In that last sentence, “would not be allowed” means “would not be allowed by the courts, and in particular the Supreme Court itself.” The axiom of the Charter, for better or worse, is that the rights therein are subject to democratically decided political limitations. Section 33, negotiated by the provinces, provides a guarantee that legislatures retain the final say in determining those limits — a last-resort veto over the courts. But the people are also given an even higher super-veto. The effect of a Sec. 33 declaration is time-limited; a statute which incorporates the veto must be renewed every five years by the originating legislature, so that at least one election is sure to intervene and to provide the voters with the ability to punish or obliterate a government that has used the clause.







