EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling on the federal government to invoke the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to overturn a new Supreme Court ruling on child pornography.
The top court ruled Friday that one-year mandatory minimum sentences for accessing or possessing child pornography are unconstitutional.
Smith, on social media, called the decision “outrageous” and called on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to immediately invoke the notwithstanding clause to overrule it.
“The possession of child pornography is a heinous crime, and even a one-year minimum sentence is already far too lenient,” she wrote.
The rarely used notwithstanding clause gives governments the authority to override constitutional rights for up to five years on the grounds of balancing the roles of legislators and the courts. The clause can be renewed after that five-year-term.
The 5-4 Supreme Court majority wrote in its decision that the mandatory minimum sentence itself isn’t necessarily unconstitutional, but because the crime covers a wide range of circumstances it leaves no choice but to impose a “grossly disproportionate” sentence on offenders whose actions aren’t as serious as others.
“Indeed, this crime captures both the well-organized offender who, over the years, has accumulated thousands of files, and the offender who, one day, keeps a file that was sent to the offender without them requesting it,” wrote Justice Mary Moreau.
She said Parliament could limit the scope of mandatory minimum sentences to certain conduct or allow judges to exempt outliers for whom the sentence would amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also called on Ottawa to overrule the decision with the notwithstanding clause, saying on social media that “disgusting scumbags who prey on children belong behind bars for the rest of their miserable lives.”
A spokesperson for federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser didn’t address the premiers’ calls, saying in a statement instead that the government was reviewing the decision’s implications.
“Crimes that exploit or abuse children are among the most serious and reprehensible in our society,” the statement reads.
“Plain and simple: child abusers should face the toughest penalties Canadian law allows.”
Smith invoked the notwithstanding clause this week to shut down a provincewide teachers strike, saying the sheer size of the walkout and the emotional and educational harm to students justified the decision.
Groups including Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized her decision as parliamentary overreach.
But Smith gained the support of her neighbouring counterpart Friday, as Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told reporters that although it’s regrettable Smith had to bring in the clause, she Smith did what was needed.
“I think everybody can agree we need to do what we can to ensure that (students) are in class,” Moe told reporters in Regina.
Ford didn’t pass judgement on Smith’s decision to invoke the clause on teachers when asked by reporters about it earlier in the week.
“She’s running Alberta, I’m not,” he said Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2025.
Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
