Intervention in English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al.

Advocating for the court’s power to remedy discriminatory lawmaking

 CLAS intervened in a Supreme Court of Canada hearing examining the role of the courts when governments invoke the Charter’s notwithstanding clause: English Montreal School Board, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, et al., Supreme Court File No. 41231. The case involves the constitutionality of a Quebec law about secularism and religious symbols.

 CLAS’s submissions argued that courts have the power to invalidate legislation that violates the unwritten constitutional principle of non-discrimination. The Charter must be interpreted in light of the principle of non-discrimination, empowering courts to provide remedies that create real deterrence against discriminatory legislation, even if governments attempt to shield them with the notwithstanding clause.

You can read CLAS’s factum here.

The case was heard from March 23-26, 2026 and judgment is under reserve.