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to the extent that Parliament could do so by statute.  The same can be said about the provincial enactments which guaranteed some of the rights of the citizens in certain of the provinces of Canada, again to the extent that such guarantees can be given by statute.  But we do not yet have in this country a comprehensive Charter of Human Rights which assures to Canadians all of the rights they believe to be fundamental, nor do we have a Charter which would prevent these rights from being infringed by the legislative bodies of Canada.  This can be achieved only by placing a Charter of Human Rights in the Constitution of our country.  Such a Charter, unlike most proposed constitutional amendments, would not involve a transfer of legislative power from one government to another.  It would not, for instance, affect provincial jurisdiction over property and civil rights any more than federal jurisdiction over criminal law and procedure in criminal matters.  Instead, it would involve a common agreement to restrict the power of all governments.

The Government of Canada proposes such a Charter of Human Rights and suggests that it consist of four parts.  The first would guarantee to all Canadians freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of assembly and association, and freedom of the press.  It would assure the right of every individual to life, liberty, security of person and enjoyment of property, and would guarantee to every individual equality before the law and equal protection of the law.

The second part of the Charter of Human Rights would prevent the federal Parliament and the provincial legislatures from depriving the individual of the remedy of habeas corpus, and would assure such rights as the presumption that a person is innocent until proved guilty, the right to be represented by counsel, and the right to a fair hearing.

The third part of the Charter of Human Rights would prohibit discrimination, whether by reason of sex, race, national or ethnic origin, colour or religion.  This prohibition would apply both to private conduct and to actions of the state, whether federal or provincial.

The Government of Canada is proposing, finally, that the Charter of Human Rights contain a fourth part designed to protect those linguistic rights identified by the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in Book I of its Report.

The Government of Canada invites the governments of the provinces to begin the consideration of such a Charter.  The broad outlines of our proposal have been discussed with the Premiers in advance of this Conference so as to facilitate such consideration.  Agreement on a Canadian Charter of Human Rights would be a stirring beginning to our second century; it would also be an appropriate action for 1968 which has been
 

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