“It’s very disappointing. The prime minister is being selective in some provinces about his concerns about overturning the clause though,” Ford told reporters during a news conference Monday morning. Trudeau strongly criticized Ford’s recent decision to invoke the illegal clause of Bill 28—an Ontario law passed last week to override parts of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to legislate a contract with 55,000 education workers and make it illegal for them. to strike — calling it “wrong and inappropriate.” “The preemptive use of the derogation clause is really an attack on people’s fundamental rights and, in this case, it’s an attack on one of the most basic rights available — that of collective bargaining,” Trudeau said last week, pointing to that the federal government was considering his legal options. But on Monday, Ford signaled he is willing to repeal the law if workers return to class. In defense of his government’s move, Ford said Monday that the cause is a “constitutional tool for provincial governments to use.” “It is within the right of our government to use this tool,” the prime minister said. Ontario is not the only province to invoke the controversial Charter of Rights and Freedoms override clause in recent years. While Ford did not point to a specific example of how Trudeau was “selective” in his sentencing, Quebec has used the clause twice on language and religious symbols laws during Trudeau’s tenure. While the premier has raised concerns about Quebec’s use of the extension clause, Trudeau has also faced calls from both his federal opponents and members of his own caucus to be more vocal and challenge the Quebec premier’s use of the extension clause. François Lego, in the case of Bill 21. “If the prime minister wants to sit down and have a constitutional conversation with all the prime ministers, I can assure you that all the prime ministers will be there to talk about constitutional changes if he wants to go down that road,” Ford said. “I would strongly recommend against it.” Asked Monday to respond to Ford’s proposal, Trudeau said there are many priorities Canadians have for their federal and provincial leaders and that engaging in constitutional talks is far from the back of his mind. “This government will never back down from standing up for people’s rights and freedoms,” Trudeau said. “And if premiers across the country want to avoid the kind of disruption we’ve seen in Ontario these past few days, the answer is simple. Just don’t proactively use the extension clause.” With files from CTV News Toronto
