In response to Pierre Poilievre’s proposal to use the notwithstanding clause to pass sentencing legalization that unjustifiably violates Canadians’ Charter rights, Ketty Nivyabandi, Amnesty International Canada English-speaking Section’s Secretary General, said: “In the 40 years since the Charter came into full force, no federal government has resorted to using the notwithstanding clause. To break that precedent would send a dreadful message to Canadians: that it is OK for the government to undermine your rights when it is politically expedient to do so. We urge Pierre Poilievre to retract this troubling proposal – which threatens the rights and freedoms of all Canadians – and commit to always upholding the Charter.”
- Take action: Get involved in the 2025 Vote for Rights campaign
- Raise your voice: Tell federal party leaders to put human rights first
“Right now, human rights are under increasing threat as authoritarian practices multiply,” warns France-Isabelle Langlois, director general of Amnistie internationale Canada francophone. “Not only in the United States and around the world, but also here in Canada, where the notwithstanding clause is being invoked more, and more frequently, in a so-called preventive manner. It is used to circumvent the Canadian and Quebec Charters, to remove rights from certain groups of the population. In this context, Mr. Poilievre’s stated intention to use it, for the first time at the federal level, sounds an alarm.
“The notwithstanding clause must not be used to entrench human rights violations. If we’re not vigilant, there’s no guarantee that the notwithstanding clause won’t be invoked to undermine women’s rights to choose, for example.”
Amnesty International Canada is one of more than 50 signatories of an 8 April open letter calling on the leaders of all the major federal parties to discourage the use of the notwithstanding clause both federally and provincially. The letter asks that the new government launch a national public consultation on the notwithstanding clause aimed at curbing its use or abolishing it altogether.
Header photo credit: Marc Lostracci/WikiMedia
