The Deepening Canadian Crisis Over Quebec

By Mary H. Cooper

Less than a year after the failure of a plan to resolve Canada's longstanding constitutional crisis, Quebec has thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of Canada: Either give the French-speaking province greater autonomy, or Quebec will set its own course. Opinion polls now say that Quebeckers overwhelmingly favor some form of independence. At the same time, many English-speaking Canadians would rather. . . .

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What Does Quebec Want?

Canada's latest constitutional crisis began when two of the 10 provincial governments failed to ratify the Meech Lake Accord by June 23, 1990. The accord included a package of amendments to the Canadian Constitution that had been demanded by Quebec as conditions for its approval of the constitution.

After the failure of Meech Lake, the Quebec government decided to find out what the province's population wanted to do next. As part of this plan, Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa's ruling Quebec Liberal Party appointed a commission headed by Montreal lawyer Jean Allaire.

At its annual congress held March 8–10 in Montreal, the Quebec Liberal Party adopted the Allaire commission's recommendations on Quebec's future with only a few modifications. The main demands contained in the Allaire report, entitled “A Quebec Free To Choose,” are listed below. They would make Quebec a semi-sovereign state without breaking away completely from the Canadian confederation.

Together with similar recommendations put forward by a Quebec government commission—the Bélanger-Campeau commission, which included members of the opposition Parti Québécois—these demands will be placed on the negotiating table when talks with the rest of Canada commence later this year. Although no dates have yet been set, talks cannot begin before the federal government completes its own studies on Canada's future, probably around midsummer.

Recommendations of the Allaire Commission

—The Canadian political system will undergo a drastic reorganization resulting in political autonomy for Quebec and a stronger Canadian economic union.

—The federal government will cede many powers to Quebec, including exclusive jurisdiction over 22 areas. These include the following 11 areas currently under Quebec jurisdiction:

• Social affairs

• Housing

• Natural resources

• Municipal affairs

• Recreation and sports

• Health

• Culture

• Family policy

• Tourism

• Education

• Manpower and training

They also include 11 more areas now administered jointly with Ottawa or under exclusive federal authority:

• Agriculture

• Energy

• Research & development

• Unemployment insurance

• Environment

• Public security

• Communications

• Industry and commerce

• Income security

• Regional development

• Language

—Power over the following nine areas will be jointly shared between the governments of Quebec and Canada:

• Native affairs

• Justice

• Post office and telecommunications

• Taxation and revenue

• Fisheries

• Transport

• Immigration

• Foreign policy

• Financial institutions

—That would leave the federal government in exclusive control over only four jurisdictions:

• Defense and territorial security

• Currency and common debt

• Customs and tariffs

• Equalization (apportioning federal transfer payments to the provinces based on need)

—The Quebec National Assembly will write a Constitution of Quebec, which will include the existing Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

—Under the Canadian economic union, there will be no obstacle to the free movement of people, goods and capital throughout Canada, and both Quebec and Canada will share a common currency and customs union.

—Canada will be required to rewrite its constitution in such a way as to guarantee all provinces' right to withdraw upon advance notice. Constitutional amendments must be approved by a majority of the provinces together representing at least half Canada's population, and must be approved in any case by Quebec. The Senate in its current form—appointed by the federal government—will be abolished. The Bank of Canada will continue to be an independent entity but will come under some control of regional representatives.

—The Quebec government will hold a provincial referendum before the end of the fall of 1992 to vote on these reforms. If no agreement is reached, the referendum will be held anyway, but the proposal will instead be to make Quebec a sovereign state. (The Bélanger-Campeau commission suggested that the referendum be held no later than Oct. 26, 1992, and that it propose simply that Quebec become independent. If Quebeckers agree, the province would become an independent country by 1993.)