What Are Legal Rights in Canada? — Sections 7 to 14 of the Charter

# What Are Legal Rights in Canada? — Sections 7 to 14 of the Charter

Legal rights are the Charter sections that protect anyone — citizen or not — when they interact with the police, the courts, or the criminal justice system. They cover Sections 7 through 14 of the Charter and are commonly tested on the citizenship exam. This guide explains each one.

The most powerful Charter section. It protects:

• The right to physical safety from government action
• The right to make personal medical decisions (medically assisted dying, abortion access)
• Procedural fairness in immigration, welfare, and child protection hearings
• The right to a fair process before the state takes liberty

Police generally need a warrant to enter a home or seize property. Some exceptions: searches incident to arrest, exigent circumstances, customs at the border. Evidence obtained from an unreasonable search can be excluded under Section 24(2).

Police cannot detain you without legal authority. Brief street stops are usually allowed for investigation, but extended detention without grounds violates Section 9.

You have three rights triggered the moment you are arrested or detained:

• (a) to be informed promptly of the reasons
• (b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right
• (c) to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus

This is the Canadian version of "Miranda rights" — though Canada's rule predates the U.S. case.

For more on habeas corpus, see [What Is Habeas Corpus in Canada?](/blog/habeas-corpus-canada-explained).

The longest legal-rights section. Anyone charged with an offence has the right to:

• (a) be informed of the offence without unreasonable delay
• (b) be tried within a reasonable time
• (c) not be compelled to be a witness against themselves
• (d) be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair and public hearing by an independent tribunal
• (e) reasonable bail
• (f) trial by jury where the maximum punishment is 5 years or more
• (g) not be found guilty unless the act was a crime at the time
• (h) not be tried twice for the same offence (double jeopardy)
• (i) the lesser punishment if the law has changed between offence and sentencing

Used to strike down some mandatory minimum sentences and some aspects of solitary confinement.

A witness who testifies in one proceeding cannot have their testimony used against them in another, except for perjury. This is a narrower form of the right against self-incrimination than the broader Section 11(c).

Important in a country with two official languages and many other languages spoken.

Legal rights protect every person in Canada, not just citizens. A visitor accused of a crime in Canada has all the same Section 7–14 rights as a citizen.

Common test questions:

• "What rights do you have if you are arrested in Canada?" → Right to know why, right to a lawyer, right to challenge the detention
• "Are you presumed innocent in Canada?" → Yes, until proven guilty
• "Can the government punish you for an act that was not a crime when you committed it?" → No, Section 11(g)
• "Is double jeopardy allowed?" → No, Section 11(h)

Legal-rights questions show up regularly on the test. Try our [free Canadian citizenship practice test](/practice-test) to drill them. For broader Charter context, see [The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Explained](/blog/canadian-charter-of-rights-freedoms-explained).