February 14, 2024
Quebec groups speak out against bill protecting secularism law
“We would look to the federal government to intervene or express their concern about allowing the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause by provinces,” says Sylvia Martin-Laforge, director general of the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN). The QCGN was responding to Jean-François Roberge, Quebec’s minister responsible for secularism, after he tabled Bill 52 — legislation to extend the use of the notwithstanding clause for another five years to shield Bill 21, Quebec’s secularism law, from court challenges over violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.