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{{Dial-A-Law Blurb}}
==The Charter protects several rights and freedoms==The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms '' is part of Canada’s Constitution. If a court decides that a law, or part of a law, or an action by a government actor or entity, violates the Charter, that law, or action, is not valid—unless the Canadian Parliament or a provincial legislature can justify the Charter violation as being necessary as a reasonable limit, or the legislature uses section 33 (the notwithstanding clause of the Charter) to say that the challenged law operates in spite of the Charter. (The “reasonable limits” and “notwithstanding” clauses are explained later in this script). As well, the Charter controls the actions of state officials such as the police. Both the Constitution and the Charter are on the Canadian government website at http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const.
The Charter guarantees the following freedoms and rights:
•Equality rights—section 15 ensures equal benefit and protection of the law without discrimination based on personal traits such as race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age or mental or physical disability.