Conservatives clarify opposition to Bill 21 following vote for notwithstanding clause

OTTAWA — The federal Conservatives are trying to reassure the World Sikh Organization of Canada that the party remains opposed to Quebec’s secularism law after its MPs voted in support of a provision the province used to make it into law.

On Monday the Conservatives voted en masse in favour of a Bloc Québécois motion recognizing that provinces have a “legitimate right” to use the notwithstanding clause, including pre-emptively.

In a letter to the Sikh association Tuesday Deputy Conservative Leader Tim Uppal says the Liberals are trying to spin a narrative that the Conservatives explicitly support the “pre-emptive use” of the clause.

That’s when a province invokes the clause to prevent anyone from launching a Charter of Rights and Freedoms legal challenge in court.