MINISTER STÉPHANE DION INTRODUCES
A RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED
BY NEWFOUNDLAND’S HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, October 27, 1997 – The President of the Privy Council
and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, the Honourable Stéphane Dion, tabled
a resolution in the House of Commons to authorize a bilateral amendment to Term
17 of Newfoundland’s Terms of Union with Canada, which forms part of the
Canadian Constitution. The Minister announced that the resolution would be
referred for consideration to a special joint committee of the House of Commons
and the Senate.
"The Government of Canada supports the proposed amendment, which will allow
Newfoundland to proceed with major reforms to its education system. Following
many years of rancorous and divisive debate in Newfoundland over the role of the
churches and religion in education, it is the Government’s view that the
proposed amendment strikes a workable balance," Mr. Dion stated. "In
Newfoundland, the proposed amendment appears to enjoy a high level of consensus,
including a reasonable degree of support from affected minorities. The
Government bases its assessment in part on the House of Assembly’s unanimous
endorsement of the amendment resolution, and on the results of the provincial
referendum in which 73% of voters approved a proposal to reform the education
system."
The Minister further observed that "in assessing the proposed amendment,
parliamentarians should accord due respect to the fact that all of the members
of the House of Assembly voted in favour of the resolution to amend Term 17.
This included all Catholic and Pentecostal members who had campaigned for the No
side and voted No in the provincial referendum."
Stating that the Government of Canada believes that any attempt to alter
entrenched minority rights should follow processes that are fair and thorough,
Mr. Dion announced that a special joint committee of the House of Commons and
the Senate will be struck to examine Newfoundland’s proposal to amend Term 17.
He stressed that this committee’s work will enhance the level of public input
and understanding, as well as aid Parliament to make an independent assessment
of both the facts of the case and the merits and appropriateness of the
amendment.
While noting that it might seem unusual that Parliament is being asked to
consider an amendment to Term 17 for a second time in less than two years, Mr.
Dion stressed that the Constitution does not set any limits on how often
legislatures may seek constitutional amendments. "It is up to Parliament
and the provincial legislature to which the amendment applies to determine the
appropriateness of each proposed constitutional change," the Minister said.
Mr. Dion emphasized that the amendment to Term 17 would only affect the province
of Newfoundland. He noted that "should another province come forward with a
proposed change to its terms of union or to section 93, it will be up to
Parliament to make its own assessment on the facts of that case and on the
merits and appropriateness of the proposed amendment. Parliament will also wish
to carefully assess whether the amendment enjoys a reasonable degree of support
from the citizens affected by it."
Mr. Dion stressed that the joint committee and individual parliamentarians will
have to make their own assessment of the present amendment proposed by the
Government of Newfoundland. However, he indicated his belief that the amendment
merits Parliament’s support and ultimate approval. Parliament, the Minister
concluded, should interpret the referendum vote and the unanimous endorsement of
the House of Assembly "as a clear signal that the population of
Newfoundland and Labrador wants to proceed expeditiously to reform its education
system in a manner that is fair to all."
Enclosure: Full text of the statement by Minister Dion
- 30 -
For information: André Lamarre
Press Secretary
(613) 943-1838
The Amendment to
Term 17 of Newfoundland’s Terms of Union with Canada: Statement by the
Honourable Stéphane Dion
Introduction: A
Section 43 Amendment
Mr. Speaker, today I have the pleasure of introducing a resolution to authorize
a bilateral amendment to Term 17 of Newfoundland’s Terms of Union with Canada.
Newfoundland’s Terms of Union form part of the Constitution of Canada. Section
43 of the Constitution Act, 1982 provides for an amendment to the Constitution
of Canada in relation to any provision that applies to one or more, but not all,
provinces. Such an amendment may be made by proclamation issued by the Governor
General under the Great Seal of Canada, where so authorized by resolutions of
the Senate and House of Commons and of the legislative assembly of each province
to which the amendment applies.
On September 5, 1997, the Newfoundland House of Assembly unanimously adopted a
resolution authorizing certain amendments to Term 17 of its Terms of Union,
which will only apply to Newfoundland. The amendment will have no legal
application or effect on education or denominational minorities in other
provinces. In keeping with established practice, the Speaker of the Newfoundland
House of Assembly conveyed to the Clerk of the Privy Council a certified copy of
the resolution, which was received on September 8, 1997.
Our role and responsibility as parliamentarians is to consider the proposed
amendment and to decide whether to approve it. As I have already indicated on
several occasions, Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada supports the
proposed amendment, which will allow Newfoundland to proceed with major reforms
to its education system.
Following many years of rancorous and divisive debate in Newfoundland over the
role of the churches and religion in education, it is the Government’s view
that the proposed amendment strikes a workable balance. In Newfoundland, the
proposed amendment appears to enjoy a high level of consensus, including a
reasonable degree of support from affected minorities. The Government bases its
assessment in part on the House of Assembly’s unanimous endorsement of the
amendment resolution, and on the results of the provincial referendum in which
73% of voters approved a proposal to reform the education system.
Nevertheless, the Government of Canada is of the view that any attempt to alter
entrenched minority rights should be marked by processes that are fair and
thorough. To this end, the Government is striking a special joint committee to
examine Newfoundland’s resolution to amend Term 17. It is our belief that the
hearings will help to enhance public input and understanding of the proposed
amendment.
Moreover, the committee’s work will aid Parliament in making its independent
assessment on the facts of the case and on the merits and appropriateness of the
proposed amendment.
The Proposed Amendment to Term 17
Mr. Speaker, as you and our colleagues will recall, this is the second time in
less than two years that Parliament has been asked to consider an amendment to
Term 17 of Newfoundland’s Terms of Union. While this situation may seem
unusual, the Constitution does not set any limits on how often legislatures may
seek constitutional amendments. It is up to Parliament and the provincial
legislature to which the amendment applies to determine the appropriateness of
each proposed constitutional change.
To understand fully the circumstances which have given rise to this second
amendment proposal it is necessary to briefly review the provisions of Term 17.
It is also helpful to reexamine the extensive efforts that have been made over
the past seven years to reform the education system in Newfoundland.
In lieu of section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867, constitutional authority
for education in Newfoundland was set out in Term 17 of the province’s 1949
Terms of Union with Canada. Term 17 granted six denominations the right to
operate their own publicly-funded schools. In 1987, Term 17 was amended to
extend denominational school rights to the Pentecostal Assemblies. These seven
denominations operated four separate schools systems: the Integrated School
System (Anglican, Presbyterian, Salvation Army and United Church), the
Pentecostal Schools System, the Roman Catholic School System and the Seventh Day
Adventist Schools System.
In 1990, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador appointed Dr. Len Williams,
a former teacher, principal and president of the provincial teachers’
association, and current university professor, to chair a Royal Commission on
educational reform. The Commission was asked "to obtain an impartial
assessment of the existing education system and to seek an appropriate vision
for change."
The 1992 Report of the Williams’ Royal Commission recommended the
reorganization of the education system in Newfoundland and Labrador to permit
government to administer the system in a more efficient manner. The Commission
proposed the creation of a single "interdenominational" school system
encompassing the four separate denominational systems in operation at the time.
Initially, the Government of Newfoundland sought to achieve this change through
non-constitutional negotiations with denominational leaders. When nearly three
years of discussions failed to achieve an agreement, the Government of
Newfoundland sought educational reform through a constitutional amendment to
Term 17 of its Terms of Union.
But the amendment that Newfoundland sought, and which was authorized by this
House and proclaimed by the Governor General on April 21, 1997, represented a
compromise. The amendment would not have eliminated all single denominational
schools. The amendment was designed to provide the Newfoundland House of
Assembly with additional powers to organize and administer public education
through a system of "interdenominational" schools, while retaining the
rights of Roman Catholics and Pentecostals to "unidenominational"
schools under certain conditions. These conditions were to be set out in
provincial legislation that was equally applicable to all schools, either
unidenominational or interdenominational.
However, the attempt to legislatively implement the new Term 17 under a revised
Schools Act was successfully challenged in the Newfoundland Supreme Court. On
July 8, 1997, Mr. Justice Leo Barry granted representatives of the Roman
Catholic and Pentecostal churches a temporary injunction halting the entire
educational reform process. In Justice Barry’s view, the new Schools Act
favoured interdenominational over uni-denominational schools. Therefore, he
found that a trial judge would likely find that the legislation was contrary to
the amended Term 17, which required that interdenominational and
unidenominational (i.e., Roman Catholic and Pentecostal) schools be given equal
treatment.
As even Mr. Justice Barry acknowledged and anticipated, the injunction resulted
in a "significant disruption" for teachers, principals and students
who had been reassigned to different schools on the basis of the new schools
legislation. It also resulted in the reopening of some schools and the re-hiring
of some teachers who had been laid off following certain school closures and
redesignation. For the Government of Newfoundland, and citizens who thought the
divisive education debate was behind them, the injunction raised many questions
and a great deal of uncertainty about the future structure of the school system.
The Government of Newfoundland filed an appeal, but did not pursue the matter.
Instead, on July 31, 1997, Premier Tobin announced in a province-wide telecast
that he would hold a referendum on September 2 to secure a mandate to amend Term
17 once again. Premier Tobin explained that for five years the provincial
government, school boards, the teachers’ association, the churches, parents
and students, "have all been engaged in what seems to be a never ending
debate about how to reconcile the need for reform of our education system with
the rights of the denominations in the education system."
While not referring specifically to the injunction blocking educational reform,
Premier Tobin argued that: "During the last five years, we’ve seen every
attempt to reconcile these two ideas...education reform and denominational
rights end in more confusion and more conflict."
Consequently, Premier Tobin decided to go to the people once again to seek a
mandate for an amendment to Term 17. The purpose of that amendment, which we are
asked to consider, is to create a single, publicly funded and administered
school system. The brief text of this Term 17 amendment, which only contains
three clauses, is plain and clear and states that:
In lieu of section ninety-three
of the Constitution Act, 1867, this section shall apply in respect of the
Province of Newfoundland.
In and for the Province of Newfoundland, the Legislature shall have exclusive authority to make laws in relation to education, but shall provide for courses in religion that are not specific to a religious denomination.
Support for the Proposed Amendment
The proposed amendment, which constitutes a major restructuring of Newfoundland’s
education system, is supported by a substantial majority of the province’s
population and enjoys a fair degree of support from affected minorities.
In addition, the House of Assembly gave the resolution unanimous approval on
September
5.In considering this amendment, the Government
has sought to ensure that its process is thorough and gives due respect to
affected minorities. You will recall, Mr. Speaker, that the issue of minority
rights was not central to the Government’s consideration of the previous Term
17 amendment. The old Term 17 granted certain rights to seven denominations
representing 95% of the population. However, following the amendment to Term 17,
the Integrated Group (Anglican, Presbyterian, Salvation Army and United Church)
became one majority class of persons comprising 52% of the population. The Roman
Catholics became a sizable minority of 37%. The Pentecostals are a minority of
7%.
Given this amendment’s impact on minority rights, a mere 50+1 referendum
majority would not have been sufficient nor adequate in measuring the degree of
consensus among affected Roman Catholics and Pentecostals. But the referendum
did not result in a narrow majority: it was an overwhelming majority of 73%,
which provided evidence of minority support. The proposal carried in 47 of
Newfoundland’s 48 electoral districts
Voter turn-out was 53%, but given the high probability that opponents of the
education reform proposal were most likely to vote, the results send a clear
message that there is substantial support for this amendment.
Analysis indicates that in heavily Roman Catholic areas, the proposal was
supported by a majority. The St. George’s Bay region, which is 74% Roman
Catholic, voted 59% Yes. The Avalon Peninsula, which is 48.5% Roman Catholic,
voted 72% Yes. Coincidentally, the Burin Peninsula is also 48.5% Roman Catholic
and it also voted 72% Yes. Approximately 75% of all Roman Catholics in
Newfoundland and Labrador reside in these three regions.
It is difficult to assess accurately the exact degree to which members of the
smaller Pentecostal community supported the proposed amendment. However, in the
four electoral districts where Pentecostals are most heavily concentrated, the
resolution carried with majorities of 57% to 64%.
Moreover, on September 5, the four members of the Pentecostal faith who sit in
the Newfoundland House of Assembly, and represent districts with significant
Pentecostal populations, joined their colleagues in unanimously supporting the
resolution to amend Term 17.
Indeed, in assessing the proposed amendment, Parliamentarians should accord due
respect to the fact that all of the members of the House of Assembly voted in
favour of the resolution to amend Term 17. This included all Catholic and
Pentecostal members who had campaigned for the No side and voted No in the
provincial referendum..
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