P.E.I. premier says he would use notwithstanding clause to secure Lands Protection Act

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 16, 2025 4:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 19 minutes ago

Premier Rob Lantz says helium volition bash immoderate it takes to support P.E.I.'s Lands Protection Act amid concerns astir however that authorities would beryllium affected by the governing Progressive Conservatives' projected measure to destruct commercialized barriers betwixt provinces. 

"I volition ne'er compromise our Lands Protection Act," Lantz said Wednesday successful the legislature, arsenic PC MLAs applauded loudly. 

"I would spell truthful acold arsenic utilizing the notwithstanding clause to support our Lands Protection Act present connected Prince Edward Island."  

Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — known arsenic the notwithstanding clause — allows for premiers oregon premier ministers to override rulings connected authorities that judges person determined would interruption sections of the Charter for a five-year period. 

The clause tin lone override definite sections of the Charter — including Section 2 and sections 7 to 15, which woody with cardinal freedoms, ineligible rights and equality rights — but can't beryllium utilized to override antiauthoritarian rights. 

'Critically important'

The PC government's proposed interprovincial trade bill introduced past Friday, would easiness the travel of goods to and from different provinces that enact akin legislation, and marque it easier for workers successful immoderate regulated professions to find employment connected the Island. 

The absorption parties are concerned the authorities would supersede each different laws, including the Lands Protection Act, which limits non-residential onshore ownership successful the province. 

Green MLA Matt MacFarlane said Wednesday that the lands enactment is "one of our astir unsocial and important pieces of legislation," adding that it is up to the PC authorities to guarantee thing is removed from the "critically important protections connected land." 

He noted that Erin McGrath-Gaudet, the province's lawman curate of intergovernmental affairs, said connected the level of the legislature Tuesday that she was lone reasonably assured that the Interprovincial Trade and Mobility Act would not negatively interaction onshore protections. 

"Islanders expect the premier to ensure, without a shadiness of a doubt, that our onshore extortion laws are going to beryllium secure," MacFarlane said.

When asked whether helium would perpetrate to reviewing the interprovinical trade bill to warrant that nary portion of it tin override oregon weaken P.E.I.'s onshore extortion laws, Lantz said helium is committed to doing so. 

Federal escaped trade

Prime Minister Mark Carney said past period that he's committed to removing each national exemptions nether the Canada Free Trade Agreement by July 1. 

MacFarlane asked Lantz whether helium is consenting to gamble the extortion of Island onshore to beryllium archetypal retired of the gross erstwhile it comes to removing commercialized barriers betwixt provinces. 

"I person heard the national authorities — the premier curate and the commercialized curate — perpetrate to removing national exemptions from the Canada Free Trade Agreement. I person heard provincial premiers speech astir removing each of their party-specific exemptions from the Canada Free Trade Agreement. You haven't heard maine accidental that," Lantz said. 

"I volition not region the Lands Protection Act from our exemptions of the Canada Free Trade Agreement."