freshcutgrass
Senior Member
That said, Harper didn't have a majority before, nor an eviscerated, weakened and disorganized Liberal party across the floor. Not to mention the NDP lefties.
All the more reason not to do it. No Prime Minister of Canada wants to be known as the first leader to deprive rights to Canadians or make illegal any action or expression that is protected by the Charter. Pre-Charter incidents like the October Crisis (mostly considered legit) and especially the internment of Japanese Canadians in the 40's still resonates with Canadians as our darkest hour.
The over-ride power is there only for extreme situations of judiciary abuse. It's like the Queen's reserve powers. And the current situation hardly warrants this kind of extreme situation...the changes required to the laws are actually quite minor. If for some stupid reason, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a ruling that said child pornography laws were in conflict with the Charter, I imagine it might cause Parliament to use it.