Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is very concerned about the use of the notwithstanding clause by provincial politicians, which he says is “becoming more and more common.”
Called on Tuesday to indicate whether his government was considering submitting a possible reference to the Supreme Court of Canada on the use of this provision, he remained vague in his response without, however, ruling out anything.
“We are a government that is there to defend the rights of everyone. […] The idea of removing or suspending these fundamental rights is becoming more and more common in different governments. It worries me a lot and we are looking at the different tools we could have, ”he said before going to a meeting of his council of ministers.
Doug Ford’s Ontario government has signaled it will try to use the notwithstanding clause in a special bill aimed at forcing a way out of a labor dispute with education support staff.
On this subject, Mr. Trudeau asserted that the clause should “never” be used to “limit the rights of workers”.
A few minutes later, the Minister of Justice, David Lametti, recalled that Quebec used this derogatory provision in the case of its law 21 prohibiting the wearing of religious symbols by officials in positions of authority.
He reiterated that he deplores this “preventive” use which, according to him, cuts short the political debate.
“It was not designed at the time to be used at the beginning. It’s the last word, not the first word,” Lametti argued.
The minister has not said a word about the possibility of a reference to the Supreme Court. “For now, we are following the process in Quebec. The Quebec Court of Appeal will listen to the arguments and […] we will wait for (his) decision and then we will go to the Supreme Court afterwards, ”he said of the legal challenge against Law 21.
In addition, he had let it be known, last May, that Ottawa did not rule out intervening in a challenge to another Quebec law, Bill 96 on the reform of the Charter of the French language.