OTTAWA — The Bloc Québécois came to the defense of Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday, who suggested the day before that he was considering using the notwithstanding clause in order to pass justice laws. The liberals, on the contrary, consider the proposal irresponsible.
“The notwithstanding clause is part of the Canadian constitution and it is not exclusive to the provinces,” insisted the Bloc leader, Yves-François Blanchet, in a press scrum in the foyer of the House of Commons.
Thus, although he is “distrustful of almost everything that conservatives are, say, think and the opposite”, Mr. Blanchet notes that “in the current state of law, they would have the possibility of resorting to it “.
In a speech delivered Monday to the Canadian Police Association, Mr. Poilievre promised to use “all constitutional tools” at his disposal to adopt justice reforms if his party forms the next government. Ottawa.
Mr. Blanchet, who defends tooth and nail Quebec’s use of this provision allowing a prime minister who invokes it to shield a law from any legal recourse based on certain rights included in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, rubbed shoulders almost hands.
“A bad thing is a good thing,” he said, referring to a possible Poilievre government. If a federal government decided to use the notwithstanding clause, I find it hard to see how a federal government, this one or later, could criticize the provinces and Quebec for using the notwithstanding clause.”
“Irresponsible”
Among the Liberals, we mentally lowered our flags to half-mast in the face of the idea mentioned by the leader of the official opposition. “It’s irresponsible,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scandalized when arriving at question period.
“Pierre Poilievre is committed to overturning the fundamental protections of Canadians guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” he said. Protections for women, protections for 2SLGBTQI+ communities, minority communities.”
Mr. Trudeau did not fail to reproach his opponent for “courting far-right groups to seek votes and money”, which is, moreover, he said, “dangerous for Canada”.
Questioned on the sidelines of the cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Justice Minister Arif Virani explained that it is rarely “popular” to defend the rights shared by the charter of people accused of criminal acts, for example , “but it is essential in a democracy,” he hastened to add.
Moreover, the minister referred to the fact that just two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that consecutive sentences – a measure implemented under the Conservative government of Stephen Harper – are unconstitutional. , including for the worst murderers like the Quebec mosque killer, since the Charter prohibits “cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.”
Mr. Virani maintained that no federal government has invoked this clause and that “it is a good thing.” He said the controversial provision should be used as “the last option, not the first.” In other words, that a “dialogue” takes place between the courts and the governments before it is invoked.
Justin Trudeau’s political lieutenant for Quebec, Pablo Rodriguez, judged the comments of the leader of the “most right-wing party in the history of the country” to be “very worrying”, especially since “we are beginning to know the character, we see who he associates with, we see that he is incapable of criticizing the radical right.
“And we can wonder what purpose it will be used for,” he continued. Could, for example, he use it to ban abortion or any social measure that is important to Canadians?”
Minister Rodriguez was referring to the fact that the Conservative leader bypassed a question asked in the House of Commons on Monday explicitly inviting him to condemn “supporters of white supremacy, anarchy and misogyny.”
For the Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, it is deplorable that Mr. Poilievre does not even have “the courage to say that he will be the first federal government to invoke the notwithstanding clause.”
“I think we can have laws in the criminal area that are robust, that protect people, while respecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” he added.
