This Q&A is the second in a series produced in response to misleading assertions made by industry representatives questioning the constitutionality of providing the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise with full investigative powers under the Inquiries Act.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides important protections to individuals and companies against infringements on their rights by all laws or government action, including the CORE. This Q&A considers
three Charter sections.
As noted in Q&A 1, the Government of Canada has wide leeway in creating an office that is compliant with the Charter. The Charter has very limited application to the powers of Commissioners under the Inquiries Act. This limited application provides protections to witnesses subject to subpoenas, but does not call into question the existence of the powers.
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