(Ottawa) Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to use “all the constitutional tools” at his disposal to pass strict criminal justice measures if he forms the next government in Ottawa.
The Leader of the Opposition made this commitment in a speech delivered to the Canadian Police Association on Monday.
During this speech, he promoted his future law and order agenda, notably by proposing a tightening of bail requirements.
“All my proposals are constitutional,” he declared in the speech, excerpts of which were first reported by the CBC network late Monday evening.
“We will make them constitutional using all the tools that the Constitution allows me to use to make them constitutional,” he added.
“I think you see exactly what I mean,” added Pierre Poilievre.
His comments sparked a strong reaction at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
“I think he should have the courage to say that he will be the first federal government to invoke the notwithstanding clause,” challenged the Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc.
His colleague at Justice Arif Virani deplored the “ideological” inclinations of the conservative leader, which seem clear to him.
“He has demonstrated very clearly to all Canadians what he wants to do,” he said in the press scrum.
“It’s very ideological for him,” continued Minister Virani.
A promise already made
This is not the first outing of its kind from the leader of the Conservative Party, as his political party recalled on Tuesday.
He has already promised to invoke the provision to overturn a decision rendered in 2022 by the Supreme Court of Canada in favor of the author of the massacre at the great mosque of Quebec, Alexandre Bissonnette.
And so, there is no hiding place, his spokesperson, Marion-Isabeau Ringuette, said on Tuesday.
“Pierre Poilievre and common-sense Conservatives will always defend victims and ensure that criminals pay for their crimes,” she said.
It’s the opposite of liberals, who “bend over backwards to defend criminals at every opportunity,” she also argued.
Opposing views
A use of the notwithstanding provision would be a first on the federal scene.
The position of the Liberals regarding section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is diametrically opposed to that of the Conservatives.
The Trudeau government has criticized provinces such as Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan for having used the notwithstanding clause, or “notwithstanding clause”, in an abusive or illegitimate manner.
He also wants the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify the parameters of its use.
The invocation of section 33 by a government grants it the power to exempt a law from any legal recourse for a period of five years, even if this law violates certain rights guaranteed by the Charter.
Confirmed legitimacy, according to the Bloc
And if a Poilievre government moved forward, it could therefore not blame the provinces for doing so, argued the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet.
“The fact that a federal leader wants to use this clause clearly means that it is absolutely legitimate for Quebec and the provinces to do the same,” he argued.
The Quebec government invoked the override provision for laws 96 (French language) and 21 (state secularism).
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre disagrees with Bill 21, and has already shown himself in favor of Ottawa participating in a challenge.
The process of challenging the law is underway.
On Tuesday, it was the turn of the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to announce the filing of leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.