OTTAWA – Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the government’s request to Canada’s top court to set limits on the notwithstanding clause isn’t only about Quebec’s secularism law.
In a statement released today, Fraser says that he hopes the Supreme Court’s eventual decision “will shape how both federal and provincial governments may use the notwithstanding clause for years to come.”
Ottawa filed a factum Wednesday in the landmark case on Quebec’s Bill 21, better known as the secularism law, which prohibits public sector workers in positions of authority — including teachers and judges — from wearing religious symbols on the job.
Quebec invoked the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights when it passed the law.
That clause shields legislation from constitutional challenges based on some sections of the Charter for five years, but the federal government is asking the Supreme Court to define limits on how it can be used.
Both Ontario and Alberta have supported the use of the notwithstanding clause, saying it is an essential part of the Constitution.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2025.
—With files from Maura Forrest and Miriam Lafontaine in Montreal.
