Your Rights in Canada, A Guide

Everyone who steps foot into Canada has a certain set of rights that they are always entitled to, whether they are an immigrant or a citizen.

Understanding rights granted to people within Canada is essential before entering the country, and oftentimes people are attracted to come to Canada based on these rights themselves.

Applying for asylum can be done within the country of Canada or from another country through a Canadian consulate or embassy.

Some rights granted to people in Canada:

• The freedom to practice any religion they choose,
• Regardless of gender, race, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability, everyone is entitled to the same rights,
• You have the freedom to print your thoughts and beliefs as well as speak them aloud,
• Everyone is equal under the law and Canada’s government must recognize this,
• All government services and documents must be made available to people in either English or French,
• Canada also grants these same rights to people independent of their sexuality.

You may notice that some of these rights are similar in content to the rights in the United States Constitution. This is because the US Constitution is significantly older than the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (by a little over two hundred years).

When the Canadian Constitution was written about fifty years ago it borrowed quite a bit from its neighbor to the south. However, because of the age of the United States’ document the language is a little more complex.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Canada made this a little easier to understand by breaking it up into sections:

• People have the freedom of religion in Canada.
• You have the right to voicing your own opinions in Canada.
• You have the right to print your own opinions in Canada.
• You can gather with people in Canada.

They are similar, but Canada is by far easier to understand.