# Event Details - **Event Name**: Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom - **Event Start and End Date**: Fri, 16 Jan, 2026 at 09:00 am – Fri, 16 Jan, 2026 at 05:00 pm - **Event Description**: A one-day symposium on rethinking and litigating positive rights under the Charter - from housing and health to climate and equality.About this EventRe-Opening the Door: Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and FreedomsHosted by the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights? Friday, January 16, 2026 · 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (ET)?Henry N. R. Jackman Faculty of Law, University of TorontoAbout the SymposiumMore than two decades ago, in Gosselin v. Québec (Attorney General), the Supreme Court of Canada “left the door open” to the possibility that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms might one day protect positive rights—rights that require governments to act, rather than merely to refrain from interference. Since then, however, Canadian courts have largely declined to walk through that door.Yet the pressures of our time — from climate change and housing insecurity to healthcare access and digital regulation — are renewing the call to revisit what positive obligations the Charter might impose on the state.Re-Opening the Door: Litigating Positive Rights under the Charter, jointly chaired by Cheryl Milne, Executive Director of the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, and Professor David Schneiderman of the Jackman Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, will bring together leading scholars, practitioners, and emerging voices from across Canada and beyond to examine the evolving landscape of positive rights. Participants will explore both the theoretical foundations and the practical challenges of litigating these claims — and consider what a more robust vision of positive rights could mean for Canadian constitutionalism.Panel discussions will address themes such as the conceptual divide between positive and negative rights, the litigation of social and environmental rights, the role of evidence and remedies, and comparative constitutional perspectives. A detailed agenda, including session titles and speakers, will be announced soon.Why This MattersFrom climate justice to healthcare, from housing insecurity to the digital sphere, Canadians are confronting social problems that test the limits of a purely “negative rights” framework. The conversation about positive rights is, at its core, a conversation about the kind of constitutional community we want to be — one that merely prevents harm, or one that affirms and enables human dignity through collective responsibility.This symposium will culminate in a forthcoming publication — the third book in the Asper Centre's series, published by Lexis Nexis Canada, following Public Interest Litigation in Canada (2018) and Litigating Equality in Canada (2023). Together, these volumes aim to advance practical scholarship on public interest and Charter litigation in Canada.About the David Asper Centre for Constitutional RightsLocated at the University of Toronto's Henry N. R. Jackman Faculty of Law, the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advocacy, research, and education on constitutional rights in Canada. Since its founding in 2008, the Centre has convened leading conferences and symposia on issues central to public interest and Charter litigation, fostering collaboration among academics, practitioners, and students.Event Details? Location: Jackman Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, Room P120? Date: Friday, January 16, 2026 · 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (ET)A modest registration fee will be charged to help cover catering and event costs.Reduced fees will be available for full-time students.CPD accreditation will be sought for this program.Who Should AttendConstitutional and public law practitionersAcademics and students in law and political sciencePolicy professionals and government counselPublic interest organizations and advocatesAnyone interested in the evolving role of the Charter in addressing contemporary social challenges - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/toronto/litigating-positive-rights-under-the-canadian-charter-of-rights-and-freedom/100001965407102551 - **Event Categories**: health-wellness, business - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 20, max: 70, currency: CAD ## Event venue details - **city**: Toronto - **state**: ON - **country**: Canada - **location**: University of Toronto Faculty of Law - **lat**: 43.6666568 - **long**: -79.39394329999999 - **full address**: University of Toronto Faculty of Law, 78 Queens Park, Toronto, Canada ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/acac8a0a97b816d0387829fad02187b4ab78ad3215b46c492116f1219feeee12-rimg-w1200-h480-dcf5c67a-gmir.jpg?v=1763644811 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom being held? - **A:** Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom takes place on Fri, 16 Jan, 2026 at 09:00 am to Fri, 16 Jan, 2026 at 05:00 pm at University of Toronto Faculty of Law, 78 Queens Park, Toronto, Canada. - **Q**: How much do tickets cost for Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom? - **A:** Ticket prices for Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom range from CAD 20 to CAD 70 depending on the ticket type. Here's a full breakdown of available ticket types:Ticket TypePriceAvailabilityRegular AttendeeCAD 70AvailableFull time studentCAD 20Available - **Q**: Who is organizing Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom? - **A:** Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom is organized by The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Litigating Positive Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/acac8a0a97b816d0387829fad02187b4ab78ad3215b46c492116f1219feeee12-rimg-w1200-h480-dcf5c67a-gmir.jpg?v=1763644811", "startDate": "2026-01-16", "endDate": "2026-01-16", "url": "https://allevents.in/toronto/litigating-positive-rights-under-the-canadian-charter-of-rights-and-freedom/100001965407102551", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "University of Toronto Faculty of Law", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "78 Queens Park", "postalCode": "M5S 2C5", "addressLocality": "Toronto", "addressRegion": "ON", "addressCountry": "CA" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "43.6666568", "longitude": "-79.39394329999999" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "A one-day symposium on rethinking and litigating positive rights under the Charter - from housing and health to climate and equality.", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "CAD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-06", "availabilityEnds": "2026-01-16", "validFrom": "2026-04-06", "lowPrice": "20.00", "highPrice": "70.00", "price": "20.00", "url": "https://allevents.in/toronto/litigating-positive-rights-under-the-canadian-charter-of-rights-and-freedom/100001965407102551" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "CAD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-06", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-06", "url": "https://allevents.in/toronto/litigating-positive-rights-under-the-canadian-charter-of-rights-and-freedom/100001965407102551", "price": "70.00", "name": "Regular Attendee" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "CAD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-06", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-06", "url": "https://allevents.in/toronto/litigating-positive-rights-under-the-canadian-charter-of-rights-and-freedom/100001965407102551", "price": "20.00", "name": "Full time student" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/the-david-asper-centre-for-constitutional-rights/24909265", "description": "The David Asper Centre is devoted to realizing constitutional rights through advocacy, research and education. The Centre aims to play a vital role in articulating Canada’s constitutional vision to the broader world. The cornerstone of the Centre is a legal clinic that brings together students, faculty and members of the bar to work on significant constitutional cases and advocacy initiatives. The Centre was established through a generous gift from UofT law alumnusDavid Asper(LLM ’07)." } ] } ] ```