Legal fees | Ottawa spent nearly $2 million to challenge Bill 21
(Ottawa) The federal government has so far spent nearly $2 million in legal fees in the challenge to the Quebec law on state secularism before the Supreme Court.
The Department of Justice indicates that the total costs associated with the intervention of the Attorney General of Canada in the appeal brought in particular by the English Montreal School Board against Bill 21 amounted to 1.92 million as of September 17.
This information was obtained by the Bloc Québécois following questions from its MP Martin Champoux.
“While the hearings in the Supreme Court have not even started, we understand that the almost 2 million invested in the challenge to Bill 21 were essentially used to draft the brief filed by Ottawa, in which the Liberals attack Quebec head-on and the use of the notwithstanding clause,” asserts Mr. Champoux in a press release.
The federal government filed an intervener’s brief last September in which it chose to avoid ruling on the foundations of Bill 21 and instead attack the use of the notwithstanding provision, namely section 33 of the Charter.
The federal government wants the use of this clause to be limited. The latter, if used repeatedly, amounts to “indirectly amending the Constitution,” argued the Attorney General of Canada and Minister of Justice, Sean Fraser.
In his opinion, the Court should be able to rule on the question of whether repeated recourse to what is commonly called the “notwithstanding clause” can result in an “irreparable harm” to the rights of Canadians.
Mr. Champoux asks the Liberal government to “stop contesting Quebec’s choices with Quebecers’ money.”
The Bloc Québécois points out that the amount disbursed by Ottawa in this matter has almost doubled in a few months. As of June 17, legal fees were nearly $998,000, up from $1.92 million three months later.
The Ministry of Justice explains that this sum includes a “notional amount” which reflects the value of the legal services of its lawyers, notaries and paralegals working on the case. It is calculated by multiplying the total number of hours recorded by the hourly rates of the ministry’s legal services.
It is still unclear when the Supreme Court will hold its hearings on the challenge to Bill 21.
With information from Émilie Bergeron
