Section Four of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Interpretation

Interpretation

In peacetime, the Charter could theoretically allow almost six years between elections: under subsection 4(1) the House of Commons (or legislative assembly) would expire five years from the return of the writs of the previous election, and then section 5 would require an election to be called approximately nine months after that (at the latest), in order that Parliament (or the legislature) could fulfil its obligation of sitting at least once every twelve months. This interpretation is not universally accepted, and in any event the point is theoretical.

Section 4 came before the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench in 1994, in the case Atkins et al. v. City of Calgary. In Alberta, when municipal elections are held, work on proposed laws and agendas can be continued when the new municipal council meets. This is unusual, as at the federal and provincial level such legislation would expire and would have to be reintroduced. As it was argued the municipal council thus never ceases to operate even for elections, it could be considered a violation of section 4. Although municipalities are not mentioned by section 4, they are under the control of the provinces, which are bound by section 4. However, the court refused to accept that just because the municipal council was under the control of the legislative assembly, it could be considered a legislative assembly itself and was thus bound by section 4. The municipal council would rather be a creation of the legislature.