8 F e b r u A r y 2 0 1 5 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m
C e N t r A L
\ At L A N t I C \ C e N t r A L \ W e s t
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WrAp-up
N
owadays, balancing the budget
and cleaning up public finances
is the mantra of many govern-
ments, if not all, and Quebec is
no exception. Quebec is distinct, though,
in that it is the only jurisdiction in North
America to have included social and
economic rights in its fundamental law,
namely the Quebec Charter of Human
Rights and Freedoms.
Consequently, it was issued a warn-
ing by the Commission des droits de
la personne et des droits de la jeunesse,
according to which it risked costly liti-
gation if it was found to have breached
Charter rights in the course of imple-
menting cost-cutting policies.
Since his relatively surprising victory
on April 7 of last year, when he beat
incumbent Parti Québécois leader Pau-
line Marois, Premier Philippe Couillard
has put in place several cost-reduction
measures, some spectacular, such as the
one imposing a significant fee increase
for childcare, and some more discreet,
such as the suspension of a public cam-
paign against homophobia that had
been launched in 2013 by Bertrand St-
Arnaud, the previous government's jus-
tice minister. Many such measures are
affecting social services, which prompt-
ed the commission to issue its warning
to the government.
Although the commission must not
interfere in the government's decisions
regarding the ongoing review of pro-
grams, said its president Jacques Fré-
mont, the government must still ensure
the fundamental rights of people who
are affected by the cost-cutting policies
are respected, particularly "the most
Budget cuts
v. Charter rights
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