What is a ‘right’?

A non-discriminatory reading of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms would include the protection of economic rights as components of the rights to equality and life, liberty and security of the person (Sections 15 and 7, respectively). Such an improvement to the Charter rests on whether these rights amount to more than simply having one’s government remove impediments to one’s pursuit of happiness, to the gaining of a livelihood, to the “free development of [one's] personality” (as put in Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

Looking to the example of publicly funded health care and education, such rights must be just as much about putting in place the infrastructure to enable one’s free development.

Whereas the current energy infrastructure is based on an increasingly expensive, unstable and ultimately unsustainable model, it is an impediment to the economically disadvantaged. Therefore, government should seek to remove the impediment and put in place an energy model that serves Canadians – all of them – equally.

It should be obvious that such an interpretation of the spirit of our protected rights is only contentious to those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. The poor and vulnerable would find such a reading of the Charter much less controversial.

Government should know that it can little afford to let affordable home heating be a luxury. Ultimately, it’s not an economic issue (although, as economic issues go, renewable energy and energy-efficiency improvements are opportunities). Protecting the most vulnerable in society is a moral issue, and an imperative one.

Posted by Mike Targett | Email a comment