Not satisfied with simultaneously taking on Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, the prime minister has now wandered into a fight with Quebec as well..Last weekend, Justin Trudeau told Montreal-based newspaper La Presse that he is worried about Quebec's use of the notwithstanding clause — and that federal Minister of Justice David Lametti is looking into referring the matter to the Supreme Court..This is a big risk for the federal government..Tasha Kheiriddin, in her latest opinion piece in the National Post, put it colourfully:.“Canadian constitutional disputes are like zombies. Just when you think they are buried, they rise from the dead, looking to claim their next victim.”.“Politicians often exhume them to boost their standing and win an election. But they had better beware: Like most monsters, the undead have no loyalty, and will happily turn on those who resurrect them.”.“This time, that person may be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.”.Like a scene from 'The Last of Us,' Trudeau may have really stepped in it and awoken a horde now..The use of the notwithstanding clause refers to a province's use of Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which gives provincial governments the power to override certain sections of the Charter..For example, back in October 2022, Ontario Premier Doug Ford invoked the notwithstanding clause in order to manage a labour union dispute, in order to keep children in schools. Trudeau spoke out against the use of the notwithstanding clause then, but this didn't cause much of a ruffle amongst the chattering classes in Laurentian Canada..But, while complaining about the use of the notwithstanding clause in Ontario, or the west, wouldn’t typically be a problem for the federal government, criticizing Quebec for using it has awoken a hornet’s nest..The Quebec Premier unleashed a tirade against Trudeau — accusing the Prime Minister of attacking Quebec’s “democracy and people.”.“This desire expressed by Justin Trudeau is a frontal attack on our nation's ability to protect our collective rights.”.Trudeau is playing with constitutional fire — and not just with the notwithstanding clause..To the federal government, any disagreement with their policies is tantamount to insubordination, because they see provincial governments as subservient to their federal power..Some commentators have even gone so far as to suggest the use of the disallowance power — the historical constitutional power that allows the federal government to literally overrule provincial legislation..But the power hasn't been used since 1943 and is intended for truly egregious infringement on the constitution, not for policy disagreements, or — in the case of the notwithstanding clause — the use of a clause that's in the constitution itself..Using the disallowance power to override a province's legitimate use of a legitimate clause of the constitution would undermine the very fabric of the constitution, undoing decades of precedent and destabilizing national unity..As explained by University of Waterloo political science professor Emmett Macfarlane:.“This is a provision of the 1867 Constitution Act that hasn’t been used in many decades. It’s considered to have fallen into a convention of disuse. So it would be basically creating a constitutional crisis.".That being said, heavy-handed tactics are very much in the policy playbook of the Justin Trudeau government..Western Canada has been under almost constant attack from the federal government since Trudeau took office, with the feds contemptuously treating our industries as if they are the bane of the country's existence..See, for example, the "Just Transition" legislation and the federal government's plan to phase out oil and gas completely..(If you haven’t signed our petition against the Just Transition, you can do so now here.).Trudeau is playing a dangerous game with national unity..In all likelihood, it will blow up in his face, and when it does, we’ll be ready..A big dust-up could bring about a long-necessary constitutional convention, that we've been calling for..A constitutional convention is a country-changing event and will not be an easy challenge to take on..But it would finally give us the opportunity we’ve been waiting for to rewrite the rules of Canada and make confederation fair for the west..If we were able to prove anything in 2022, it was that there is an appetite for true reforms to our country in order to improve national unity and restore fairness to the constitution..It’s about damned time.
