Supreme Court to Decide on the Use of the Notwithstanding Clause in Contravention to the Rights of Children – Defence for Children International Canada Intervenes
Re: UR Pride vs Saskatchewan
When a government invokes the notwithstanding clause to suspend Charter rights, can courts still determine whether those rights have been infringed?
That question is now before the Supreme Court of Canada. DCI-Canada has been granted intervenor status, and through our counsel, Cambridge LLP, we will argue that judicial scrutiny must remain available, particularly where the rights of children are at stake.
We are also intervening to ensure the Court considers Canada’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Canada is a party to the UNCRC, which recognizes children as rights-holders in their own right. Those obligations belong squarely before the Court.
DCI-Canada’s position is clear: the notwithstanding clause cannot become a silencer. Young people are uniquely vulnerable when their guaranteed rights are infringed. They cannot vote. They have limited political power. And when government action affects their rights, the courts may be one of the few places where their voices can be heard.
That matters.
The consequences of this case extend far beyond Saskatchewan and beyond any single policy. The Court’s decision will help define what judicial protection remains available when governments invoke the notwithstanding clause, and what that means for children whose rights are affected.
Children may not have a vote, but they still have rights.
DCI-Canada will be present to ensure those rights, and Canada’s obligations to the young people who hold them, are heard.
See Backgrounder and Factum below:
