Tory leader suggests Kinew’s constitutional ‘hypothetical’ bill intended to divert attention from real issues

Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan said the province is trying to divert attention from the real issues affecting Manitobans with its proposed law on the Canadian Charter’s so-called notwithstanding clause.

“Is the premier really, genuinely concerned with the threats of a notwithstanding clause, or is he just trying to distract from his failures on health, crime, economy, affordability, homelessness, mental health, addictions, infrastructure?” Khan said after question period Thursday.

Bill 50, the Constitutional Questions Amendment Act, would require that any proposed provincial legislation that invokes the notwithstanding clause — a provision that allows federal or provincial governments to pass a law temporarily overriding some rights that is shielded from court intervention — be referred to the Manitoba Court of Appeal within 90 days.

“No government has ever made the decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause in Manitoba history, but if they do, we want to make sure every Manitoban has all the information in front of them when they go to vote,” Kinew said in a news release. “This bill will make sure that happens.”

However, with just eight sitting days remaining in this legislative session, there’s virtually no chance the bill will pass.

Quebec used the notwithstanding clause in 2019 to pass its secular law, Bill 21, which bans public servants from wearing religious symbols, such as crosses or hijabs, on the job.

In September, Manitoba submitted its legal arguments as an intervener against the Quebec law when the case is argued at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Kinew has said that although the notwithstanding clause was used, courts across Canada should still be able to review a law such as Quebec’s.

Khan noted that the same day the Kinew introduced the bill, he voted against proceeding with a PC private member’s bill introduced last year to lower the age for breast cancer screening.

Roblin MLA Kathleen Cook’s Bill 203, the Earlier Screening for Breast Cancer Act, would require the health minister to develop and implement a plan to lower the initial eligibility age for routine breast cancer screening services without a referral from age 50 to 40 by no later than Dec. 31, 2026.

It would require the minister to report annually on the status of the plan, including the number of screening mammograms performed.

The bill had received second reading and was set to go to committee for public input, Khan said.

“It’s a shame. The premier needs to apologize and bring this to committee so that we can move forward,” he said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca