The normalization of the use of the “notwithstanding” clause should alarm all of us. Prior to this government, the “notwithstanding” clause had never been used in Ontario. At its inception, no one could predict a government that would override fundamental freedoms in such a cavalier manner. It was designed to be a nuclear option, not a convenient loophole when the work of governing is difficult.

In 2018, this government threatened to use the “notwithstanding” clause to reduce the size of Toronto’s municipal council. And it used it in 2021 to uphold a law that limited the ability of third parties to advertise during an election—an election that happened this summer and had the lowest voter turnout in Ontario’s history.

Bill 28 will fundamentally change labour rights in this province. Governments in Ontario throughout history survived strikes; this government has halted collective bargaining before that bargaining even reached an impasse. Today is a day in constitutional history, a day when this government threw us into a constitutional crisis simply because it was inconvenient for them to bargain in good faith.

What other matters will be too inconvenient for this government to respect charter rights? This government has put legislation before this House that sections 2 and 7 to 15 are notwithstanding. Section 2 is the freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression; section 7, life, liberty and security of the person; section 15, that every individual is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection without discrimination.

I urge every government member to sit down and think about what they will be voting on today. Party discipline is not a matter of law. The fundamental freedoms of the people of this province are. Do not support Bill 28.