Quebec leaders consider charter override after Supreme Court expands refugee daycare access

https://nationalpost.com/news/quebec-leaders-consider-charter-override-after-supreme-court-expands-refugee-daycare-access/wcm/c38b93e4-ba50-48f0-99c5-dc0687d225a4

There is already talk among Quebec’s political class — across the political spectrum — of invoking the notwithstanding clause after Canada’s top court struck down a law that barred people seeking refuge from Quebec’s daycare system.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Friday the province’s policy — which excluded asylum seekers from the province’s subsidized daycare network — discriminated against women. The decision means people seeking refugee status can continue to access the system. It also extended eligibility to those without work permits.

Quebec’s low-cost daycare system, which emerged in the late 1990s, is widely regarded as one of the most successful child-care programs in the world, credited with helping more mothers enter the workforce. Even New York City’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has pointed to Quebec’s system as a model.

But the program faces a shortage of spaces. About 30,000 children remain on waiting lists for daycare spots, according to provincial figures. About 6,000 of those spaces are currently used by children of refugee claimants.

Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, whose party leads in the polls ahead of a general election later this year, warned in Montreal on Friday the decision could encourage asylum seekers to come to Quebec to obtain social services. Continue…