Internal Turmoil: Repatriation of the Constitution and a Referendum

Background to the Constitution

Rene Levesque is elected as premier of Quebec in 1976. The Parti Quebecois is elected on a platform of separation. They promised to bring the vote to a referendum. The top priority of the new government was to strengthen the status of the

French language. In 1977, the government enacts Bill 101. The following is an excerpt of the bill:

The bill, as it was passed in the summer of 1977, proclaimed French as the official language in Quebec for just about every facet of life in the province: government, judicial system, education, advertising business, contracts, etc. For example, the bill required that all advertising on billboards be done in French only and that all commercial signs in business establishments be in French alone. All public administrations and businesses had to address their employees in French. All government agencies were directed to use the Official Language in their dealings with Government Ministries and Agencies, as well as professional associations in Quebec, were to be known by their French name.

This did not go over well in the rest of Canada. 1980 Referendum: Levesque asked Quebeckers to vote “yes,” which would

allow them to negotiate a new agreement with Canada based on sovereignty-association.

Trudeau promises to negotiate a new Constitution if the “no” side wins. 40% vote “yes.”

Trudeau and the Constitution

Trudeau had a vision for Canada that would see Canada united under a strong federal government.

He also wanted to include a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He felt that the uniqueness of Canada required the constitution to be accessible

to Canadians. This would require the repatriation of the constitution.

Charter of Rights and Freedoms (CoRF)

Premiers feared that the CoRF would make the courts more powerful than their legislatures.

There was also a lot of concern over an amending formula. The Constitution (many felt) needed to be able to evolve with society. An amending formula could establish this flexibility.

Trudeau did not want to give the provinces too much power.

Trudeau and the Constitution (cont.)

To repatriate is to bring it to the country of origin. In this case, Trudeau needed to bring the constitution from England to Canada. To achieve this, he needed the approval of the majority of the provinces. Ontario and Saskatchewan were both on board with the idea. The other provinces disagreed with the plan. The dissenting provinces became known as The Gang of Eight. The Gang of Eight did not want the federal government to impose a binding

formula on the provinces. They wanted to be able to “opt out” of the constitutional changes. Trudeau hated the idea of giving the provinces too much power. Quebec wanted special nation status. They wanted to be recognized as a distinct society. Trudeau refused: he hated the idea of special status for any group. The question of an amending formula was also holding up the process. Trudeau calls a meeting of the provincial premiers in Ottawa. They are going to work on making the Constitution viable. Nine of the premiers stay in a hotel in Ottawa. Rene Levesque stays in a hotel across the river in Hull, Quebec. This would prove fateful… Jean Chretien is Trudeau’s man in Ottawa. Chretien is in charge of the

negotiations. Trudeau is very clear that he wants this vote to pass. He does not need the vote to be unanimous. Chretien and the premiers work long and hard to come to an agreement. Many things are holding them back.

Night of the Long Knives

Kitchen Compromise : In a last-ditch attempt to resolve their issues over late-night cups of coffee in the kitchen of the National Conference Centre (in Ottawa), federal Justice Minister Jean Chretien and the justice ministers from Saskatchewan and Ontario hammer out a deal - nine of ten premiers were awakened in their rooms to approve the deal. Levesque was staying at another hotel, found out the next day, and argued against the deal.

The premiers agreed to accept the Charter if an escape clause was added allowing them to opt out of some of the clauses of the Charter (the notwithstanding clause).

This meeting became known as the Kitchen Compromise in English Canada - for the Quebecois, it was seen as a betrayal and known as the Night of the Long Knives.

The next morning, Levesque arrives for breakfast. On his plate is the agreement, signed by the nine premiers. Levesque is furious.

Levesque and Quebec feel betrayed, but despite this, Trudeau went ahead.

The Constitution Act 1982

April 17th, 1982: the new Constitution Act was signed into law by Queen Elizabeth and PM Trudeau (the last step in making Canada a completely independent nation).

Constitution Debate Continues

1984: the Liberals have been defeated in the election. Trudeau had put the country into serious debt. The Conservatives are elected under Brian Mulroney. Brian Mulroney promises Quebec that he will reopen the Constitution in order

to get Quebec’s consent. Mulroney is desperate to get Quebec to sign. Once elected, Mulroney makes getting Quebec part of the constitution his main

priority.

The Meech Lake Accord

The Patriation of the Constitution in 1982 was done without Quebec’s agreement.

Quebec, being the only province not to sign the new Constitution, was nevertheless still bound by it.

The federal elections brought Brian Mulroney’s Conservative Party to power, while in Quebec, Robert Bourassa’s Liberal Party had defeated Rene Levesque and the PQ.

For Quebec to sign, it wanted recognition as a distinct society. Distinct Society: Clause that Quebec wants to include in the Constitution to

recognize its status as the only francophone province in the Canadian federation. This clause would acknowledge the government’s obligation to protect Quebec’s unique status. (therefore, the government would have to spend taxpayer money to enforce this status)

The second part dealt with various issues to increase provincial powers with regards to the federal government.

All the provincial Premiers agreed and signed the proposals, resulting in the Meech Lake Accord.

However, the amending formula stated that in order to modify the Constitution, all provincial legislatures had to approve the Accord within a period of three years.

Amending formula: Stipulation that allows the Constitution to be amended. When the British North America Act was proclaimed in 1867, the British did not include a mechanism that would allow it to be modified. The inclusion of an amending formula was the object of intense negotiations.

The three year deadline place a lot of pressure on Mulroney and his government.

Meech Lake was supposed to be his mark on Canadian history. He had worked hard to woo Quebec and get the provinces to support his

ratification of the Accord; his political future was resting on this. As the deadline grew closer, he actually thought that he had the approval. In addition to recognizing Quebec’s status as a distinct society, the Accord

acknowledged that Quebec’s minority Anglophone population and the minority francophone populations found across the country constituted a fundamental characteristic of Canada.

Later, this recognition of special status would come back to irrevocably change the Canadian identity.

What Mulroney had not counted on was another group that wanted special status recognition...

In the Manitoba legislature, they were debating on Meech Lake. One MLA suspended debate and all eyes focused on him as the deadline grew

near. Certain groups, including Canada’s Native population, argued that they had not

been included in the negotiations and demanded that the Accord be rejected. Despite this, most of the provincial legislatures accepted the Accord, with only

Newfoundland and Manitoba’s approval remaining. In Manitoba’s case, unless it obtained the unanimous approval of all its

Members of Parliament, public hearings would be required. On June 23rd, 1990, the deadline for signing the Accord, Elijah Harper, a Native

Member of Parliament, refused to give his approval. He remained in the legislature holding the Cree talking feather, a symbol of his right to speak.

The Federal government then offered to push back the deadline, but this would force Quebec to ratify the document once more.

This situation irritated Clyde Wells, the Premier of Newfoundland, and he refused to have his parliament vote on the Accord.

This signified the death of the Meech Lake Accord. The Meech Lake Accord was one of the most controversial deals that the

government had ever tried. Pierre Trudeau warned that it could tear apart the country. Although the Accord was dead, Mulroney was not going to give up on getting

Quebec to sign on to the Constitution.

Son of Meech Lake

One of the many problems that Canadians felt influenced the failure of Meech Lake was the lack of citizen input.

The federal government responded to this by forming the Citizen’s Forum on Canada’s Future. The forum invited ordinary Canadians to express their views on the topic.

Over an eight month period, they gathered information on the concerns held by Canadians.

In its final report, the Forum supported recognition of Quebec’s distinctiveness, Aboriginal self-government, and the settlement of Aboriginal land claims.

The Accord also gave the provinces much more power. The federal government could no longer override the provincial legislatures in

cases of a perceived abuse of power.