What does the Charter say about pre-existing rights that exist independently of it?

• A. The Charter does not derogate from rights that exist independently of the Charter.
• B. The Charter overrides all pre-existing rights.
• C. The Charter restricts existing rights in some cases.
• D. The Charter clarifies rights but not the pre-existing ones.

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is non-derogation: the Charter protects rights that exist independently, and it does not take away those pre‑existing rights. The Charter acts as a framework to limit government action and ensure laws and actions respect rights people already had under the Constitution or in common law. So, if a right exists outside the Charter, its existence isn’t erased by the Charter; instead, the Charter provides protection and can be used to challenge laws or actions that infringe it. The other statements would imply the Charter overrules, narrows, or only clarifies those rights, which doesn’t capture how the Charter is designed to interact with rights that predate it.