nadian diplomats also left the country, and the
Canadian embassy was closed. The story of the es-
cape was quickly broken by a Canadian reporter. A
tremendous response ensued in the United States,
which hailed the Canadian government and citizens
for their support. The acclaim took many forms, in-
cluding billboards and posters thanking Canada
hung from bridges. In particular, Canadian ambas-
sador Ken Taylor was singled out for praise from the
government of the United States. A Canadian movie
was subsequently made celebrating the escape. The
lead role played by the CIA in the operation re-
mained a secret until 1997.
Impact The Canadian role in the escape of the six
American diplomats marked a particular high point
in the relationship between Canadians and Ameri-
cans. It also brought a modicum of relief to the
Carter administration, which was under fire for its
inability to rescue the fifty-three hostages then being
held in the U.S. embassy.
Further Reading
Adams, Claude, and Jean Pelletier.The Canadian Ca-
per. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1981.
Bowden, Mark.Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle
in America’s War with Militant Islam. New York: At-
lantic Monthly Press, 2006.
Mendez, Antonio J., and Malcolm McConnell.The
Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA. Toronto:
HarperCollins Canada, 2000.
Steve Hewitt
See also Canada and the United States; Foreign
policy of Canada; Iranian hostage crisis; Reagan,
Ronald.
Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms
Definition Canada’s primary constitutional
enumeration of civil rights and liberties
Date Came into force on April 17, 1982, except
section 15, which came into force on April 17,
1985
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms constitutes
Part 1 of the Constitution Act, 1982. It established a set of
civil liberties guaranteed to all persons in Canada or, in
some cases, to all citizens of the countr y.
In 1982, the Canadian constitution was patriated
from the United Kingdom by the Canada Act of
1982, and Canada became a fully sovereign nation
for the first time. The Canadian version of the law
enacting this sovereignty was the Constitution Act,
1982, and Part 1 of that act is known as the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The charter guar-
antees rights “subject only to such reasonable limits
prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in
a free and democratic society.” That is, it allows the
legislature to pass statutes imposing reasonable lim-
its upon the guaranteed freedoms.
The charter provides rights broadly, guaranteeing
every individual equal protection and benefit of the
law notwithstanding race, national or ethnic origin,
color, sex, age, or mental or physical disability. How-
ever, it also addresses the historical claims of certain
groups directly. The linguistic claims of the Québécois
French are recognized, as are some claims of Can-
ada’s aboriginal, or First Nations, peoples. The char-
ter, which is written in both French and English, spec-
ifies that both languages are official languages of
Canada and are to be treated equally, as well as pro-
viding speakers of each language with the right to be
educated in that language. Meanwhile, the charter
specifies that it does not interfere with established ab-
original treaty rights. Part 2 of the Constitution Act,
1982, further stipulates that First Nations representa-
tives will be consulted prior to passage of any amend-
ment to a section of the constitution dealing with First
Nations rights.
Just as section 1 of the charter specifies that stat-
utes may prescribe reasonable limits to freedoms,
section 33, also known as the notwithstanding clause,
makes it possible for Parliament or a provincial legis-
lature to override some charter rights, including the
fundamental freedoms and legal rights. Linguistic
rights and the right to vote cannot be overridden.
The clause ensures that the federal constitution
does not go too far in regulating matters that fall
within the jurisdiction of the provinces, as well as
preserving the national parliament’s supremacy over
all other institutions of the federal government.Impact The introduction of the Canadian Charter
of Rights and Freedoms coincided with the birth of a
more politically mature Canada. With passage of the
Canada Act of 1982, the nation ceased to rely on the
consent of the British parliament to modify its con-
stitution, and it was appropriate that the newly sover-184 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The Eighties in America