The Canadian Constitution is actually made up of many documents, and some unwritten traditions. However, there are two main written sources:
In Canada, the power to make laws on specific matters is divided between the federal government and the provincial governments.
This distribution of legislative powers is set out in two sections of the Constitution Act, 1867:
Note: Section 93 also grants provinces exclusive powers over education.
Power over matters not listed in these sections is held by the federal government.
Video source: The Reflective Prof [Wayland Chau], 2020.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Constitution Act, 1982.
It "protects basic rights and freedoms that are essential to keeping Canada a free and democratic society. It ensures that the government, or anyone acting on its behalf, doesn’t take away or interfere with these rights or freedoms unreasonably."
Canada. Department of Justice. (2019). Learn about the Charter. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/learn-apprend.html
Books and government reports can be great places to get a solid understanding of your topic. Many are available online.
Here are a few suggested books to help you get started. You can find many more using the library catalogue search box below.
Use the KPU Library Catalogue to search for more books and e-books related to the Charter. It has better search options for finding these types of resources than the Summon Search tool.
Suggested search terms:
Or try subject terms related to specific provisions of the Charter, like:
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 15(1), Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11.
"Note that pinpoint references to the Canadian Charter and the Constitution Act, 1982 are immediately after the title. For any other constitutional statutes, place pinpoint references after the chapter number." (Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 9th ed., p. E-27)
In your References list:
Canada, Department of Justice. (2021, January 25). Charterpedia. Retrieved May 3, 2021, from https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/index.html
Note: Charterpedia is continuously updated so individual pages have different publication dates. Your reference should reflect how recent the content is on the page you are citing. Check the "Date Modified" at the bottom of the page. Also add the date that you viewed ("retrieved") that page.
In-text citation for quotation from one part of Charterpedia:
(Canada, 2021, Section 15 Equality Rights, "Purpose")
Note: because the paragraphs within each section are not numbered, I have given the header title for the part from which I have quoted.