Megan Ranjeev Reymund David Sharon

 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)

 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.

 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.

 Drafted by Trudeau, was the BNA act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  ndE ndE  33rE 33rE

 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. 

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

 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 “I’ll fix this!”

 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 

 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 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"

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

 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

 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.