Quebec Premier François Legault accused Trudeau over the weekend of attacking the province's 'democracy and people' by suggesting he would limit the use of the notwithstanding clause
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says provinces should not be pre-emptively using the notwithstanding clause, because it means "suspending fundamental rights and freedoms."
The notwithstanding clause, which is Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, allows Parliament or provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the charter and invoking it ahead of time prevents courts from weighing in. "I've often said that I always deplore any attempt by provinces and territories to use the notwithstanding clause to suspend basic rights without going through the courts," he said at a news conference in Toronto.Legault's government had pre-emptively invoked the notwithstanding clause on the Quebec secularism law, known as Bill 21, which forbids some public servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols on the job.
"There will be issues that we don't agree with the provinces and territories, but we'll always work in a respectful manner with them based on the principles and the legislation that govern our country," he said in Toronto.
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