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A group of legal experts is taking their fight against Quebec’s proposed constitution to the international stage, arguing that the legislation fails to respect the rights of minorities, indigenous peoples and the rule of law.
The Canadian branch of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has asked United Nations special rapporteurs to examine Bill 1 to determine whether it violates human rights.
Stéphane Beaulac, a constitutional law professor at the University of Montreal and a member of the ICJ, held a press conference Tuesday along with other law professors and indigenous leaders to announce the move.
Although Beaulac said he is in favor of Quebec having its own constitution, he said “the bill in question is not that.”
“This is not a constitution,” Beaulac told CBC News. “It is a political and ideological program that goes against international standards regarding access to justice.”
The draft constitution was presented in October by Premier François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government without prior consultation.
Its goal is to protect what the government considers common values of the province, including the French language, secularism, the right to abortion and equality between men and women.
However, many First Nations leaders, civil liberties groups and legal experts have spoken out against the draft.
Critics argue that under Bill 1, state-defined collective values (such as secularism and the French language) could take precedence over individual freedoms.
There is a provision that would effectively prohibit publicly funded bodies, including school boards, from using their funds to challenge provincial laws in court, a move that experts say attacks the rule of law by insulating the government from judicial review.
First Nations leaders have also expressed concern that the constitution does not recognize their status as sovereign nations with the right to self-determination.
Consultations are ready to begin
The ICJ sent a letter on Tuesday to 10 UN special rapporteurs, including those responsible for minority rights, racism and the independence of judges and lawyers.
The UN Human Rights Council appoints special rapporteurs to monitor, report and advise on specific human rights issues or country situations. While they are not conducting formal investigations, Beaulac is hopeful that criticism on the international stage will force the CAQ government to make changes.
“Our initiative is really to take the Bill 1 case outside of the jurisdiction of Quebec and Canada and get it to the attention of the world,” Beaulac said.
The Barreau du Québec rarely gets involved in politics, but publicly calls elements of three recent provincial government bills “concerning.”
Legault, for his part, has said the constitution aims to affirm Quebec’s “distinctive national character.”
“When we look at our history, our survival as a nation was unlikely, but we are still here,” he said after Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette introduced the bill.
Consultations on Bill 1 will begin Thursday in the Quebec National Assembly.
Miriam Cohen, also a law professor at the University of Montreal, said those consultations should have been held before the constitution was presented.
“We should know better,” he said. “YOIf we call a law a constitution, according to international standards, it is necessary to have [those prior] to draft a text: inclusive and transparent consultations”.
