It’s time to do something about the notwithstanding clause

The issue of how to constrain, if not outright end, use of the notwithstanding clause should be on the agenda of upcoming meetings of federal, provincial and territorial ministers of justice. A parallel experts’ roundtable could be convened to review options for limiting and eventually revoking Sec. 33.

Justice Minister David Lametti, pictured Nov. 23, 2022, arriving at the Public Emergency Order Commission at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, is the federal minister responsible for the notwithstanding clause, Sec. 33.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY ALEX NEVE

December 5, 2022

As the Ontario government’s labour dispute with educational workers heads toward likely resolution, there is a risk that Doug Ford’s bullying resort to the notwithstanding clause in Sec. 33 of the Charter of Rights to override collective bargaining rights will be forgott...

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