Mr. Speaker, 36 years ago today, Queen Elizabeth II signed into law the Constitution Act, 1982, which contains the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The charter is a statement of Canada's principles, including fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights, and language rights, and it provides a framework to assert these cherished principles. The body of jurisprudence that has developed under the charter has breathed life into the document.
We are blessed to live in one of the best countries in the world. However, we should never take that blessing for granted and we must continue to work for liberty, justice, and equality for all our citizens.
I invite all of us here in Parliament, and indeed all Canadians, to reflect on the principles expressed 36 years ago in the charter and the responsibility we have to bequeath to the generations of Canadians to follow an even more free, fair, and democratic Canada.