The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is an important document that allows us to live our lives without arbitrary government control, although there may be some times when rights should be limited. The case of R. v. Oakes is a perfect example of this situation coming into play. David Edwin Oakes was caught with illegal possession of hashish oil and was automatically convicted of trafficking, under section 8 of the Narcotics Control Act. Looking at the Charter, it was clear that section 8 of the NCA breached his right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, guaranteed in section 11.d. With this in mind, the respondent filed a motion challenging section 8 of the Narcotics Control Act. Because the Supreme Court and the Crown were confident that the suspect was trafficking narcotics, they created a sentence based on four criteria, in order to reasonably limit the defendant's rights. This is permitted by section 1 of the Charter, which states that “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees rights and freedoms… only within such reasonable limits as may be prescribed by law.” the reasoning in favor of limiting the Charter must be shown to be sufficiently important to prevail over a constitutionally protected right.” The case did not meet the second criterion that “there must be an adequate connection between the limitation of rights and the objective of the legislation”.2 Therefore, the appeal was rejected and the defendant was released. After reviewing the case it was clear that although the suspect had no rights limited against him, limitation rights should be used more often in more serious cases. One of the reasons why it is justifiable to limit someone's rights... middle of paper ......1 is to ensure that no one takes advantage of their rights. The notwithstanding clause is another significant reason why it is okay to have limitations on certain rights. It may become necessary to limit people's rights, and there are several reasons why it is right to do so. The elements that make it appropriate to limit someone's rights include section 1 of the Charter, the notwithstanding clause and also the Oakes Test. Section 1 of the Charter essentially gives the government permission to limit rights when clearly necessary, the notwithstanding clause it basically allows the government to override a right or freedom when necessary, and the Oakes Test ensures that rights are not unconstitutionally limited. With these provisions in place, there should be no problems when it comes to limiting a person's rights and freedoms under the Charter.