In the last few weeks, Ford’s name alongside the words ‘notwithstanding clause’ have been dancing across nearly every news outlet, but it can be a little tricky to grasp exactly why that is, and why you should care.
Doug Ford led the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC) during the 2018 provincial elections, in which the PC won a majority government and Ford became the first Conservative premier of Ontario since 2003. He spent the summer out of the mainstream media spotlight, but now Ford is making headlines and sparking anxieties that are quite similar to those our southern neighbors feel when Donald Trump takes to Twitter.
Earlier this month, Doug Ford proposed his plan to cut Toronto’s city council nearly in half, which would dramatically change the city’s electoral districts barely a month before its elections on Oct. 22. Justice Edward Belobaba, who oversaw Ford’s proposal, ruled against the plan, declaring that it was unfair, unconstitutional, and infringed on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In a perfect world ‒ or at least, one where government leaders are not above court rulings ‒ the story would have ended there. However, Ford’s Ontario is far from perfect.
Doug Ford announced that he would be overturning Belobaba’s ruling by employing Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, otherwise known as the notwithstanding clause. The notwithstanding clause gives the Canadian (federal) government or a provincial legislature the ability to pass legislation that does not respect some sections of the Charter, including freedom of speech, consciousness, association, assembly, life, liberty, and security.
Sounds scary? It is.
Essentially, some of our rights are only protected until someone in power decides they are not. Ford has shamelessly made that decision, and in doing so, is taking the power away from the people of Toronto. He is writing the rules for them without giving them an opportunity to argue their case.
Ford is not doing what he thinks is best for Toronto – nearly three million inhabitants. He has money on the brain, and did not hesitate to manipulate Ontario’s capital’s government if it meant he could make a profit. What is perhaps scarier, though, is that he shamelessly stated that he is unafraid of employing the notwithstanding clause again. What will Doug Ford use the notwithstanding clause for next? And who will it hurt?