[Source:](http://www.jjmccullough.com/scinterview.php) [Bob Tarantino](https://ca.linkedin.com/in/bobtarantino), LLB, LLM (York University), BCL (University of Oxford)

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> So ... Canada's "override" ... clause might actually have the opposite effect from what one might expect: it may prompt Canadian courts to actually be MORE bold and robust in taking positions than they **otherwise** might be **in *its* absence**, because it always leaves them the option of arguing "Look, if you really disagree with our decision, feel free to use the notwithstanding clause to override it," ...
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I guess: ***its*** = Canada's "override" clause, aka the Notwithstanding Clause. Abbreviate it as NC.

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> [[This helpful answer](https://ell.stackexchange.com/a/49065/8712) enlightened me:] The word **otherwise** means "without NC". There is no grammatical rule to tell us what X is in a sentence. We need to understand from the context.
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Based on the context, **otherwise** means "without NC." The dual use of both **otherwise** and **in *its* absence**: is it redundant? What happens if either one (but not the other) were omitted?