Open AccessRestricting Freedom of Peaceful Assembly During Public Health Emergencies
Author(s) -
Kristopher Kinsinger
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
constitutional forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1927-4165
pISSN - 0847-3889
DOI - 10.21991/cf29412
Subject(s) - charter , jurisprudence , political science , law , covid-19 , section (typography) , law and economics , business , sociology , medicine , disease , pathology , advertising , infectious disease (medical specialty)
As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada continues, so too does litigation challenging policies intended to slow the spread of the virus. A growing number of claimants have argued that these sweeping public health measures — many of them drastic and previously unimaginable — infringe various provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.1 While a significant number of claims have been brought pursuant to protections that support a sustained body of jurisprudence, litigants may yet seek to explore some of the more forgotten sections of the Charter, particularly section 2(c)’s guarantee of freedom of peaceful assembly. In an effort to encourage the development of a body of jurisprudence on section 2(c), this article envisions how such Charter challenges might unfold.