With Honour and Enthusiasm: Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords

These constitutional changes led to a sharp drop in support for the Liberal Party of Canada in Quebec. As a result, Brian Mulroney's Conservatives, who had declared themselves in favour of a ‘new deal' for Quebec made some significant gains in the province.

The first attempt resulted in the Meech Lake Accord (1987-90). Translating into actions a key promise of the 1984 federal election, Mulroney was minded to take seriously the main conditions set up by Quebec officials if ‘La Belle Province' were to adhere to the 1982 Constitution Act. On 1 May 1987, he declared:

I am honored to inform the House that... the Premiers and I reached unanimous agreement in principle on a Constitutional package which will allow Quebec to rejoin the Canadian constitutional family. This agreement enhances the Confederation bargain and strengthens, I believe the federal nature of Canada.... The Meech Lake Agreement springs from the Canadian tradition of honorable compromise, and is a tribute to the statesmanship and leadership of all First Ministers.

mulroney 1987, emphasis added

The Accord took into consideration five conditions reflecting Quebec's demands:

1. The distinct society clause: ‘Recognition in an interpretive provision and recognition of the role of the Quebec legislature and government in promoting and protecting the distinct society';

2. The federal spending power clause: ‘Provisions governing the establish­ment of new jointly funded programs in exclusively provincial sectors and granting the right to opt out with fair compensation if there is a measure or program compatible with the national objectives';

3. The Supreme Court clause: ‘Clarification of the Court's constitutional status, guarantee of Quebec representation, establishment of a role for Quebec in the selection of Quebec judges and a role for the other prov­inces in the selection of the Court's other judges';

4.

5. The immigration clause: ‘Obligation, within the policy agreement accompanying the Meech Lake Accord, to sign a Canada-Quebec agreement on the subject and constitutional mechanism for negotiat­ing and protecting agreements between the federal and the provinces in this area of related to the temporary admission of aliens'.

QUEBEC 2017, p. 35

Even though the Accord was ratified by the House of Commons in Ottawa and eight provincial assemblies (including Quebec), hence representing roughly 94 per cent of the Canadian population, it failed because it needed to be approved unanimously within three years. In response to its failure, the then Quebec premier, Robert Bourassa, asserted that ‘No matter what anyone says and no matter what anyone does, Quebec is, today and forever, a distinct soci­ety, free and capable of assuming its destiny and development'.^[XXVIII]

Two years later, a new round of constitutional debate culminated with the Charlottetown Accord. This time, even though Quebec originated discussions, the Accord mainly focused on a reform of the Senate, the Upper Chamber in Ottawa, and on Aboriginal issues. It was rejected by referendum on 26 October by 57 per cent of the population of Quebec and 54 per cent of Canada as a whole.

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