Trudeau’s comments come as 55,000 Ontario education workers walked out on Friday in defiance of the provincial government, which passed a law Thursday using the preemptive clause to make job action “illegal.”
Read more: Can anyone block Ontario legislation designed to contract education workers?
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Can anyone block Ontario legislation designed to contract education workers?
“This is something that all Canadians who value the freedoms, the rights, the opportunities that Canada gives them and gives all of us, should be very concerned,” Trudeau told reporters during a news conference in North York, Ont. “And yes, this is the federal government standing up for people’s rights and freedoms, and we’re absolutely looking at all the different options.” Story continues below ad Trudeau was asked by a reporter if he would consider changing potential legislative amendments when the controversial clause can be used nonetheless. The law that includes the extension clause came after Ontario’s Progressive-Conservative government was unable to reach an agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees. The union is seeking wage increases for education workers and said it would strike on Friday if an agreement is not reached. 2:25 CUPE members protest outside the Ontario legislature In response, Prime Minister Doug Ford’s government preemptively passed a law banning the strike and set fines for violating the ban at up to $4,000 per worker per day — which could rise to $220 million for all 55,000 workers — and up to and $500,000 per day for the union. CUPE said it would fight the fines and that its work would continue indefinitely. Story continues below ad The Progressive-Conservative government included the nullity clause in its legislation, saying it plans to use it to fend off constitutional challenges to the strike ban. Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce justified its use by citing the need to keep students in school after two and a half years of disrupted learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions.
Read more: What is an extension clause? Explainer for rarely used layout
The extension clause, or section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, gives provincial legislatures or Parliament the ability, through passing an Act, to override certain parts of the Charter for a five-year term. Essentially, it allows governments to pass legislation despite potential violations of Charter rights. Current trend
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“The preemptive use of the derogation clause is really an attack on people’s fundamental rights, and in this case, it’s an attack on one of the most basic rights available, that of collective bargaining,” Trudeau said in his remarks on Friday, adding that “all options” were on the table. “There are a lot of people, parents like myself who have children in Ontario schools, who are concerned about the jobs, the strikes, but I can tell you that all parents, all Canadians, should be extremely concerned about the suspension of our most basic rights and freedoms”. 3:27 CUPE shouts ‘shame’ as Ontario government votes to contract education workers Trudeau had asked Ford on Wednesday not to use the clause anyway, a measure the Ontario premier has used in the past. Story continues below ad Ford invoked the notwithstanding clause in June 2021 – for the first time in the province’s history – to reinstate parts of the election finance law that had previously been ruled unconstitutional. Ontario argued the move was necessary to protect the election from outside influence, while critics accused the government of trying to silence criticism. Ford also previously threatened to use the clause in 2018 when his government intended to cut Toronto city council seats during a municipal election. It caused outrage, but the clause was ultimately not invoked because of how a related court case unfolded.
Read more: Ontario seeks to outlaw strike by education workers
In June, Quebec passed a major reform of the province’s sign language law that affirms the right of Quebecers to live and work in French. Prime Minister Francois Legault said the entire bill was covered by the extension clause. In August, a judge suspended two articles of that language law, citing risks to access to justice, pending a hearing on the merits of the case. Quebec also used the clause in its religious symbols law passed in 2019. Bill 21 prohibits public sector workers deemed to be in positions of authority, including teachers, police and judges, from wearing religious symbols such as hijabs and turbans or work. “It would be much better if instead of the federal government being forced to weigh in and say, ‘You really shouldn’t be doing this, provincial governments,’ Canadians would say, ‘Wait a minute. are you suspending my right to collective bargaining? Are you suspending the fundamental rights and freedoms granted to us by the Charter?’ Trudeau said. Story continues below ad “The Charter of Rights and Freedoms cannot be a proposal. It is something that has built Canada in fundamental ways, recognizing those fundamental rights and freedoms that make us one of the best countries in the world. “The outrage that we’re seeing across the country right now over this latest use, which builds on past uses that I’ve consistently condemned, is a moment for all Canadians to think and say, ‘Yes, our fundamental rights are not it must be overturned by governments who want to do things in the easiest and most efficient way possible at the expense of people’s fundamental liberties.” — with files from Isaac Callan of Global News, Colin D’Mello and The Canadian Press © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
