Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this session, legal academic and criminology instructor, Dr. Jeffrey B. Meyers examines the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ notwithstanding clause and its growing use in Canadian politics.
Once understood as an exceptional constitutional measure, Section 33 allows governments to pass laws that can override certain Charter protections. Meyers will explore what it means when this power becomes normalized, and why its use raises urgent questions about rights, democratic accountability and the rule of law.
Co-sponsored by the Human Rights & Accessibility Office and the Office of the Vice-President Academic and Provost, this event is part of the Human Rights Speaker Series, a new quarterly series that creates space for learning, dialogue and critical reflection on the protection of human rights and emerging human rights issues in Canada and around the world.
In this session, legal academic and criminology instructor, Dr. Jeffrey B. Meyers examines the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ notwithstanding clause and its growing use in Canadian politics.
Once understood as an exceptional constitutional measure, Section 33 allows governments to pass laws that can override certain Charter protections. Meyers will explore what it means when this power becomes normalized, and why its use raises urgent questions about rights, democratic accountability and the rule of law.
Co-sponsored by the Human Rights & Accessibility Office and the Office of the Vice-President Academic and Provost, this event is part of the Human Rights Speaker Series, a new quarterly series that creates space for learning, dialogue and critical reflection on the protection of human rights and emerging human rights issues in Canada and around the world.
