The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a segment of the Canadian Constitution intended to protect the rights of individuals against the government and to protect the rights of minorities. It covers several areas, such as fundamental rights, democratic rights, legal rights, linguistic rights, and equality rights.
The Charter came into force on April 17, 1982 as part of the recently patriatied Canadian Constitution. After two years of debate between the federal and provincial governments, the federal government made a key concession. By including a "notwithstanding" clause in the Constitution, the provinces could declare any law exempt from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
