Preview

Meech Lake Accord and Charlottetown Accord: Efforts to Rejoin Quebec with the Canadian Constitutional Family

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2004 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Meech Lake Accord and Charlottetown Accord: Efforts to Rejoin Quebec with the Canadian Constitutional Family
Poli Sci.

Meech Lake accord and Charlottetown Accord can be defined as attempts of Canadian government to make Quebec rejoin the Canadian Constitutional family. P.M Brian Mulrooney wanted that Quebec should symbolically rejoin the Canadian Constitutional family. Therefore, the new premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa, was asked to outline conditions for such reunion. Mulrooney and premiers met at Meech Lake in April 1987 and agreed on a document that addressed Quebec’s demand and was known as Meech Lake Accord. Prior to this accord government of Quebec “opted out” of the new Charter Of Rights to maximum extend possible under sec. 33 by introducing a “notwithstanding clause” into each of its existing statutes and into every newly acted statues. In addition, the government also refused to participate in new constitutional amendments. Quebec’s this behavior was the result of curbing of its powers by Charter of Rights. Quebec government announced five conditions, these were: (i) Constitutional recognition of Quebec as a “distinct society”. (ii) A veto on constitutional amendments. (iii) Increased jurisdiction over immigration. (iv) participation in Supreme Court appointments. (v) Financial compensation when Quebec opted out of national programs set by Ottawa within provincial jurisdiction. In 1991 a new set of ambitious negotiations began and it was believed that these negotiations would cure everybody’s constitutional discontent as well as Quebec’s. In 1992 the eleven first ministers reached an agreement at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The Charlottetown Accord included all the elements of Meech LakeAccord, and much else besides. For example, regarding the division of legislative powers, it provided for exclusive provincial jurisdiction over forestry, mining and some other areas. It had four main parts : Canada Clause, a Triple-E senate, Aboriginal self-government, and changes to division of powers. The "Canada Clause" set out the values that define the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Quebec Charter of Values

    • 2189 Words
    • 9 Pages

    “Before the feelings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy are aroused it is called equilibrium (chung, centrality, mean). When these feelings are aroused and each and all attain due measure and degree, it is called harmony. Equilibrium is the great foundation of the world, and harmony its universal path. When equilibrium and harmony are realized to the highest degree, heaven and earth will attain their proper order and all things will flourish.1”…

    • 2189 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Canadian History Essay

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Peter M. Leslie. REBUILDING THE RELATIONSHIP: QUEBEC AND ITS CONFEDERATION PARTNERS. Kingston: Queen’s University, 1987. Iigr. Web. 23 July 2011.…

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    the James Bay and Northern Quebec land claim final settlement as well as compare it with the…

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The arrival of the Canadian government in the early nineteen-hundreds was the last major encapsulating factor the Cree and the Ojibwa were to face after the Hudson Bay Company and the church. The methods adopted by the government were aimed at changing the social, economic, political and religious practices held within these societies. One of the first efforts undertaken by the Canadian government was to legalize any action it would take in the regions occupied by the Cree and the Ojibwa. Therefore, in 1905 and 1906 treaty 9 was signed with the people of Cree and the people of Ojibwa. With the introduction of treaty 9, logging, hydroelectric development, minerals, construction of road and railways started. This treaty also introduced new land policies, which allowed non-Indians to exploit the resources used before only by the…

    • 1782 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Firstly, the Canadian government's intention of the treaty was quite well-known. Obviously, they wanted to take the land which belongs to the natives'. In order to achieve their ambitious goal, they took advantage of the decay of the bison. Clearly, the Canadian government knew what the natives thought: they were losing their main source of food and they were willing to negotiate with the Canadian government. The Canadian government could just give the natives a small amount of land and suggested them to be farmers. They verbally promised that they would give them the equipment, supplies, and instructions they need for farming.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When Pierre Trudeau was in office he passed large amounts of bills and acts, which greatly impacted Canada to develop as a nation. Trudeau officially made the country bilingual by in 1969 by passing the Official Languages Act. He kept the french culture so that they would not have the need for separation. when the Constitution Act passed in 1982, Canada gained complete control over their constitution, and therefore it made Canada independent from the British government. “The act ended the need for British approval of amendments to Canada’s constitution”. With his Charter of Rights and Freedoms included in the Constitution, Canadians were guaranteed freedom and would not suffer from discrimination. Everyone accepted this because if offered…

    • 188 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The issue of what form this self-government should take still remains. In line with the relationship established by the Royal Proclamation, Aboriginal self-government should reflect the national characteristic of the Aboriginal peoples. A dual system of federalism, where there are two sets of Confederations (a British North American Confederation and a Treaty federalism), both existing within the same territory is the best solution for self-government in this context. “… [A] ‘treaty’ relationship … means that … relations among sovereign nations are based on diplomatic agreements … not on majority decisions… There is no central government but only negotiated and contractual agreement among governments.” (Abele and Prince 2006, 682) Dual Federalism recognizes the equality between Canada and the…

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In modern society the question of why the aboriginal population receives benefits often arises. Much of today’s youth does not understand that the Native American people were often stripped of their rights in the past in order to gain these advantages. Two main incidents were established in the Aboriginal history, the first was the treaties that spread across Canada and the second incident was the Indian Act of 1876. The main difference between the Indian Act and treaties were the aboriginal’s role in the decision-making. Treaties allowed for a compromise between the Natives and the government that allowed for benefits on both ends whereas the Indian act was imposed on the Native culture by the Canadian government without any arrangement with the aboriginals.…

    • 2505 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Elijah Harper

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ratification is the approval of the principal of an act of its agent where the agent lacked authority to legally bind the principal. All ten provinces would have to unanimously agree for the Accord to go to parliament. With merely 12 days left until Harper started a filibuster stopping the Manitoba assembly from ratifying the Accord for Meech Lake. Although Newfoundland and Labradour did ratify the Accord, the new premier cancelled it Accords approval. This resigned Newfoundland form the support f the Meech Lake Accord. Along side New Brunswick followed suit…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Canada has long been regarded as a rich and democratic country that’s very well developed. The secret behind this is like the famous quote from history,“United we stand, divided we fall”. Canada has a government requiring all the provinces to contribute and each region has its own advantage and drawbacks. Together, we are able to cover each other’s weaknesses and improve as a Confederation.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The signing of the treaties and the misconceptions by both parties entering into them, the First Nations bands and the Canadian government, has served as a platform for future politics problems still going on today. First Nation people understood treaties to mean allowing "settlement by non-native people....[but] at the same time, native people would retain large tracts of land on which they would govern themselves...[and where their] language and culture would flourish" (Bird, Land and Macadam 5). The Canadian government, on the other hand, seen it by way of the Royal Proclamation…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ottawa Charter in Action

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Reorienting Health Services is about changing the focus of health services from treating illness to promoting health and wellbeing…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Quebec was founded in 1608 by French settlers looking for a beneficial fur trade. As soon as the French landed they struck up an alliance with the Algonkin, Montagnais, Huron tribes. These natives were the leading traders in the region. The French greatly benefited with this alliance, but it also brought a major problem. It brought a century of conflict with Huron’s enemies, the Iroquois confederacy from south…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prime Minister Mulroney had the Father of Confederations words, "Whatever you do, adhere to the Union. We are a great country, and shall become one of the greatest in the universe if we preserve it; we shall sink into insignificance and adversity if we suffer it to be broken”,[1] in mind when he proposed the accords to reconcile with Quebec after Quebec was stabbed in the back during the "Night of the Long Knives", where Quebec was left out of the discussion where other provinces reached an agreement on a process for patriating and amending the constitution.(2:)…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Canadian Arctic Sovereignty is currently a pressing issue has raised many questions about who owns and who has control over the Arctic and its precious resources. The posing question is; to what extent should Canada protect its Arctic Sovereignty? There are many reasons why Canada must go forward in defending and protecting the Arctic to a moderate extent even though it will be a challenging mission considering that the Canadian military currently needs more resources in order to properly defend the Arctic. They must defend the population of Inuit that currently reside in the Arctic must be protected because their way of life is changing due to their changing landscape. The gain of control over the Northwest Passage would put Canada in a position of power as well as obtaining precious resources that are now accessible due to global climate change.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics