The Charter is founded upon a political will to improve the quality of life and the services offered by the City. It is inspired by many legal documents on human rights, including the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

At the heart of the Charter lie values of respect, tolerance, dignity, peace, and equality. The Charter affirms that the conduct of the City will aspire to the protection of the environment, the fight against poverty, the search for justice, the transparency of the administration and the respect of democracy. The Charter confirms and supports the cosmopolitan, cultural, and historic character of the City and its citizens.

The City undertakes to respect the commitments found in the Charter, which are based on the Charter’s principles and values.

The rights and responsibilities found in the Charter touch upon many aspects of a citizen’s life, including:

• democratic life;
  
• economic and social life;
  
• cultural life;
  
• recreation, leisure, physical activity and sports;
  
• environment and sustainable development;
  
• security;
  
• municipal services.

For each of these aspects of a citizen’s life, the Charter states the different rights of citizens and the responsibilities related to these rights, followed by the commitments undertaken by the City in order to protect or create the rights of citizens.

For example, in the chapter on security, the City commits itself to encouraging the safe use of public spaces, especially parks and community and recreational facilities. It also specifies that citizens must contribute, through collective effort, to ensuring the safety of other citizens.

To access all of the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the commitments of the City, you can consult the full text of the Charter.

The City and its boroughs are subject to the Charter and so are para-municipal agencies (such as the Office municipal d'habitation, which is the municipal housing office for Montréal), companies controlled by the City, the employees of these organisations, public officials, and any other persons who carry out work for the City.

The Charter also applies to decisions, recommendations, by-laws, acts or omissions (an omission being a failure to do something) of the City Council, the Executive Committee and the Borough Councils.

All citizens living within the City boundaries are also subject to the Charter. But, private partnerships and companies, and public companies (both federal and provincial) are not subject to the Charter.

When a citizen believes that the Montréal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities has not been respected, they can ask the Ombudsman to intervene by filing a complaint at the Ombudsman’s office. A complaint to the Ombudsman is a last resort measure, which means that it can only be filed after a citizen has already attempted to resolve the problem by contacting the Department Director or Borough Manager in question.

Following the filing of a complaint, the Ombudsman will conduct an investigation. The Ombudsman can also choose to intervene in a situation of her own accord, even if she has not received any request to intervene.

When the complaint is about a political decision, which is not budgetary in nature, of elected officials of the different councils of the City, the Ombudsman may choose to investigate, but she has no obligation to do so.

In the course of the investigation, the Ombudsman has the right to access and make copies of all relevant documents. She can also request information and explanations that she judges to be necessary to her investigation. To find out more, read the Infosheet entitled The Ombudsman de Montréal.

If the Ombudsman concludes that the Charter has not been respected, she may make recommendations and can follow-up on measures to be adopted in order to correct the situation or to prevent the situation from happening again. If the intervention concerns the application or interpretation of a by-law, the Ombudsman can recommend an application conforming with the Charter.

In the course of her intervention, the Ombudsman can choose to hold a mediation session in order to find a solution respectful of the Charter and acceptable to the parties involved, including, for example, the citizen who requested the intervention and the Department Director at issue. Following mediation, the Ombudsman writes a report which is sent to all involved parties. This report contains the results of the mediation and may contain recommendations.

No. First of all, the Charter specifically states that it is not intended to be invoked in court as the basis for a lawsuit. Remember that it is instead a tool for the improvement of City services and that it cannot be used to hold a person guilty or responsible for a particular situation or problem.

Moreover, the commitments of the City set out in the Charter are limited to its “jurisdiction,” that is to say, to the areas for which the law gives the City the right or power to act. For example, the City takes care of roads, garbage collection, zoning, sewers, etc. The Charter therefore applies to all of these activities.

On the other hand, health is an area of activity (or jurisdiction) that is reserved for the provinces; they manage hospitals and make decisions about doctors, medicines, etc. So, if the rights of a citizen are not respected with respect to a health matter, the Montréal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities does not apply and cannot help the citizen.

The commitments undertaken in this Charter are also limited by the financial capacity of the City. As such, the City may be unable to honour a commitment made in the Charter because it currently does not have the means to do so.

The commitments undertaken in the Charter are also finally subject to “reasonable limits in a free and democratic society.” This concept finds its origin in section one of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It refers to the necessity of maintaining a balance between the individual rights of each citizen and the collective interests of all citizens.