Below are excerpts from statements written by organizations in response to the Alberta government’s use of the notwithstanding clause.
Amnesty International (Canada’s English-speaking section)
Alberta’s use of the notwithstanding clause continues an alarming trend of provincial governments putting political expediency ahead of people’s human rights. We urge the Alberta government to turn the tide by removing the notwithstanding clause from its education bill and commit to only advancing legislation that complies with the Charter and upholds Albertans’ human rights.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
Premier Smith has weaponized legislation that is intended to protect citizens. Legislating teachers back to work and stripping them of their bargaining rights is a direct attack on students, families and the teachers who keep the education system functioning.
Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA)
The government’s use of the notwithstanding clause sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the rights of all Albertans. For decades, strong Alberta unions have been instrumental in securing fair wages and safe working conditions across the province by exercising their rights. When these rights are attacked, every workplace in Alberta, both public and private, is weaker, including in education and health care.
Mount Royal Faculty Association
The Mount Royal Faculty Association (MRFA) condemns the Alberta government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work. This action represents a blatant abuse of power, undermining fundamental constitutional rights, eroding collective bargaining and attacking the protections guaranteed to workers under Canadian law.
Anglican Diocese of Edmonton
For the provincial government of Alberta to use the notwithstanding clause [...] is to acknowledge interference with the teachers’ Charter rights through this action. The deeper implications of this action are sobering because when one fundamental freedom is denied, it is possible to imagine other fundamental freedoms being denied, including our freedom of conscience and religion. In a time when democratic institutions around the world are becoming fragile, I believe it would be wise to step back from this action.
