Summer 2025 - POL 421W D100
Rights, Equality, and the Charter (4)
Class Number: 2282
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
May 12 – Aug 8, 2025: Tue, 11:30 a.m.–2:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Amyn Sajoo
asajoo@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
Eight upper division units in political science or permission of the department.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been part of the Canadian constitution since 1982. We assess the Charter's effectiveness in protecting human rights and equality within Canada and its effect on the wider political system. Students with credit for POL 428 under the title "The Charter of Rights" may not take this course for further credit. Students with credit for POL 421 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.
COURSE DETAILS:
Equality is at the heart of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which became part of the Canadian constitution in 1982. Why is this — and what does it mean to entrench a body of rights in the constitution ? Has the Charter been effective in protecting equality, and human rights at large, in Canada’s political system? Insofar as dignity is the basis of our rights and freedoms, have the courts done a better job of advancing this than did our legislatures under the pre-1982 “parliamentary sovereignty” principle?
We unpack these questions in the first half of this seminar, as we explore how the courts balance individual rights and freedoms against wider public interests. The second half will focus on pivotal cases in which equality has evolved for women, Indigenous peoples, ethno-religious minorities, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable individuals and groups (such as migrants). Students are expected to undertake their own research in this “W” seminar, as they prepare class presentations and draft their final papers.
Grading
- Class Presentation 20%
- Participation 10%
- Review Report 30%
- Final Paper 40%
NOTES:
Timely attendance and participation is expected in all sessions. A presentation to the class is required, as well as a mid-term report and a final paper. Late submissions will incur a penalty of 15% per day.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
MacIvor, Heather. Canadian Politics and Government in the Charter Era. 2nd ed. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press, 2013. E-ISBN: 9780199000609.
Supplementary Texts – SFU Library
- Robert Sharpe & Kent Roach. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 7th ed. Toronto: Irwin Law, 2021.
- Piketty, Thomas & Michael Sandel. Equality: What It Means and Why It Matters. Polity, 2025 {eBook}.
REQUIRED READING NOTES:
Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.
Department Undergraduate Notes:
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.
To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit:
- SFU’s Academic Integrity Policy: S10-01 Policy
- SFU’s Academic Integrity website, which includes helpful videos and tips in plain language: Academic Integrity at SFU
RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION
Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.