Ontario’s disruption of Toronto election could break international law: expert
By
Tim Naumetz. Published on Sep 13, 2018 7:05pm i-Politics
A former top aide to two Supreme Court Chief Justices has stirred up legal circles by outlining possible grounds for a court challenge of Ontario’s use of the notwithstanding clause to override a court ruling that struck down a bill cutting Toronto city council by nearly half.
Lawyer Gib van Ert, who was the executive legal officer to Chief Justice Richard Wagner until last month, suggested on his Twitter account that an appeal could be successful by claiming Premier Doug Ford’s move contravenes Canada’s international obligations.
Van Ert’s argument centres on Canada’s obligations under the 1966 UN International Covenance on Civil and Political Rights, which restricts signatory nations from overriding legal and human rights guarantees except when facing dire emergencies that threaten the nation.
The Supreme Court of Canada has said “the Charter should be presumed to provide at least as great a level of protection as found in the international human rights documents that Canada has ratified,” van Ert said in his Twitter thread.
Van Ert, who was also executive legal officer to former Supreme Court chief justice Beverley McLachlin, cited a history of federal government and court statements on the notwithstanding clause that Ford and his government have used to force massive changes to the Toronto’s ward system in the middle of a civic election.
“So, the argument is there to be made,” van Ert, an expert on international human rights, said in his final tweet on the topic. “Whether a court would accept it, who knows? But if s. 33 isn’t limited in this way, it is probably contrary to international law.”
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