COVID Responses Defy Canadian Constitution, Says Last Living Architect of 1982 Legal Framework

Former premier Brian Peckford says provincial governments are overriding Canadians' rights amid the pandemic

Eight provincial premiers attend a news conference in Ottawa on April 16, 1981, where they endorsed the federal government's proposed constitutional changes. (L-R) Brian Peckford of Newfoundland, Allan Blakeney of Saskatchewan, William Bennett of British Columbia, Rene Levesque of Quebec, Sterling Lyon of Manitoba, John Buchanan of Nova Scotia, Angus MacLean of PEI, and Peter Lougheed of Alberta. The Canadian Press/Peter Bregg

The last living premier who took part in the 1982 Constitution negotiations says Canadian governments have “violated” the country’s supreme law and governing legal framework during the pandemic.

Brian Peckford, who served as Newfoundland’s third premier from 1979 to 1989 and has been a Vancouver Island resident since the 1990s, says “governments from Saint John’s to Victoria” have defied the freedom of assembly outlined in Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms—the most recognized part of the Constitution—and also turned their backs on three other sections.