But when asked for their opinions on the general use of the notwithstanding clause (whether or not they knew what it was), 40 per cent of Canadians supported it to some degree, while 39 per cent were opposed and 21 per cent didn’t know. When asked about its pre-emptive use, support dropped to 31 per cent, while opposition rose to 46 and the “don’t knows” rose slightly to 23 per cent.