October 31, 2025
Prabh Sandhu
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi is accusing Premier Danielle Smith’s government of trampling on constitutional rights after it invoked the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work.
In an interview with RED FM, Nenshi said his first week in the legislature was marked by “one of the most shocking things” he has seen in Alberta politics.
He said the United Conservative Party government used “dangerous tools” to push through legislation in the early hours of the morning to end the strike.
“The government knew the law they were proposing was unconstitutional, but they passed it anyway,” Nenshi said. “They used the notwithstanding clause to protect themselves from court scrutiny.”
Nenshi said it was the first time in Alberta’s history that a government had knowingly passed an unconstitutional law and shielded it from review by invoking the clause, which allows legislatures to override certain Charter rights for up to five years.
He accused Smith of hypocrisy for calling herself “freedom-loving” while supporting a measure that he said undermines workers’ rights.
Nenshi also pointed to Alberta’s recent intervention before the Supreme Court of Canada in support of Quebec’s right to pass laws that restrict public servants from wearing religious symbols.
Nenshi noted that Smith was not present in the legislature when the bill was introduced, saying she was travelling in Saudi Arabia and “missed basically half of all the sitting days in the fall session.”
He criticized the government for limiting debate to about three hours on the bill, saying most government members appeared “sad and upset” but stayed silent.
“Not one member of their caucus stood up and spoke in favor of the bill,” he said. “They just stood there quietly and voted when they were supposed to vote.”
Nenshi said the government could have avoided the strike entirely by addressing long-standing issues such as class sizes and fair bargaining with teachers.
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