Bloc to force 'doomed' vote on notwithstanding clause
Since 1992, sentiment on the notwithstanding clause has remained relatively unchanged, with 59% wanting to abolish it. However, the proportion of Quebecers who want to keep the clause has grown by 10 points, from 53% to 63% during the same period.
The Bloc Québécois is forcing a vote on the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause by provinces on Monday, prompting Liberal and NDP MPs to denounce its use firmly.
Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet used his party’s opposition day motion Thursday to advocate "that it is solely up to Quebec and the provinces to decide on the use of the notwithstanding clause."
"I have to say I’m a bit surprised to see this motion from the Bloc defending tooth and nail the Canadian Constitution," said Liberal MP Rachel Bendayan.
Since 2017, provinces have been using or threatening to use Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — the notwithstanding clause that allows them to override certain portions of the Charter for a five-year term — to pass contentious legislation.
NDP MP Charlie Angus called it "deeply concerning" that provinces use the notwithstanding clause preemptively to target workers and religious minorities.
Since 2018, Quebec has invoked the notwithstanding clause twice to protect Bill 21, a ban on religious symbols for public employees, and language law reforms (Bill 96) from potential legal challenges.
According to an Angus Reid survey, Quebecers considered the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause "acceptable" roughly six times more than other provinces.
Despite considerable opposition to Section 33 of the Charter throughout Canada, 63% of Quebecers view it favourably.
Nearly half (48%) of Canadians worry that the notwithstanding clause weakens the rights and freedoms of their fellow citizens.
And most (58%) found its frequent use "concerning," with Quebec using the clause to push legislation otherwise considered illegal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would consider having his Justice Minister, David Lametti, refer it to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Quebec Premier François Legault condemned Trudeau for suggesting limits are needed to the notwithstanding clause.
He considered that a "frontal attack" on the province's collective rights, asserting that only Quebec’s national assembly could dictate provincial law.
Regardless, 55% of Canadians want to scrap the clause entirely, according to Angus Reid.
Bendayan fired back, adding that by invoking the clause, "a government is saying that it knows it is violating Canadians’ fundamental rights and freedoms … [and] that it is going ahead without giving the courts a chance to weigh in."
Case in point: Seven in ten (71%) who voted for Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec in 2022 believe Bill 96 is considered an "acceptable" use of the notwithstanding clause.
Since Angus Reid first asked the question in 1992, sentiment on the notwithstanding clause has remained relatively unchanged over the last several decades. In February 1992, 59% wanted to abolish the notwithstanding clause, and 41% wanted to keep it.
The proportion of Quebecers who want to keep the clause has grown by 10 points, from 53% to 63% during the same period.
The Liberals and the NDP intend to vote against the Bloc’s motion to ensure it does not pass on Monday.
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