Would a Poilievre government really threaten abortion rights?

In today’s The Big Story podcast, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to use the notwithstanding clause to enact criminal justice reform if elected. Liberals have pointed to this as an indication that Conservatives could use it for other things, including restricting abortion.

Daphne Gilbert is a professor of criminal and constitutional law at the University of Ottawa. “We have never seen a federal government use the notwithstanding clause, and we have never seen it used in criminal justice matters before, and that’s I think what’s got people worried in the abortion context,” says Gilbert.

How much of this is political posturing from either side? How huge of a precedent would using the notwithstanding clause this way represent? If a Conservative government went down this path, would access to abortion really be at risk? And what could the Liberals do now if they believed that to be the case?

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