Human Rights at the Heart of our History
50 Years of the Quebec Charter Conference
This conference marks the 50th anniversary of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms by creating a space for collective reflection that goes beyond simple commemoration. It invites participants to consider what the Charter has made possible, the limits it has encountered, and the responsibilities it will be called upon to carry in the decades to come.
Rooted in the specific context of Quebec — particularly the recognition of socio-economic rights, its grounding in a francophone legal culture, and its dialogue with international human rights law — the conference approaches the Charter both as a legal instrument and as a shared social and cultural project, shaped by interpretation, practice, and lived experience.
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The day is designed to be accessible, balanced, and engaging, combining legal reflection, field experience, student research, artistic creation, and public dialogue.
Looking Back on 50 Years of the Quebec Charter
The conference opens with a retrospective reflection on the evolution of the Charter, its distinctive features within the Canadian constitutional landscape, and the main challenges that have shaped its interpretation and application over the past fifty years. This opening moment establishes the conceptual framework for the day.
Panels
The Quebec Charter in Action
This panel examines the Charter as law in practice, focusing on how rights are mobilized on the ground by legal, institutional, and community actors. It highlights the gaps between formal guarantees and lived realities, as well as issues of effectiveness, access, and institutional accountability.
The Quebec Charter in Reflection
This panel approaches the Charter as an object of critical reflection, exploring the most debated rights, persistent interpretive tensions, and areas in which the Charter appears particularly innovative or forward-looking — notably in relation to socio-economic rights, the protection of minorities, and fundamental freedoms.
The Quebec Charter in Question
The student-led panels constitute the heart of the conference. Drawing on their research and fieldwork, students identify blind spots, grey areas, and tensions in the application of the rights guaranteed by the Charter. They introduce the key issues and moderate discussions with invited speakers.
Perspectives for the Next 50 Years of the
Quebec Charter
Building on the student discussions, this reflection turns toward the future of the Charter. It examines the conditions necessary for it to remain a living instrument — capable of adapting to social, institutional, and political transformations while preserving its normative strength and structuring role in public action.
Experiential, Cultural, and Participatory Moments
These moments complement the intellectual journey of the conference by offering alternative ways of engaging with rights through experience, culture, participation, and creative expression.
Languages, Identities, and Living Rights — An Immersive Experience
An immersive linguistic and cultural experience highlighting Indigenous languages and expressions as spaces of transmission, recognition, and dignity.
Advocating Rights — A Living Charter Exercise
A short, focused moot court competition enabling students to put the principles of the Charter into practice through legal argumentation and public speaking.
Voice, Memory, and Commitment — Closing Concert
The conference concludes with music affirming that rights and freedoms are also transmitted through culture, memory, and collective expression.