Quick summary of corporations’ use of s.7 of the Charter:
- Irwin Toy- a corp CANNOT avail itself of the protection offered by s.7 of Charter; nonsensical to speak of a corp being put in jail à7 protection on a singularly human level “everyone” excludes corp and other artificial entities
- Dywidag Systems Intl Canada- only humans protected by s.7 of Charter EXCEPTION related to attacks on the constitutionality of a statute (Big M Drug Mart)
- R v CIP- corp cld not invoke s.11 of Charter (right to trial w/in a reasonable time) UNLESS contesting constitutional validity of the charging statute
- Whether or not a corp entity can invoke a Charter right will depend upon whether it can establish that it has an int falling w/in the scope of the guarantee an one which accords w/ the purpose of the provision
- Slaight- 2(b)’s protection of freedom of expression applied to corporations
- R v 741290 Ontario Inc- “any person charged w/ an offence” in context of s.11(b) of Charter INCLUDES corporations
- Stinchcombe– Crown’s oblig to disclose case to accused stems from s.7’s protection of the right to make full answer and defence
- Agat Laboratories Ltd– all accused (whether humans or corp) have an IDENTICAL int in being able to make full answer and defence when charged w/ an offence; corp accused HAS an interest (the right to make full answer and defence) which falls w/in s.7 of the Charter and may therefore invoke s.7 to protect that interest
