Ottawa – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is very concerned about provincial politicians’ use of the disregard clause, which he says is “increasingly common”.

When he was called on Tuesday to say whether his government was considering filing a possible lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Canada over the use of this provision, he remained vague in his answer, but did not rule out anything.

“We are a government that exists to defend everyone’s rights. […] The idea of ​​repealing or suspending these fundamental rights is becoming more common in different governments. It worries me a lot and we are looking at the different tools we could have,” he said before heading to a meeting of his Council of Ministers.

When asked if he was considering asking the Supreme Court for a referral, Mr. Trudeau said it was “considering a number of options.”

Doug Ford’s Ontario government has signaled that it will seek to use the exemption clause in a special bill aimed at forcing a way out of a labor dispute with education staff.

On the subject, Mr. Trudeau asserted that the clause should “never” be used to “restrict workers’ rights”. Her Secretary of Labor, Seamus O’Regan, was also there to criticize the Ford administration.

“It’s a travesty. What I find particularly offensive about it is the reckless way in which it’s used. It’s an affront to democracy,” he said, promising to discuss the issue with Attorney General David Lametti to concentrate.

For his part, the latter recalled that Quebec had applied this derogation in the case of its Law 21, which prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by officials in positions of authority.

Mr. Lametti reiterated that he regrets this “preventive” use, which he believes shortens political debate and reduces “judicial scrutiny”.

“It wasn’t designed to be used in the beginning at the time. It’s the last word, not the first,” he said.

The Minister has not said a word about the possibility of an appeal to the Supreme Court. “Right now we are following the process in Quebec. The Quebec Court of Appeals will hear the arguments and […] we will wait [sa] Decision and then after that we will go to the Supreme Court,” he said of the legal challenge to Bill 21.

He also announced last May that Ottawa would not rule out intervening in a challenge to another Quebec law, Bill 96 reforming the French Language Charter.

Not everyone in the opposition party ranks was quick to comment on Ontario’s use of the exception clause.

The new leader of the Democrats, Jagmeet Singh, condemned this and called it “completely unacceptable”.

He also appeared open to the Supreme Court being mandated to come and clarify the application of that provision. “I think in the past there was a reluctance to use that clause, but now there is […] I agree that it’s becoming more and more normal to use it and it shouldn’t be normal,” he commented.

Quebec Conservative lieutenant Pierre Paul-Hus declined to comment on the Ford government’s decision. Its chairman, Pierre Poilievre, sidestepped the issue when Mr Trudeau asked him in the House to condemn this use of the whatever clause at the expense of workers.

“No one has done more than the Prime Minister [Trudeau] attacking the workers,” the Conservative leader retaliated during Question Time, accusing the Liberals of slashing workers’ wages by overspending state revenues.

The bloc’s parliamentary leader, Alain Therrien, declined to comment on whether or not Ontario used the opt-out clause in connection with the education support workers’ strike.