Canada

You recall correctly. The Alberta premier proposed it, and it’s something they included in the Alberta bill of rights earlier in the 70s.

Without the notwithstanding clause the Charter would restrict the provinces’ legislative freedom and give the federal justices greater powers than the provincial representatives, when one of the defining features of the Westminster system is that of parliamentary sovereignty or supremacy. In the British system, parliament has the right to make or unmake any law.

The current situation is like a compromise between having an enforceable written bill of rights and respecting the sovereignty of the provincial legislatures. Without the clause the provinces would never have agreed to the constitution.