Ensuring a Rights-based Approach
to COVID-19  

Royal Society of Canada

POLICY BRIEFING

Reconciling Civil Liberties and Public Health in the Response to COVID-19

​September 2020 | Colleen M. Flood, Vanessa MacDonnell, Bryan Thomas, and Kumanan Wilson
English | Français
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"...a dynamic, evidence-based policy approach can be fully respectful of both civil liberties and the goals of public health."

​The RSC has produced a Policy Briefing that examines various rights engaged by COVID-19 response strategies, including the right to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, liberty and security, and privacy. The authors emphasize the need to ensure that measures taken are supported by the best available evidence and are regularly recalibrated to avoid unnecessary interference with civil liberties, in line with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. ​

This Policy Briefing was published in connection with the RSC Task Force on COVID-19. Established by the President of the RSC in April 2020, the Task Force has a mandate to "provide evidence-informed perspectives on major societal challenges in response to and recovery from COVID-19".

For other publications exploring the implications of the pandemic for social justice and human rights, see the RSC's COVID-19 Resources page on the academy's website. Relevant publications include essays on the impact of COVID-19 in racialized communities and informed perspectives on issues such as domestic violence and the impact on immigrants and indigenous communities, including indigenous women.