1 of the CRFC.
Justice McLachlin states that the rights of the CRFC are not merely just privileges or merit but they are a mechanism of the membership in Canadian society and cannot be set aside. She states that while deference is not important of this case the justification of the legislature does not require empirical proof in a scientific case.
No response to the second issue in question was given by the majority panel, which dealt with the constitutional question regarding S. 15(1) of the CRFC.
The close-following minority of four judges (Gontheir, L"Heureux-Dube, Major and Bastarache JJ.) agreed with the majority panel that indeed there was an infringement of S. 3 of the CRFC by S. 51(e) of the CEA and this wasn't reasonably justified under S. 1 of the CRFC. They however disagreed that S. 51(e) of the CEA infringed the equality guarantee of S. 15(1) of the CRFC and while it has been stated that it does infringe S. 3 of the CRFC, the infringement is a reasonable limit that is demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. They favour dismissing the appeal altogether.
Discussion: While it seems fair as a general measure in a free, democratic and upwardly mobile society to allow everyone to vote, it must also be taken into account that every citizen in Canada walks a different path of life both personally and on a whole. While most citizens in our population are considered "normal" and law-abiding, our society has its share of lawbreakers and anomalous individuals to whom rights indeed apply equally but if such persons commit crimes against the collective consciousness of society, these same rights discontinue applying to them as they have attempted to break the democratic code and correction is required with such matters that can include reasonably denying certain rights and liberties of an individual.
The case at bar before the Ultra Supreme Court of Canada was the case of Sauve v. Canada. ... Sauve v. ... The issues raised by this case are that Sauve has challenged that s. 51(e) is in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. ... And as section 3 of the Charter says all "citizens" of Canada have the right to vote no matter where in Canada they are. ...
