The Quebec government has announced that they will table a bill on Feb. 8 to renew for another five years the use of the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause. This decision comes as a move to protect the province’s secularism law—known as Bill 21—from potential Charter challenges. The goal is to prevent the law from legal challenges over violations of fundamental freedoms.
Bill 21 was originally passed in June 2019 and prohibits public servants deemed to be in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols on the job. Despite the use of the notwithstanding clause, the law is currently being contested on multiple fronts in the courts. François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government, which has described the law as reasonable, plans to extend the use of the clause for another five years.
The use of the notwithstanding clause has the support of the Parti Québécois and Québec solidaire for the extension, while the Liberals, who make up the official Opposition, are opposed. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that the notwithstanding clause is valid for five years, after which time a government must renew it to continue its use.