Liberal cuts threaten guaranteed rights, commission argues;

The Quebec Human Rights Commission submitted a 29-page brief earlier this week to Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and to the new committee the premier has put place to review all government programs and measures with an eye to cutting fat.
In the brief, Frémont advises the government not to undertake its austerity plan with only economic or budgetary considerations in mind. He notes that cutting or reducing the scope of some programs may affect certain vulnerable groups disproportionately and in a discriminatory way.
The Charter, he writes, is a fundamental law that takes precedence over other laws, and the state is bound by it. The program overhaul cannot adversely affect rights guaranteed under the Charter, such as the right to equality, regardless of race, skin colour, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, age, religion, political convictions, language, ethic background or nationality, income or disability.
[…]
Quebec is the only Canadian jurisdiction where social and economic rights are enshrined in a Charter. Quebec has also signed on to certain international agreements, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which address the right to work and to join a union, the right to a standard of living that supports health and well-being, and the right to an education, among others.