Prime Minister free to reopen Constitution if he has problem with notwithstanding clause: Ford

OTTAWA – Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Monday raised the specter of a new constitutional battle between Ottawa and the provinces even as he signaled his desire to repeal a controversial law that used the notwithstanding clause.

Ford made the comments during a news conference where the Ontario leader defended his government’s right to use the clause, which allows legislatures to override parts of the Canadian Charter of rights and freedoms for a term of five years.

The Ford government invoked the clause in the back-to-work law passed last week that imposed a new contract on 55,000 education workers. The clause’s use has drawn criticism from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others who have accused the Ford government of flouting workers’ rights.

Faced with the prospect of massive labor disruptions, Ford announced on Monday that it was prepared to repeal the legislation if the union agreed to return to the bargaining table.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees later said it would end a walkout that closed hundreds of schools for two days. Many school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, said they would reopen for in-person learning on Tuesday.

But Ford insisted it’s within the province’s right to use the clause, and that if Trudeau doesn’t like it, he can call a first ministers’ meeting to discuss changing the Constitution.

“If the prime minister wants to sit down and have a constitutional conversation with all the prime ministers, I can assure you that all the prime ministers will be there to talk about constitutional changes,” Ford said, adding, “I would strongly recommend not not to.”

Trudeau and Justice Minister David Lametti have sounded the alarm that provinces are using the clause preemptively, to prevent any constitutional challenge to legislation that strips Canadians of certain rights.

Quebec has invoked it in passing laws relating to French language rights and in prohibiting public servants from wearing religious symbols at work.

They say they are looking at options to address the preventative use of the clause, but declined to say what they would consider doing about it.

Following Ford’s challenge to reopen the Constitution, Trudeau said Monday that Canadians are focused on more immediate challenges such as rising costs, climate change and preparing for the next pandemic.

“These are the things Canadians are most concerned about, not reopening the Constitution,” the prime minister said.

He added, “If Premiers across the country want to avoid the kind of disruption we’ve seen in Ontario in recent days, the answer is simple: just don’t use the notwithstanding clause proactively.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on November 7, 2022.