As Nathalie Des Rosiers looks back at her brief career as a member of provincial parliament, the constitutional lawyer said the one moment she “never quite got over” was Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s unprecedented use of the notwithstanding clause.

Back in September 2018, just months after taking office, the Progressive Conservative government stunned the political and legal community by dusting off a never-before used section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to cut down the size of Toronto city council in the middle of a municipal election campaign.

Des Rosiers, who handed in her resignation Thursday, believes the government was “fundamentally wrong” to invoke the clause and made that argument in the legislature during a rare overnight session to pass Bill 31.



Nathalie Des Rosiers is seen in this undated photograph. (Legislative Assembly of Ontario)

“I urge you to rethink this,” Des Rosiers cautioned the government at the time. “Our reputation as legislators is on the line here.”

“You will be the first one to vote for the ‘notwithstanding’ clause; this is serious. This will have an impact not only now but it will have an impact on the culture of rights for years to come.”

Looking back, Des Rosiers said that while the overnight session represented a “crisis” in Ontario politics, it remains a moment that will stay with her and one she might eventually write about.

“I will remember the night we spent defending and fighting the Ford government from using the notwithstanding clause,” she told CTV News Toronto over the phone. “That night represents the crisis that we are facing.”

The Harvard Law graduate believes the Progressive Conservatives, in their first months in office, were too focused on the former Liberal government – which was overwhelmingly rejected during the June 2018 election after winning just seven seats in the legislature, including Des Rosiers' Ottawa-Vanier riding – and only sought to dismantle anything built by the party.

“It must recognize that it was drunk in power and went really fast in changing everything it could see that was implemented by the Liberal government,” Des Rosiers said.

Now on the outside looking in, Des Rosiers is advising the premier to “respect the legislature and respect the voice of Ontarians.”

Reason behind leaving

Des Rosiers said it was with “sadness” that she handed in her letter of resignation to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Ted Arnott, but personal reasons made it “impossible” to remain as an MPP for the entire term.

Please find my letter of resignation below. It has been an honour to serve Ottawa - Vanier. #onpoli pic.twitter.com/KK61qujdiP — Nathalie Des Rosiers (@NDesRosiers) July 31, 2019

While Des Rosiers will become the next president of Toronto’s Massey College, she said she struggled with leaving her seat because of a sense of obligation she felt to those who voted for her after a hard fought election campaign.

“People underestimate how much they fall in love with the riding they represent,” she said.

But ultimately, she said she was “not in a position to continue.”