NDP will seek emergency debate on Ford’s use of notwithstanding clause in CUPE case
Global News
The notwithstanding clause gives governments the ability to pass a law overriding parts of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five year term.
The NDP is asking for the House of Commons to hold an emergency debate regarding Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause in a move that would impose a contract on thousands of education support workers.
The clause gives governments the ability to pass a law overriding parts of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term. It’s supposed to be a rarely used piece of legislation, but provinces have tried to invoke it multiple times in the last two years.
“I will be seeking leave on Wednesday November 2, 2022, to propose an emergency debate regarding the use of the Ontario Government’s use of notwithstanding clause to override the Charter protected right to collective bargain,” read the letter to the Speaker, signed by NDP MP Matthew Green.
“There is a clear interest for this parliament to debate the trampling of constitutional rights and the implication it will have for everyone in Ontario and across the country.”
The request comes as the Ontario government continues to debate Bill 28. The legislation would force 55,000 education support workers into a four-year contract, prohibit a strike for those years, and — thanks to the notwithstanding clause — prevent the union from invoking a Charter challenge.
The decision has been condemned by multiple politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who called it “wrong.”
“I know that collective bargaining negotiations are sometimes difficult, but it has to happen,” Trudeau told reporters.
“The suspension of people’s rights is something that you should only do in the most exceptional circumstances, and I really hope that all politicians call out the overuse of the notwithstanding clause to suspend people’s rights and freedoms.”