Abstract

A provision contained in article 33 of the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows the federal or provincial legislatures to adopt a law which overrides the norms set out in certain articles of the Charter. The rights to which this notwithstanding power can be applied are substantially those tied to the autonomy of individuals, while not subject to it are collective and political rights like those of local minorities. The essay examines the political circumstances that have led to adoption of this notwithstanding clause, which is viewed as a political compromise in order to overcome the resistance raised by the majority of the Canadian Provinces, concerned about their possible loss of autonomy, against the patriation of the Constitution and approval of a Charter of constitutional rights.