The incorporation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution Act, 1982, marks a decisive development in the legal entrenchment of human rights in Canada. This contemporary experiment in the protection of fundamental rights by the constitutional limitation of legislative power, and in particular the social priorities established by the Charter and the delicate balancing of interests and values inherent in its provisions, offer useful insights into the viability of mechanisms associated with an enforceable bill of rights within the framework of a modern federal state. Of even greater interest, in the context of multi-racial and multi-religious communities in the modern Commonwealth, is the recent body of case law in the shaping of which Canadian judges have shown perception in imparting effectiveness to guarantees embodied in the Charter, while being acutely aware of the risk of exacerbating tensions with the legislative and administrative organs of government.