Disability Law Primer (PDF) - ARCH Disability Law Centre

this principle will be important for strengthening the extent to which CRPD obligations
are enforced in Canada.

A. CRPD in Canadian Charter Jurisprudence

The purpose and goals of the CRPD are to promote, protect and ensure the rights,
dignity and full inclusion of persons with disabilities.^93 The equality provisions of the
Charter share many of the same values and principles advanced in the CRPD.^94

The Supreme Court of Canada has held that international human rights obligations are
a relevant and persuasive factor in Charter interpretation, and their content is an
important indicator of the meaning of the full benefit of the Charter’s protection. These
obligations should therefore inform the content of the rights guaranteed by the Charter.
In Baker v Canada, the Supreme Court discussed “the important role of international
human rights law as an aid in interpreting domestic law” and that it “is also a critical
influence on the interpretation of the scope of the rights included in the Charter.”^95 In
Canada (Justice) v Khadr, the Supreme Court relied on R v Hape to state that in
interpreting the scope and application of the Charter, the courts should seek to ensure
compliance with Canada’s binding obligations under international law.

The CRPD can be used as an interpretive tool in the context of the Charter by giving
content to the rights and freedoms expressed. Justice Dickson of Supreme Court of
Canada in Slaight Communication referred to his ruling in Reference Re Public Service
Employee Relations Act (Alta) where he stated:

The content of Canada's international human rights obligations is, in my

view, an important indicia of the meaning of the "full benefit of the

Charter's protection". I believe that the Charter should generally be

presumed to provide protection at least as great as that afforded by

(^93) Supra note 1, Article 1.
(^94) Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 15, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B
to the 95 Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11.
Baker, supra note 75 at para 70; Canada (Justice) v Khadr, 2008 SCC 28, [2008] 2 SCR 125 at para
18, citing R v Hape, supra note 88 [Khadr].