Media Advisory: Supreme Court of Canada to hear landmark case on notwithstanding clause and gender equality

WHAT: West Coast LEAF at Supreme Court of Canada to intervene in English Montreal School Board, et al. v Attorney General of Quebec, et al. on the use of the notwithstanding clause and impacts on gender equality protections.

WHEN: March 23-26, 2026. Intervenor oral arguments will be heard on March 26, 2026.

WHERE: Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Livestream link will be available at the SSC webcast page on the morning of the hearings.

Ottawa, ON (unceded Anishinabe Algonquin Territory)—West Coast LEAF will be intervening at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in English Montreal School Board, et al. v Attorney General of Quebec, et al. a case that considers the use of the “notwithstanding clause” by provincial governments. This case marks the first time the SCC has been asked to consider whether the gender equality guarantees of the Charter under s.28have been violated.

While this case deals with the Quebec government’s Bill 21, it has significant implications for human rights protections across Canada. The notwithstanding clause threatens hard-won human rights guarantees, including significant protections for women and people who are marginalized because of their gender.

West Coast LEAF will argue for a robust, intersectional, and inclusive approach to s. 28 that advances substantive equality and accounts for distinct harms. Bill 21 disproportionately harms the economic security of Muslim women as they face intersecting forms of marginalization.

Media contacts

Gita Keshava, Ethos Law Group LLP, pro bono counsel for West Coast LEAF
media@westcoastleaf.org

About West Coast LEAF

West Coast LEAF is a non-profit organization formed in 1985, the year the equality guarantees of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force. West Coast LEAF’s mandate is to use the law to create an equal and just society for all women and people who experience gender-based discrimination in BC. In collaboration with community, we use litigation, law reform, and public legal education to make change.