So let's get this straight: Ralph Goodale's plan to address the unconstitutional civil rights intrusions imposed under Bill C-51 (which his party waved through in the face of widespread opposition) is...to leave them in place indefinitely while the Libs figure out what they can get away with keeping.
Needless to say, we should expect any government's starting point to be to minimize any interference with our Charter rights at all points - not to leave existing abuses in place as the default option. And if the Libs aren't willing to offer that possibility, we should fully expect the NDP to do so.
I'm not sure quite how the NDP is going to do anything, Greg. Two nice things about the Charter: 1) the Liberals gave it to Canada and 2) the courts don't hesitate to uphold it. It wasn't Mulcair who held Harper at bay during his Conservative majority. No, it was the Supreme Court of Canada that did the heavy lifting.
ReplyDeleteI'd think private members' bills would offer the obvious opportunity to force the Libs' hand on any part of C-51 they're not willing to address.
ReplyDelete(And I don't see it as an either-or as to who pushed back against Harper - let's not forget how public opinion shifted on C-51 without it having yet reached the courts, resulting both in amendments at the time and a stronger position to reverse it now.)