What is the significance of the charlottetown accord

The accord also required the federal and provincial governments to harmonize policy in areas such as telecommunications, labour development and training, regional development and immigration. The federal power of reservation, under which the provincial lieutenant governor could refer a bill passed by a provincial legislature to the federal government for assent or refusal, would have been abolished, and the federal power of disallowance, under which the federal government could overrule a provincial law that had already been signed into law, would have been severely limited.

Federal spending authority would also have been subject to stricter controls. Canadian governments have often struck agreements under which the federal government, through transfer payments and transfers of taxation authority, would partially or fully fund programs such as medicare, social services, post-secondary education, etc.

The federal government has typically attached conditions on this financing arrangement. The Charlottetown Accord would have guaranteed federal funding for such programs, severely limiting the federal government's authority to set out conditions for the provision of this funding. The accord proposed a social charter to promote such objectives as health care, welfare, education, environmental protection and collective bargaining.

It also proposed the elimination of barriers to the free flow of goods, services, labour and capital, and other provisions related to employment, standard of living and development among the provinces.

The accord also contained the "Canada Clause", which sought to codify the values that define the nature of the Canadian character. These values included egalitarianism, diversity, and the recognition of Quebec as a distinct society within Canada. Aboriginal self-government was approved in principle, but to permit further negotiations on the form it would take, there would have been a hiatus of three years before the concept was recognized in the courts. Perhaps most importantly, however, the accord also proposed a number of institutional changes that would radically reshape the face of Canadian politics.

For example, the composition and the appointment process for the Supreme Court of Canada were to be constitutionally entrenched. Although conventions has been that three of the nine Supreme Court justices must be from Quebec due to Quebec's civil law tradition rather than English common law , this has never been constitutionally mandated. The Canadian Senate would have been reformed, although the proposed reform fell short of the "triple-E" equal, elected and effective Senate demanded by the western provinces.

The accord allowed senators to be elected either in a general election, or by the provincial legislatures. However, the powers of the Senate were reduced, and on matters relating to culture and language, passage of a bill would require a "double majority" -- a majority in the Senate as a whole and a majority of francophone senators. Changes were also proposed for the House of Commons. Following a redistribution, the number of seats in the House would have always increased, and it would have codified that a province could not have fewer seats than any other province with a smaller population.

However, Quebec would have never been allotted less than one-quarter of all the seats in the House. It also increased the number of matters in the existing constitutional amending formula that required unanimous consent. Where is the Canadian Constitution kept? What does Section 33 of the Charter mean? Section 33 allows Parliament or the legislature of a province to derogate from certain sections of the Charter , namely section 2 fundamental freedoms , sections 7 to 14 legal rights and section 15 equality rights.

Section 33 lays down a requirement of form only. Who wrote Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? Pierre Elliott Trudeau. What is Bill 21 all about? As promised during the election campaign, the CAQ government tabled Bill 21 on March 28, , entitled "An Act respecting the laicity of the State". The bill , since made law, bans public workers in positions of "authority" from wearing religious symbols, specifically while they are on duty.

How can the charter be used to change laws in Canada? In Section 33, a Canadian invention called the 'notwithstanding clause' allows the federal and provincial governments to 'override' Charter -protected fundamental freedoms, legal rights or equality rights if they disagree with them.

It gave the government one year to craft a new law. Similar Asks. The legislature could dispense with such hearings if it had the unanimous consent of all members. But one member, Elijah Harper , withheld his consent. As a result, the Accord did not come to a vote in that province. On the same day, wishing to give Manitoba extra time, the federal minister responsible for federal-provincial relations suggested extending the ratification date by three months.

But this would require re-ratification in Quebec. The Newfoundland legislature had ratified the Accord in But Wells came to power the following year and became an outspoken critic of the Accord.

He insisted on putting it to another vote in his legislature, or to a plebiscite in his province. In , the Manitoba delay gave Wells an excuse to avoid bringing the issue to a vote. This delivered yet another blow to the Meech Lake Accord and ensured its disintegration. He was angry that the political consensus around the Accord had come apart. He was joined by a handful of disenchanted backbench Members of Parliament from Quebec. They had all been with either the PC or Liberal Party. This was due in part to its negative image as a deal negotiated in political backrooms.

Canadians had also grown weary of the many years of constitutional wrangling. In spite of this, Mulroney pushed ahead after the death of the Meech Lake Accord. The result was the Charlottetown Accord of This second agreement was eventually defeated in a national referendum. One further attempt at constitutional change was made in Couillard published a page proposal that echoed the points former premier Robert Bourassa had pursued in the Meech Lake Accord.

Ghiz offers his perspective on Meech Lake and Charlottetown negotiations. From Carleton University. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up? Quebec was included in the latter stages. These talks resulted in the Charlottetown Accord. The Accord dealt with several key issues. On the division of legislative powers , it gave the provinces jurisdiction over forestry , mining and some other areas.

It also required the federal government to work with the provinces to harmonize policy in certain areas. These included telecommunications , labour and training, regional development , and immigration. The provinces were also given jurisdiction over cultural affairs. However, the federal government would retain control over national groups such as the CBC and the National Film Board.

The Accord would have affected two rarely-used, centralizing features in the Constitution : the federal power of reservation and Disallowance ; and the declaratory power in section 92 10 c of the Constitution Act, Disallowance gives the federal Cabinet the power to dismiss any provincial act within one year.

The Accord would have abolished this federal power. It thus gives the federal government jurisdiction over the work. Under the Accord, any such declarations would need provincial consent. One important feature of the Accord concerned the use of the federal spending power.

Because Parliament has far greater taxation authority than the provinces, it also has more spending authority. Over the years, this has led to financing arrangements where the federal government, through transfer payments and other means, pays for all or part of programs that otherwise would fall to the provinces.

These include programs such as medicare , social services , higher education , etc. The federal government has typically attached conditions to this arrangement. One such example is the ban on extra billing by doctors, as expressed in the Canada Health Act. Typically, any province that authorized a program or activity that broke these conditions would have to pay a penalty. The Charlottetown Accord allowed the provinces to create their own programs in these areas.

The federal government would provide compensation so long as the provincial programs met national standards. See also Federal-Provincial Relations.

Under the Accord, a province that opted out of any constitutional amendment that transferred provincial powers to the federal government would receive compensation.