{"id":24081,"date":"2024-07-24T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/?post_type=news&p=24081"},"modified":"2024-07-31T17:32:58","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T21:32:58","slug":"saskatchewan-notwithstanding-clause-intervention","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/saskatchewan-notwithstanding-clause-intervention\/","title":{"rendered":"LEAF to intervene in Saskatchewan case to highlight the impact of the notwithstanding clause on trans and non-binary youth\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

July 24, 2024 \u2013 <\/strong>The Women\u2019s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) has been granted leave to intervene at the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan in Government of Saskatchewan v. UR Pride<\/em>, a case about what courts can and cannot say about a law once the notwithstanding clause has been invoked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, a judge of the Saskatchewan Court of King\u2019s Bench decided that even though the provincial government used the notwithstanding clause<\/a> to protect its pronoun law from being found unconstitutional, a court can still declare that the law violates Charter <\/em>rights.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the notwithstanding clause permits rights-infringing laws to remain in effect, a simple declaration of violation of rights wouldn\u2019t be enough to strike down the law. Even so, the judge found that courts are still within their rights to make that declaration. The government is now appealing this decision to the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the notwithstanding clause is shielding Saskatchewan\u2019s pronoun law, which requires parental consent for school personnel to be permitted to refer to a trans, non-binary, or gender-diverse student under the age of 16 by their proper name and pronouns.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity is challenging the law, claiming that it violates trans and non-binary students\u2019 rights to security of the person and equality, as well as their right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual treatment. LEAF is also intervening in this case<\/a>, which is on hold until the Court of Appeal decides whether courts are permitted to issue declarations once the notwithstanding clause has been invoked.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its intervention on the notwithstanding clause<\/a>, LEAF will focus on the importance of substantive equality when deciding whether courts can make a declaration of rights compliance. This means paying attention to who is being impacted by a law, and how it will affect these groups to have the courts say nothing about the Charter <\/em>rights violations occurring as a result of the law.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this case, the community impacted is one of the most marginalized in our society: transgender and non-binary children and youth,\u201d said Cee Strauss, Senior Staff Lawyer at LEAF. \u201cIn the context of the rising tide of anti-trans hatred that we are seeing both among some political leaders and segments of the broader public, a Court\u2019s declaration that this law violates the rights and freedoms of trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse youth will validate their experiences of discrimination.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question of what courts can do in the face of the notwithstanding clause being invoked is a relatively new one, as provincial governments have only recently begun to use this rights-limiting \u201cnuclear option\u201d with such frequency.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The intended counterweight to the immense power of the notwithstanding clause is the ballot box \u2013 the idea being that if the public disapproves of the government\u2019s use of the clause, it can vote that government out at the next election. But what if the people being most harmed by the law cannot vote? And how will other members of the public be able to make an informed decision without a rigorous analysis of the law\u2019s impact on rights? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA declaration could also make the significant harms that these youth are suffering visible to the general public, motivating more of the public to hold the government accountable come election time,\u201d said Strauss. \u201cWhile children and youth who are 16 and under do not have access to the ballot box, they do have access to the courts. We can\u2019t remove the only justice to which they have access.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A date for the hearing has not yet been set.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LEAF is grateful to Morgan Camley and Kay Scorer of Dentons Canada LLP, counsel to LEAF in this case.\u202fLEAF is also grateful to Barton Soroka of Gerrand Rath Johnson LLP, agent for LEAF in this case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LEAF\u2019s interventions are guided, informed, and supported by a case committee with expertise in the relevant issues. We are grateful to this intervention\u2019s case committee members (in alphabetical order): Florence Ashley, Jamie Cameron, Jennifer Koshan, Robert Leckey, Samuel Singer, and Xue Xu.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For media inquiries, please contact:<\/strong>\u202f 
Cee Strauss\u202f<\/strong> 
Senior Staff Lawyer, LEAF\u202f 
514-586-5042\u202f 
c.strauss@leaf.ca\u202f<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Women\u2019s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)\u202f<\/strong>\u202f 
The Women\u2019s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national not-for-profit that works to advance the equality rights of women, girls, trans, and non-binary people in Canada through litigation, law reform, and public legal education. Since 1985, LEAF has intervened in more than 130 cases that have helped shape the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To find out more, visit www.leaf.ca.\u202f<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24081","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","category-whats-new"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLEAF to intervene in Saskatchewan case to highlight the impact of the notwithstanding clause on trans and non-binary youth\u00a0 - LEAF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/saskatchewan-notwithstanding-clause-intervention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LEAF to intervene in Saskatchewan case to highlight the impact of the notwithstanding clause on trans and non-binary youth\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LEAF will intervene at the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan in a case about what courts can and cannot say about a law once the notwithstanding clause has been invoked.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/fr\/news\/saskatchewan-notwithstanding-clause-intervention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LEAF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-31T21:32:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/iStock-1578169037.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1254\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"836\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"LEAF to intervene in Saskatchewan case to highlight the impact of the notwithstanding clause on trans and non-binary youth\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"LEAF will intervene at the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan in a case about what courts can and cannot say about a law once the notwithstanding clause has been invoked.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.leaf.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/iStock-1578169037.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/news\\\/saskatchewan-notwithstanding-clause-intervention\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.leaf.ca\\\/fr\\\/news\\\/saskatchewan-notwithstanding-clause-intervention\\\/\",\"name\":\"LEAF to intervene in Saskatchewan case to highlight the impact of the notwithstanding clause on trans and non-binary youth\u00a0 - 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