The Charter of Rights and Freedoms vs. vaccine mandates — and government inaction on COVID

Many who oppose COVID vaccine passports adamantly insist such programs infringe upon rights and freedoms — often citing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

It has been mentioned again and again, in Alberta and across the country, as protestors opposed to vaccine passports yelled abuse at health-care workers in front of hospitals, marched in the streets by the thousands, likened mandates to the horrors suffered by Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and harassed staff at participating businesses until some temporarily closed.

But they'd likely face tough odds if they tried to use the charter to challenge vaccine passports — except, perhaps, in rare and specific circumstances, some legal experts say.

Meanwhile, governments that delayed passports and stricter health measures to keep from infringing upon our rights may be vulnerable to possible — albeit improbable — challenges that inaction on COVID-19 violated those rights, instead.

Here's a look at how the charter might help or hinder legal arguments for both sides of the debate.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms — heavily promoted by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau — was eventually entrenched into the Canadian Constitution in 1982, and protects many rights and civil liberties.

But there's a common misunderstanding of how the charter works, says Carissima Mathen, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa who specializes in the Constitution.