Poilievre justified his views on constitutional rights when he addressed the police: “I will be the democratically elected prime minister – democratically accountable to the people, and they can then make the judgments themselves on whether they think my laws are constitutional because they will be.”
Yes, because mob rule has always been such a reliable measure of justice and constitutionality.
Remember, the mob used to think discrimination against LGBTQIA2S+ people was perfectly fine. Ordinary Canadians were cool with denying women equal rights and control over their bodies. The public didn’t bat an eye at residential schools and colonial atrocities against Indigenous people. And we could go on because, spoiler alert, most of the public has, and still does, hold some dangerous beliefs.
Recent history shows the danger of being a sucker for Poilievre and Jivani’s brand of populism.
Provincial conservatives have used the notwithstanding clause to override the rights of unionized workers, limit participation in elections, and target religious minorities and transgender and non-binary youth. And let’s not forget that less than 20 years ago, Alberta Conservatives tried to use the clause to enforce an opposite-sex-only definition of marriage.