Section 34 of theCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the last section ofCanada's Charter of Rights, which is entrenched in theConstitution Act, 1982. Section 34 provides guidance for thelegal citation of theCharter.

The section has been interpreted by Canadian writers, who have analyzed both its intention and its meaning. Because the section affirms the name of theCharter and thus entrenches it in theConstitution Act, it came into focus in 1994 when aMember of Parliament (MP) proposed to change the name of theCharter.

Under the heading "Citation," the section reads:

34. This Part may be cited as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Section 34, as part of theConstitution Act, 1982, came into force on April 17, 1982. According to thegovernment of Canada, section 34's function "simply" relates to citation. The section clarifies that the first 34 sections of theConstitution Act, 1982 may be collectively called the "Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," which is an "official name."^[1] This would be the name of theEnglish version. TheFrench version of section 34 states "Titre de la présente partie:Charte canadienne des droits et libertés."^[2]

In 1982, constitutional scholarPeter Hogg suggested that the section also clarifies the size and scope of theCharter. Only section 34 and the sections that come before it compose theCharter. The next sections of theConstitution Act, 1982, includingsection 35 (which affirmsAboriginal rights) and section 36 (which affirmsequalization payments), are thus not Charter rights. This is significant, sincesection 1 of theConstitution Act, 1982 allows for limits onCharter rights, so it cannot apply to sections 35 or 36. However, this also means that a "judicial remedy" undersection 24 of the Act is not available for sections 35 or 36, since section 24 refers only to theCharter.^[3]

Canadian poetGeorge Elliott Clarke once analyzed section 34, calling it "blandlegalese." He wrote it was "reassuring" because it was dull, signalling neither fear nor excitement. Thus, it seemed to imply theCharter of Rights was not a radical constitutional change, despite the fact that it was potentially revolutionary for aconstitutional monarchy. In considering the nameCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Clarke felt the first word, "Canadian," hinted atCanadian nationalism. He then compared this to the FrenchDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and theUnited States Bill of Rights, saying that those documents were written by men who had just emerged from conflict and still remembered it, and thus Canada could be duller. However, he noted there was some drama in theCharter in that it was written when there was a threat ofQuebec separatism, andsection 27 (multiculturalism),section 25 (Aboriginal rights), andsection 15(2) (affirmative action) of theCharter could change the country.^[4]

In 1994, theHouse of Commons of Canada debated changing the name of theCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to theCanadian Charter of Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities. As Parliamentary SecretaryRussell MacLellan pointed out, this would have to be done through aconstitutional amendment, particularly to section 34, since section 34 "establishes the charter's title. The charter's title is thus part of the Constitution." MacLellan believed theamending formula needed would be the one requiring the support of seven provincial governments representing at least half of Canada's population.Edmonton Southwest MPIan McClelland had suggested the change, believing it to be necessary because "I felt we were becoming a nation of entitlement." MacLellan replied that "The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is and aspires to be a statement by Canadians about the rights and freedoms which we as Canadians deeply value in our democratic society." MacLellan added that section 1 implied a need for responsibilities, so "It is not necessary to change the title of this charter to emphasize the integral relationship between the individual's rights and his or her responsibility to the rest of society."^[5]

• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Legal citation

• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Good articles