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Sep. 13th, 2018 11:18 amIn case Americans are wondering what Ontario is complaining about (and to prove I understand it):
The Canadian Constitution's Charter of Rights and Freedoms was enacted in 1982. It's sort of like the US Bill of Rights, but we can still punch many of those responsible in the nose. It also declares Canada is "founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law". Oh, Lord!
The framers added a notwithstanding clause that allows a Province or Prime Minister to bypass several of the rights and freedoms for up to 5 years.
They did this to get all the provinces to sign. (Narrator: not all the provinces signed)
So 15 times now, various provinces have used this nuclear option to pass legislation deemed unconstitutional. Everyone knows of Quebec's language laws, which never infringes on freedom of speech because they renew the NWC every 5 years.
The latest is our populist Premier who wants to restructure Toronto (by cutting council in half) during the municipal election. Supreme court said it was in violation of the Charter. So even if he can't say "notwithstanding clause", he's going to pass the law including the NWC. And things are getting rowdy in Parliament.
The Canadian Constitution's Charter of Rights and Freedoms was enacted in 1982. It's sort of like the US Bill of Rights, but we can still punch many of those responsible in the nose. It also declares Canada is "founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law". Oh, Lord!
The framers added a notwithstanding clause that allows a Province or Prime Minister to bypass several of the rights and freedoms for up to 5 years.
They did this to get all the provinces to sign. (Narrator: not all the provinces signed)
So 15 times now, various provinces have used this nuclear option to pass legislation deemed unconstitutional. Everyone knows of Quebec's language laws, which never infringes on freedom of speech because they renew the NWC every 5 years.
The latest is our populist Premier who wants to restructure Toronto (by cutting council in half) during the municipal election. Supreme court said it was in violation of the Charter. So even if he can't say "notwithstanding clause", he's going to pass the law including the NWC. And things are getting rowdy in Parliament.
