The Notwithstanding Clause and the Canadian Charter

Section 33 - what is commonly referred to as the 'notwithstanding clause' (NWC) - was written into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in order to allow all levels of government and territorial parliaments the opportunity to temporarily override or supercede certain Charter rights. In this volume leading scholars, jurists, and policy experts examine the NWC from all angles, and perspectives and ask: Who should have the last word on matters of rights and justice, the legislatures, or the unelected judiciary? What balance does liberal democracy require? Quebec's use of the clause has been justified as necessary to preserve the province's culture and promote its identity as a 'nation,' yet the province's pre-emptive invocation and omnibus use of the clause also challenges the scope of and recourse to judicial review, and the assumption that there will be a dialogue between the judiciary and the legislature in cases where the courts would otherwise decide that a law infringes on the Charter. By virtue of its contested purposes, interpretations, operation, and applications the NWC represents and, to an extent, defines both the character and the very real vulnerabilities of liberal constitutionalism in Canada. The significance, operative effects, and normative legitimacy of the NWC have been vigorously debated within scholarship, and among politicians, commentators, and civil society activists a since the patriation of the Canadian Constitution in 1982. The Notwithstanding Clause and the Canadian Charter elucidates and prescribes reforms to this consequential clause about which so much is written, and around which there is little consensus.