The notwithstanding clause should be used only as a measure of last resort, Canada’s justice minister said Tuesday, after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre suggested he would not hesitate to use it to enact tougher criminal laws.
Poilievre told the Canadian Police Association in a speech Monday that he would legislate harsher penalties for convicted criminals and those accused of crimes who have a history of violence.
“All my proposals are constitutional and we will make them constitutional using whatever tool the Constitution allows me to use to make them constitutional,” he said.
“I think you know exactly what I mean. They will happen and they will stay in place.”
Asked if the Conservative leader was referring to the notwithstanding clause, a spokesperson said: “Mr. Poilievre has spoken openly about the use of that section of Canada’s Constitution in the past… as he did again yesterday “.
Sebastian Skamski said liberals “do everything they can to defend criminals at every opportunity,” but conservatives “will always defend victims and ensure criminals pay for their crime.”
Poilievre routinely accuses Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of failing on criminal justice and has promised to enact a tough-on-crime package and prioritize victims.
Trudeau said Tuesday that Poilievre is proposing to roll back “the fundamental rights, freedoms and protections of Canadians.”
“That’s not right and it’s not responsible.”
@viraniarif says that @PierrePoilievre’s willingness to use the notwithstanding clause threatens rights. #CDNPoli #CPC #HoweverClause
Justice Minister Arif Virani said no federal government has ever used the notwithstanding section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which allows any level of government to pass laws overriding parts of the Charter for up to five years.
“From my respectful perspective, that’s actually a good thing,” he said Tuesday.
“The notwithstanding clause should be the last option, not the first. We should have a dialogue between courts and governments before it is invoked.”
The Charter sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms in Canada, including protection against discrimination and cruel and unusual punishment.
Virani said Poilievre’s comments demonstrate “what his true intentions are” when it comes to pushing the override button on constitutional protections of Canadians’ rights and freedoms.
He compared Poilievre’s proposal to the stance taken by several prime ministers, who have preemptively invoked the clause to introduce controversial legislation into their legislatures.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe recently invoked the clause in connection with an update to the province’s gender identity policy.
His government introduced a bill last fall requiring young people under 16 to obtain parental consent if they want to be recognized by their preferred names or pronouns at school.
Poilievre proposes eliminating house arrest for people who have committed serious crimes and changing the law to ensure that criminals convicted of killing multiple people have to serve their entire sentence in a maximum security prison.
He also says a Conservative government under his leadership would not allow bail for people with violent criminal records.
“I will be the democratically elected prime minister, democratically accountable to the people, and they will be able to judge for themselves whether they believe my laws are constitutional, because they will be,” he said during Monday’s speech.
He later added: “This talk about constitutional rights… I think it’s a constitutional violation of someone’s right to be hit in the head with a baseball bat.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2024.