Globe editorial: The rights of Quebeckers aren’t a political plaything

Indeed:

…In Canada, the human rights protected by the Charter are tempered by the first clause of the 1982 Constitution, but “only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

The notwithstanding clause is likewise an attempt to balance the power of the courts with that of elected officials.

But as a legal constitution, it starts from the premise that individual rights are paramount and are embedded in law. Quebec’s proposed bill is a political constitution that starts from the opposite premise: that the majority needs protection from a minority of others who might not share its language and beliefs, and that these protections should be embedded in the quicksand of political necessity.

To make that happen, the proposed constitution gives vast powers to the Quebec National Assembly and the politicians in it and then shields itself from judicial oversight. The rights of Quebeckers would thus be subject to the whims of elected officials who answer only to the needs of their electoral fortunes.

Quebeckers clearly want their government to defend their language and culture. But universal human rights of equality and liberty are not some confection of English Canada. Quebeckers should demand that Mr. Legault scrap a law that would turn their fundamental freedoms into the playthings of politicians. 

Source: The rights of Quebeckers aren’t a political plaything