French and English Relations 1980’s 1990’s

Megan Ranjeev Reymund David Sharon

1980 Referendum and Quebec Sovereignty

Rene Levesque/Parti Québécois wanted Sovereignty by Association

Quebec would be politically separate, but still have economic ties to Canada (still have free trade, tariffs, and currency)

Referendum held to vote on the issue of greater independence

Result = 40% of Québec voted yes for Sov. by Asso. (SBA)

Patriating the Constitution

This meant that Canada wanted to gain control of the Constitution back from Britain.

Canada couldn’t make changes if it was still in Britain unless we gained permission.

Amending Formula and Why?

An amending formula is a set of rules that guide the process of changing the Constitution.

Was an crucial step that Trudeau had to take to be able to create a standardized way of making changes to the Canadian Constitution.

In Canada, 7 out of 10 provinces, equaling at least 50% of the population, have to agree to a constitutional change.

Two Components

Drafted by Trudeau, was the BNA act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngYEcae6ndE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLkJbcW33rE

Kitchen Compromise

The Prime Minister went in the kitchen of the National Conference Center to chat about the amending formula. This night created the notwithstanding clause.

Premier Levesque felt betrayed because he felt that everyone ganged up and denied Québec of its own distinct status.

Notwithstanding Clause

The Notwithstanding Clause is a provision in the Constitution that allows provinces to pass laws, even if it goes against the Constitution.

Constitution Debate / Fix the Mistake

The Supreme Court ruled that in order for Québec to separate, it would have to have a clear majority making it almost impossible for them to separate.

PM Mulroney wanted to make up for the mistakes of the Constitution of 1982.

“I’ll fix this!”

Meech Lake Accord

Change in the constitution offered Québec a “distinct society”. It would create “two solutions” in Canada isolating the Francophones of Quebec.

Large opposition by the Parti Quebecois Trudeau believed it would divide Canada Quebec could overrule the constitution and rob certain

groups in Canada of rights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA2-Ch4vC4k

Elijah Harper / Charlotte Town Accord/ Meech Lake Contin.

Elijah Harper is a Cree member of the Manitoba legislature, opposed the Meech Lake Accord because it did not recognize Canada’s Aboriginal nation as a distinct society

CTA proposed aboriginal self government; failed because BC felt it gave Québec too much power and they objected to the guarantee that Québec would always have 25% of the seats in the House of Commons regardless of the size of its population.

Aboriginals?

Lucien Bouchard

Lucien Bouchard became the Québec premier in 1996, he talked periodically of a new referendum.

Made the Bloc Québécois to dedicate and be committed to Québec’s separation from Canada after the failure of Meech Lake

It was a federal party targeted towards Québec

“Pour un Québec lucide"

1995 Referendum

According to the 1995 referendum, 49.4% of the Québécois voted for sovereignty

1998 Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that Québec did not have the right to separate completely – it would have to negotiate with the federal government, and the 9 other provinces, the Aboriginal nations living in Québec, and the other minorities

Clarity Act of 1999

The Clarity Act of 1999 decreed that a future Québec referendum needed to have a clearly-worded question and a clear majority, if the topic of the referendum would be passed into law.