Canadian Constitution Foundation releases 2024 civil liberties “naughty and nice” list

Canadian Constitution Foundation releases 2024 civil liberties “naughty and nice” list

TORONTO: The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) has released a Christmas-themed civil liberties “naughty and nice” list, ranking different government actions over the last 12 months. The tongue-in-cheek report lists the government actions which showed the least respect for our fundamental freedoms or constitutional division of powers in the “naughty list.” The CCF report also lists the times when governments or courts got things right on the “nice list.” 

The report is available to download on the CCF website here.

The following government measures, proposals, and even individuals made the “naughty list”:

  1. Bubble zone laws
  2. Criminalizing “residential school denialism”
  3. The Court Challenges Program
  4. The Whitehorse “Civility” Policy banning “microagressions”
  5. MP Taleeb Noormohamed
  6. Canada’s monopoly healthcare system
  7. The Newfoundland & Labrador government’s claim there is no right to interprovincial movement
  8. Niagara Region’s eclipse emergency and ban on signs
  9. Censorship in the Online Harms Bill (parts 1-3)

On the “nice list,” the CCF found that these governments, courts, or civil society got things right: 

  1. Child protection in the Online Harms Bill (part 4)
  2. The Emergencies Act decision
  3. Alberta’s professional regulation reforms
  4. The Supreme Court’s decision in R v Power that there is no absolute state immunity
  5. The University of Toronto defending its property rights
  6. Naturalized gardens as political expression
  7. Canada’s electoral system
  8. The Supreme Court’s decision in Dickson v VGFN that there are no “Charter-free zones”
  9. The new bestselling book “Free Speech in Canada”

CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn said that the CCF is concerned  with the expanding state intrusions into our rights we saw in 2024.

“But we are looking forward to a new year where we can fight back against these intrusions,” Van Geyn added. “This will not occur because of governments’ own decisions to cede power. Rather, it will be because of the tireless advocacy of all our supporters and the work that we and other organizations do to fight against government overreach.” said Van Geyn.

The CCF is a registered charity, independent and non-partisan. We defend the constitutional rights and freedoms of Canadians in the courts of law and public opinion. 

Christine Van Geyn
Litigation Director
Canadian Constitution Foundation
1-888-695-9105 x. 103
[email protected]