The government of Ontario has recently come under fire for threatening to use the notwithstanding clause in their ordering of education workers back on the job (or face a fine). This law has obviously come under fire from critics, as instead of coming to the table in good faith, Premier Doug Ford has decided to railroad this decision, a move that is counteractive to the good will between citizens in a democracy and delegitimizes the negotiations process between labour unions and government.
However, my opinion on the strike is inconsequential to the main point of this article. It started when I read Prime Minister Justin Trudeau state; “… I really hope that all politicians call out the overuse of the notwithstanding clause to suspend peoples' rights and freedoms." I believe however, that we can pin the blame squarely of the current Liberal government, and their cowardice in refusing to take on the discriminatory Bill 21 in Quebec.
Let us be clear - Bill 21 is a racist, vindictive, and bigoted law. Premier Francois Legault invoked the notwithstanding clause in this case as well. It disallows anybody wearing a hijab, turban, or any other religious item from being hired as a provincial employee. It goes against those basic Canadian tenants to which our country stands for, freedom of religion, expression, and an openness for everyone regardless of whom they pray to. What was the response from Ottawa? The Prime Minister is quoted as; "I think that it's important, in the first stages of the work that's being done right now, to not give the excuse of a fight between Ottawa and Quebec.”
The Prime Minister whined on TV about how he didn’t like the law, then did nothing about it. In fact, most federal leaders are so scared about the power of the Quebec voter that none will bring out the knives, to rid our people of this pestilential law.
What this also does is set a national precedent. Other premiers will begin to say to themselves: “if Quebec can get away with something as egregious as Bill 21… why can’t we do similar?”
The precedent has been set, the Prairie provinces are now moving in that direction (regarding natural resources), and clearly Ontario is okay using the law regarding labour disputes. If the Prime Minister wants to condemn the actions of the Ontario government, he should first understand that he opened this can of worms.
Sam McLaren
Prince George
