Chief Justice Brian Dickson's influence in interpreting the Charter

Brian Dickson was the first chief justice during the enactment of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter is enshrined in the Canadian constitution and became the supreme law of Canada when enacted with the purpose being to protect the rights and freedoms it established for Canadians. Dickson’s exceptional impact on a variety of cases led him to being one of the most revered figures in Canadian legal history. His numerous landmark decisions are accentuated by his abounding number of Supreme Court decisions that have affirmed many aspects of the Charter. This thesis will attempt to highlight his many decisions and the sections of the Charter they recognized. This will be done by analyzing Dickson’s reasoning through a qualitative study. A mixed method research design will be paired with a mixture of purposive and convenience sampling to acquire cases with the greatest thematic value. Then, a thematic analysis will be conducted to highlight Dickson’s interpretation of the case and the language of the Charter. The five cases chosen for this thesis will be the s.8 case of Hunter et.al v. Southam Inc. (1984), a s.2 freedom of religion case in R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd (1985), a s.1 and s.11(d) case of R. v. Oakes (1986), a s.2(b) freedom of expression case in Irwin Toy Ltd. v. Quebec (Attorney General) (1989) and a s.15 case in Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia (1989). The chosen cases are described as being the first major decisions for their respective Charter sections and will help illustrate the important effect Dickson had in setting up the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for its sustained and ever-lasting success.