The Canadian Constitution, the Charter and Environmental Law

This section explains how Canada’s constitutional framework and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms shape environmental law, emphasizing that while the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, it does not explicitly guarantee a right to a healthy environment. It outlines how environmental protection is instead addressed indirectly through divisions of federal and provincial powers, Charter rights such as life, liberty, security of the person, and equality, and through litigation that tests government action using tools like the Oakes Test. In this topic, Canada is situated within a broader international context, comparing constitutional environmental protections in countries such as Norway, Costa Rica, and France, and weighs the potential benefits and drawbacks of formally entrenching environmental rights in the Charter, including stronger legal accountability, reconciliation with Indigenous laws, and concerns about judicial power and enforceability

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