No to Government Immunity
There is a new case heading to the Supreme Court of Canada that will affect the way governments can be held responsible for enacting unconstitutional legislation. This case is called Attorney General of Canada v Joseph Power.
The federal government is arguing that they should have absolute immunity from being sued by citizens hurt by their unconstitutional laws. Even once a law has been struck down, the Trudeau government is saying people hurt by bad laws are not entitled to sue.
We at the Canadian Constitution Foundation of course think this is completely wrong and unacceptable. And we know Canadians think this is wrong too. Governments must face consequences for unconstitutional lawmaking and that includes allowing for the possibility for lawsuits by people hurt by bad laws.
The government should not be above the law.
Sign our petition if you agree!
To Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
The government is not entitled to absolute immunity from damages if they enact unconstitutional legislation that is clearly wrong, in bad faith or an abuse of power.
Suing the government for damages is one of the ways our system makes government accountable, and the government cannot be permitted to immunize itself the way they are attempting to in Attorney General of Canada v Joseph Power.
We, the undersigned, call on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to acknowledge that no government should be above the law.
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Image is by Alex Guibord and is used under CC 2.0.
