As an American, the supremacy of our Constitution and the rule of law was ingrained in me from a young age. To come to Canada and find out there is an “ignore the constitution for free” clause was disconcerting, to say the least.
It was my first year at Bishop’s that the Québec government used the notwithstanding clause to defend Bill 21, and I was confused at the notion that a law could be shielded from judicial review – something I was raised to believe was integral to a functioning and free society based on the rule of law and the equality of all peoples before it.
If you have a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but provincial and federal governments can pre-emptively shield laws that violate human and civil rights, then the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is meaningless. Why not just repeal it?
My Take: By Lawrence Belanger
