Which two documents are key sources of Canadians’ rights and freedoms?
- The Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Magna Carta
- The Official Languages Act and the Canada Health Act
- The Treaty of Paris and the Act of Union
- The US Constitution and Magna Carta
Answer: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Magna Carta
Magna Carta, signed in England in 1215, began the 800-year tradition of ordered liberty that Canadians inherited. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms was entrenched in the Constitution in 1982. Together they are key sources of the freedoms Canadians enjoy.
Learn more: Where rights and laws come from
- Rights and responsibilities come from Canada’s history, are secured by Canadian law and reflect shared traditions, identity and values.
- Sources of Canadian law: laws passed by Parliament and the provincial legislatures, English common law, the civil code of France, and the unwritten constitution inherited from Great Britain.
- Magna Carta was signed in England in 1215. It is also called the Great Charter of Freedoms.
- Canada’s tradition of ordered liberty is about 800 years old and dates back to Magna Carta.
- Habeas corpus, the right to challenge unlawful detention by the state, comes from English common law.