Colby Cosh: Liberals put Canada in danger at Supreme Court

2026-03-27 - 10:10

Before the courtroom fight over Quebec’s Bill 21 and the “notwithstanding clause” in the Charter of Rights concludes at the Supreme Court, I wanted to call attention to what I think is the most important constitutional issue at stake this week. The federal government is hoping to give new capabilities to the Supreme Court and to modify the notwithstanding clause in Charter Section 33. This proviso allows governments to pass laws even when they infringe Charter-guaranteed personal liberties in a way that would not be allowed under Section 1 of the document, which explicitly recognizes that rights are subject to “reasonable limits... in a free and democratic society.” Read More