
- infringed section 3 of charter of prisoners but could section 1 as a reasonable limit save it?
- every citizen has the right to vote, so why couldn’t prisoners?
Our Opinion
MY OPINION
i agree with the courts decision because even though the prisoners are locked up for a long time they are still citizens of the country and if they want to vote and participate in the elections they should be allowed to.
VANESSA'S OPINION
in my opinion. i believe that prisoners should not have the right to vote because they're voting for someone who will not only represent our country but also represent laws and rules that ensure our safety. it does not make sense that those who have broken the law and put us in danger should have the right to vote because its a complete contradiction.
Rationale for Decision
Decision of Court(s)
Resources
- Both the Ontario Court of Appeal and The supreme Court of Canada agreed that the prisoners right to vote was not a reasonable violation of the Charter
- Section 51(e) does infringe section 3 of the charter and the infringement is a reasonable limit that is justified in a democratic society.
There are 3 reasons for the judges decisions:
- They found that the right to vote should not have been discriminated to a certain type of citizen.
- The courts also could not use that the prisoners were isolated because they are surrounded by newspapers and cable television so the prisoners will always be updated about anything in the public making them capable of making informed decisions.
- Denying the right to vote is a blanket punishment and the Canada Elections Act did not justify section 1 of the Charter.
- https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2010/index.do
- http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/en/timePortals/milestones/135mile.asp
- http://ualawccsprod.srv.ualberta.ca/ccs/index.php/constitutional-issues/the-charter/democratic-rights-sections-3-5/671-sauve-v-canada-2002-limits-on-voting-rights-for-prisoners