Alberta’s government has used the notwithstanding clause of the Charter in a newly tabled bill in an attempt to order striking teachers back to work.
The bill, tabled Oct. 27, aims to put an end to the strike by 51,000 Alberta teachers that began Oct. 6 over unmet salary and class size demands.
The notwithstanding clause is a Canadian constitutional rule contained in Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that lets government override various rights and freedoms in the Charter if it’s deemed necessary by the province or the federal government.
If successful, notwithstanding clause invocation suspends court ruling against the legislation for up to five years, and it can be reviewed….