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Notwithstanding Clause (Plain-Language Summary)
Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is called the notwithstanding clause. It is also called the override clause. It is part of the Constitution of Canada. The clause was crucial in winning provincial support for the Charter. The clause allows governments to bypass some rights. Such an override must be renewed after five years. Use of the clause is politically hard and therefore rare. It has been used by provinces only a handful of times. It has never been used by the federal government. (This article is a plain-language summary of the Notwithstanding Clause. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Notwithstanding Clause.)