Quebec's National Assembly, where the ruling Liberal party decided to open the constitutional debate with the rest of Canada in this 150th anniversary.
Photo Credit: CP / (file photo)

Couillard says “time is right” to reopen talks on constitution

Philippe Couillard, Premier of the French-speaking province of Quebec, held a press conference this afternoon to announce his intention to reopen the discussion concerning Quebec’s position in Canada.

Premier Philipe Couillard making the case for reopening constitutional discussions to include Quebec. © CP/Jacques Boissinot

Quebec is the only province in Canada that did not sign on to the constitution when it was repatriated in 1982.

In a 200-page document with a title that translates into English as: “Quebecers: Our Way of Being Canadians.” the premier says the case for reopening the discussions has been made.

 “Quebec has changed, Canada has changed and I think we can reopen dialogue,”

He said this sesquicentennial year, the 150th anniversary of Confederation, is the ideal opportunity.

“Quebec has changed, Canada has changed and I think we can reopen dialogue,” Couillard said today.

But when asked by reporters what his response would be, Prime Minister Trudeau was brief and concise.

“You know my views on the Constitution,” Trudeau responded this morning in Ottawa. “We are not opening the Constitution.”

Over the last 30 years, constitutional talks in Canada have been severely devisive, and ultimately set the stage for two referendums on Quebec separation.

Quebecers voted to stay in Canada on both occasions, but only by the thinnest of margins.

Professor Nelson Wiseman is the director of the Canadian Studies program in the Political Science department at the University of Toronto.

He says the issue is not likely to get much traction elsewhere in Canada.

Listen

Professor Wiseman says most of Quebec’s 5 demands, while not enshrined in the constitution, have been met.

Quebec’s five conditions for inclusion were first outlined by Premier Robert Bourassa, and they are, as follows:

  • Recognition of Quebec as a distinct society.
  • Limits on federal spending power.
  • Guaranteed Quebec representation on the Supreme Court.
  • A constitutional veto right.
  • Increased control over immigration.

The biggest challenge to constitutional negotiations is that they may open a hornets nest of demands by all the other provinces. And in all this give and take, Canada’s First Nations would be making their claims for the first time.

There are plans in the works currently to acknowledge First Nations people in this anniversary year. As for Quebec’s demands however, it remains to be seen what the reaction will be.

Meanwhile, Philipe Couillard has a provincial election to prepare for in the fall, where he faces two separatist parties. Many analysts see this foray into constitutional negotiation as his attempt to quell the growing support for those parties. 

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