Abstract

In Canada, human dignity has a number of different connotations: dignity as an element of personal esteem which must be respected by others; dignity used to limit certain actions, founded upon a communal humanity and dignity as an expression of individual autonomy. This chapter examines the statutes and case law which invoke the notion, a principle, which despite its imprecise character is increasingly invoked in Canada to support an individual’s growing control over her body and to further enlarge protection of an individual’s private life.