Bloc Québécois takes campaign to Ottawa to defend use of notwithstanding clause

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet made a rare campaign stop outside Quebec today to defend the right of provinces to adopt laws that pre-emptively invoke the Charter’s notwithstanding clause.The clause, which is Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, shields legislation from legal challenges on the grounds that they violate certain fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of religion, expression and assembly.