Top Five 2003: Richard Sauvé v Canada (Chief Electoral Officer)

Each year at OJEN’s Toronto Summer Law Institute, a judge from the Court of Appeal for Ontario identifies five cases that are of significance in the educational setting. This summary, based on these comments and observations, is appropriate for discussion and debate in the classroom setting.

Sauvé v Canada (Chief Electoral Officer), [2002] 3 SCR 519, 2002 SCC 68

Should prisoners be allowed to vote? The law in question denied those serving sentences of two years or more in a correctional institution the right to vote, infringing the democratic rights of citizens under s.3 of the Charter.  The Supreme Court of Canada struck down the law, writing that, “the right to vote, which lies at the heart of Canadian democracy, can only be trammeled for good reason.  Here, the reasons offered do not suffice” [para. 1]. The full decision is available here.