The federal government is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify limits on how provinces can use the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ notwithstanding clause.
Ottawa filed arguments this week in the ongoing case challenging Quebec’s secularism law, Bill 21, which prohibits public sector workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols.
Quebec invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield the law from constitutional challenges.
In its submission, Ottawa argued that repeated or prolonged use of the clause can effectively deny Canadians their Charter rights, amounting to an indirect amendment of the Constitution.
Federal lawyers urged the court to allow judges to issue declarations on rights violations, even when legislation is shielded by Section 33, saying this would provide critical information to voters.
Ontario and Alberta are siding with Quebec, warning that restricting the clause would undermine provincial sovereignty and rewrite the Constitution “through the back door.”
The Supreme Court has not yet set a hearing date, but the outcome could significantly reshape the balance of provincial and federal power in Canada’s constitutional framework.