Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives
Passing a law that is explicitly unconstitutional to end a labour dispute is pretty next level. Saying that this is a threat to democracy overall is not hyperbole. If governments think they have that kind of power with that low a bar, we are all in trouble.
According to the Alberta Institute, it isn’t unconstitutional because:
the “notwithstanding clause” is Section 33 of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which itself makes up part of our Constitution.
It is a cornerstone of Canada’s constitutional framework, designed to protect the provinces and all Canadians from judicial overreach.
“Parliament or the legislature of a province may expressly declare in an Act of Parliament or of the legislature, as the case may be, that the Act or a provision thereof shall operate notwithstanding a provision included in section 2 or sections 7 to 15 of this Charter.”
And provinces would not have signed the Constitution without that clause.
The particular of the constitution that says you don’t have to follow the constitution is certainly part of the constitution. I wouldn’t say it makes using it constitutional, bit it certainly makes it clear that you don’t intend to follow the constitution. I honestly can’t think of many valid reasons to use the notwithstanding clause that aren’t to address existential threats to our nation or its people, or to trample their constitutiinal rights. I don’t think kids having to stay home for a week fits the first category…
A complete shutdown of the Albertan economy would be amazing. Fuck Smith and the UCP.
I’m ready. Haven’t heard anything from my local yet though.
The rest of Canada has your back. At least the people do. I can’t speak for our governments.
“As the labour movement in this province, our leaders have made a commitment to rise to that challenge, defend the teachers and their rights, defend worker rights more broadly, and to defend our democracy. We have no choice.”
[Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour] stopped short of confirming whether that response would include a provincewide strike, but said, “it’s one of the things that’s actively under consideration."
✊
General Strike.
Does anyone know who the actual brains and drivers are behind these UCP moves in Alberta? No way it’s Marlaina.
Look at people behind separatists. They want to end single payer healthcare indigenous rights and a bunch of other stuff.
Who are they, specifically? One cannot come up with strategies to deal with an enemy if only the stooges are known.
Brains? You think any of these people have the capacity for logical thought?
That’s my point. There is too much organization behind these to be something these intellectual powerhouses came up with. So who is really driving the bus, and where are they trying to go?
I’ll be on the lookout for a CLC or AFL-endorsed provincial strike fund, I’d chip in. Solidarity means a slight against some workers is a slight against all of us.
Reps shouldn’t be able to shutdown strikes so confidently.
