Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pushed back Wednesday on accusations that her government is trampling on Charter rights through repeated use of the notwithstanding clause, saying it's all about protecting children.

In a heated back-and-forth, Opposition NDP house leader Christina Gray said the United Conservative government using the clause four times in the last three weeks is an affront to protected human rights.

"Does the premier understand that the repeated use of the notwithstanding clause literally means she opposes the freedoms of all Albertans?" Gray said.

"We believe in science," Smith replied to guffaws from the house.

"This is about protecting children and making sure that medical experiments are not conducted on them, because we do not have good data."

The remarks came one

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