Facts: A federal penitentiary inmate, Richard Sauve appealed to have his right to vote while serving a sentence of more than 2 years in length. He brought forward an application to the Supreme Court on based on the fact that S. 51(e) of the Canada Elections Act (CEA) infringed on S. 3 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of Canada (CRFC), which entitled every Canadian to the right to vote and was justified under S. 1 of the CRFC. S. 51(e) of the CEA that put a ban on federal inmates" right to vote in a federal or provincial election.
Issues: 1. Does S. 51(e) of the Canada Elections Act infringe the guarantee of the rights of all citizens to vote under S. 3 of the Charter and if so, is the infringement justified under S. 1 of the Charter?.
2. Does S. 51 (e) of the Canada Elections Act infringe the equality guarantee of S. 15(1) of the Charter and if so, is the infringement justified under S. 1 of the Charter?.
Held: (5-4): The respondents agree that the voting restriction of S. 51(e) of the CEA constituted a violation S. 3 of the CRFC. Therefore this restriction was not valid unless it was justified under S. 1 of the Charter and thus its validity must be analysed thoroughly.
Reason(s): per McLachlin, C.J., plus 4: The disenfranchisement of prisoners committed to federal institutions (those with sentences of 2 years and over) cannot be reasonably justified under S. 1 of the CRFC. It is however also stated that such rights, as prisoners running for office is not seen practical and have to be limited as the practice of democratic rights dictate. It is clear that democratic participation of individuals, whether inmates or not are not simply theoretical but also materials of custom. The purpose of the legislature is to retain and exercise legal power to limit the specifics of these practices where of-course they can be justified. However, in a free and democratic society, the disenfranchisement of all inmates, whether federal or provincial cannot be justified under S.
The case at bar before the Ultra Supreme Court of Canada was the case of Sauve v. Canada. ... Sauve v. ... The issues raised by this case are that Sauve has challenged that s. 51(e) is in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. ... And as section 3 of the Charter says all "citizens" of Canada have the right to vote no matter where in Canada they are. ...
