The NDP is requesting that the House of Commons undertake an urgent debate on Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s use of the notwithstanding clause to compel thousands of education support workers to sign a contract.
The provision enables governments to enact legislation that suspends certain provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a period of five years.
Although the law is meant to be infrequently utilised, provinces have attempted to use it numerous times during the past two years.
In a letter to the Speaker, NDP MP Matthew Green stated, “I will be requesting leave on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, to propose an emergency discussion regarding the use of the Ontario Government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to overrule the Charter protected right to collective bargain.”
This parliament has a strong interest in discussing the violation of constitutional rights and the implications for everyone in Ontario and across the nation.
A unanimous consent motion on the subject will also be presented by the NDP on Wednesday in the afternoon. The House of Commons will be urged to “resist any intervention aimed at limiting the collective rights of workers to freely negotiate their working conditions,” according to their request in the resolution.
” The party will also try to get MPs to back a call to “condemn the use of the notwithstanding clause to destroy collective bargaining rights by Conservative Premier Doug Ford and the government of Ontario. ”
The request comes while Bill 28 is still being discussed by the Ontario government.
Due to the notwithstanding provision, the measure would bar the union from raising a Charter challenge and would compel 55,000 education support workers to sign a four-year contract. It would also forbid a strike during those years.
Numerous politicians have criticised the choice, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who termed it “wrong.”
Trudeau told reporters, “I realise that collective bargaining agreements can be challenging at times, but it has to happen.
“You should only suspend people’s rights in the most extreme cases, and I truly hope that all politicians condemn the excessive use of the notwithstanding clause to curtail people’s liberties and rights.
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Green criticised Ontario’s use of the clause in his letter requesting the emergency discussion, saying it “explicitly damaged the bargaining process” and “has weakened the ability of workers to exercise their right to collective bargain and their right to strike.”
Green continued, “It also imposes disproportionate punitive measures for those workers who will act to protect their rights.”
In response to criticism, the Ford administration has stated that the notwithstanding clause must be used in order to avoid judicial challenges that “may generate destabilising uncertainty for children and families.
Green, however, called the move “another step” in a “disturbing trend” of provinces being “increasingly willing” to override the constitutional rights of their citizens.
Ontario’s premier first invoked the notwithstanding clause in June of last year, in a bid to restore parts of the Election Finances Act that had previously been declared unconstitutional.
Ford again threatened to use the provision in 2018 to eliminate seats on the Toronto city council, but he finally decided against doing so.
Two of the bill’s articles, which dealt with language requirements, were later suspended over worries about access to justice, and Quebec utilised the notwithstanding clause to encompass the entire measure in June of this year. The province also made use of the notwithstanding clause in relation to Bill 21, the law governing religious symbols.
The discussion will take place in the Commons on Wednesday night if the Speaker agrees to Green’s request to call an emergency debate.
— with information from The Canadian Press, Amanda Connolly of Global News, and Colin D’Mello.
On Ford’s use of the notwithstanding clause in the CUPE lawsuit, the NDP will call for an urgent discussion.
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