the parti quebecois, bill 101, 1980, 1982, meech lake, charlottetown, 1995
TRANSCRIPT
FEDERALISM VS. SEPARATISM
The Parti Quebecois, Bill 101, 1980, 1982, Meech Lake, Charlottetown, 1995
THE PARTI QUEBECOIS AND BILL 101
In 1976, the Parti Quebecois comes to power in Quebec with a landslide victory
The party platform was to “build the country of Quebec”
In 1977, Levesque passes Bill 101 (The Charter of the French Language)
Bill 101 restricted the use of English and access to English schools
French became to only language of business, government and courts
The “Language Police” enforced the new law
Many English speaking people and businesses left Quebec
1980 REFERENDUM
Levesque knew that most French Canadians did not want complete separation from Canada
Therefore, he proposed Sovereignty Association This means Quebec would be its own country but would
keep close economic ties with Canada In 1980, a referendum was held in Quebec asking
permission to begin talking to Canada about sovereignty association
The people of Quebec were asked to choose their country – Quebec was divided and the issue was hotly debated throughout the province
In the end, 60% of Quebec voted against sovereignty association
1982 CONSTITUTION CRISIS In 1982, Pierre Trudeau attempt to
bring “repatriate” the constitution and create a “Charter of Rights and Freedoms”– the BNA act was a British Document that we could not change – replace it with a Canadian document
However, the leaders of eight provinces (The Gang of 8, led by Levesque) attempted to block the constitution in order to get more power for the provinces
During a secret meeting in the middle of the night, the 7 members of the gang of 8 betray Lévesque and sign a deal with Trudeau – “The Night of Long Knives”
Canada gets a constitution and charter of rights but Quebec refuses to sign
THE MEECH LAKE ACCORD
New Prime Minister Brian Mulroney wanted to bring Quebec and Canada back together
The MLA was a amendment (change) to the constitution that addressed the needs of Quebec
1. Quebec was a distinct society2. 3 0f 9 supreme court judges had to be from Quebec3. Any change to the constriction required all the provinces
to agree4. Quebec could control its own immigration5. All provinces could opt out of Federal programs
In order to pass Meech Lake must be agreed to by all the provinces within three years
The MLA was defeated in the provincial votes in Manitoba, Newfoundland and New Brunswick
Elijah Harper (A native Chief and MPP in Manitoba) is credited for defeating Meech lake
He stalled the passing of the bill He was fighting for Natives to be recognized as
distinct just like the French
THE CHARLOTTETOWN ACCORD In 1992, Mulroney
tries again The Charlottetown
Accord was similar to Meech Lake but it added Native Self-government
Defeated After Charlottetown,
Quebec’s frustration boils over and there are new calls for separation
1995 REFERENDUM
Quebec attempts outright separation in 1995
The No side won 50.6% to 49.4%
Canada stayed together by only a few thousand votes
THE CLARITY ACT In 2000, Jean Chretien's Parliament
passed a bill that defined the circumstances under which a province can separate
The key points of the law are . . .1. Giving the House of Commons the power to
decide whether a proposed referendum question was considered clear before the public vote;
2. Specifically stating that any question not solely referring to secession was to be considered unclear;
3. Giving the House of Commons the power to determine whether or not a clear majority has expressed itself in any referendum, implying that some sort of supermajority is required for success;
4. Stating that all provinces and the First Nations were to be part of the negotiations;
5. Allowing the House of Commons to override a referendum decision if it felt the referendum violated any of the tenets of the Clarity Act;
6. The secession of a province of Canada would require an amendment to the Constitution of Canada.
KEY POINTS
Bill 101 destroys the English language in Quebec Quebec tries to separate twice – 1980 & 1995 Quebec did not sign the Constitution and Charter
of Rights and Freedoms (1982) Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords try to
bring Quebec into the constitution (both failed) The Clarity Act states that Canada has the right
to decide whether a province can separate or not