Canadian experts challenge proposed authoritarian Quebec constitution at UN and under international law

The experts at the Quebec Chapter of the International Commission of Jurists Canada supported by several legal, civil society organization and Indigenous leaders insist that the potential violation of Canada’s international legal obligations by the proposed Quebec constitution requires the intervention of the United Nations Special Rapporteurs to recognize the human rights violations and call on the authorities to withdraw Bill 1.

Quebec Premier François Legault's government tabled the draft constitution in October without prior consultation. Legault has said the proposed constitution will assert Quebec's 'distinct national character,' but First Nations, legal experts, and civil liberties groups are critical of it.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY ERROL MENDES, STéPHANE BEAULAC

December 15, 2025

A group of legal experts at the Quebec Chapter of the International Commission of Jurists Canada is taking its fight against Quebec’s proposed constitution in its Bill 1 to the United Nations and to the international stage, arguing the legislation fails to respect the righ...

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