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More than 23,000 sign petition calling on Premier Ford to stop violating Ontarian’s Charter rights

Petition calls on Premier Ford and AG Caroline Mulroney to stop Bill 31’s use of the notwithstanding clause, and never use the clause again

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, September 19, 2018

OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch announced that in the past few days more than 23,000 Ontarians have signed its petition on Change.org calling on Premier Doug Ford and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney to stop passage of Bill 31 because it contains the notwithstanding clause aimed at overriding the recent court ruling, and to never use the clause again. The petition can be seen at: www.change.org/p/doug-ford-don-t-violate-the-charter-of-rights

Premier Ford said recently that he “won’t be shy” in overriding court rulings that find he or his government have violated the fundamental rights of people in Ontario, rights protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada’s Constitution.

The Charter exists to protect Canadians from abuses of power by politicians and government officials, and is supported by more than 90% of Canadians.

“Premier Ford has made several false claims to try to justify his use of the notwithstanding clause to violate the rights of candidates and voters in Toronto’s election, and he has issued the dangerously undemocratic threat to use the clause again in the future whenever the courts rule that his government’s measures violate the rights of Ontarians,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch and Adjunct Professor of Law and Politics at the University of Ottawa. “Democracy Watch and thousands of people who have signed its petition stand with the many people from across the political spectrum who have called on Premier Ford and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney to stop violating Ontarians’ Charter rights and, instead, follow the democratic, proper constitutional path of appealing the recent court ruling concerning Toronto’s election.”

The rights Premier Ford has said he “won’t be shy” to violate include:

  • the rights to freedom of expression, religion, and to protest government actions and join a union;
  • the rights to privacy, and to not be arrested or jailed arbitrarily, and to be presumed innocent and not be subjected to cruel or unusual punishment, and;
  • the right not to be discriminated against based on your race, ethnicity, religion, sex, age or physical disability.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch
Tel: (613) 241-5179
Cell: 416-546-3443
[email protected]

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