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MINISTER STÉPHANE DION TABLES A NEW
RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT PROPOSED BY QUÉBEC'S
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, October 1, 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 amend section 93 of the Constitution
Act, 1867 and announced that the resolution would be referred to a special joint
committee to report to Parliament in the coming weeks.
Minister Dion tabled an identical motion on April 22, but the election call
prevented a committee from being struck at that time to study this
constitutional amendment.
"As I have indicated on several occasions, the Government of Canada
supports the proposed amendment because it is a good thing for the citizens
affected by it and because it enjoys a reasonable degree of support from those
citizens", the Minister stated.
Mr. Dion noted that even though the Canadian government was able to observe a
consensus surrounding this proposal in recent months, including for the
constitutional amendment, respect for democratic traditions made it necessary to
strike such a committee. The committee will thus enable interested citizens,
experts and groups to make their voices heard.
Noting that Quebec society has become secularized and considerably diversified
with the arrival of newcomers, the Minister stressed that there was a broad
consensus within Quebec society on the need to reorganize school structures
along linguistic, rather than denominational, lines. Mr. Dion pointed out,
however, that "the Quebec government is not seeking to exclude any
reference to religion in education, but rather to secularize the administrative
structures. Many Quebecers are attached to religious instruction, and the Quebec
government has taken account of that."
The Minister added that, "section 520 of the Education Act, as amended by
section 36 and by the schedule of the Act to amend the Education Act, authorizes
schools that so desire to retain their denominational orientation. Furthermore,
the right to religious instruction is still guaranteed under section 41 of the
Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, a document that has
quasi-constitutional status according to the Supreme Court of Canada."
Minister Dion also stated that the proposed constitutional amendment in no way
went against the interests of the Anglophone community, and that "section
23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms will continue to provide
strong constitutional guarantees to Quebec Anglophones." "In
addition," Mr. Dion noted, " the establishment of linguistic school
boards will allow the Anglophone community to consolidate its school population
and thus to establish a more solid foundation for its rights under section
23."
Urging his colleagues in the House to support the amendment, the Minister
stated, "the government of which I am a member has reiterated on a number
of occasions that any constitutional amendment must be the subject of a
reasonable consensus within the minorities affected. I am pleased to note that
that requirement is met in this case." "The Government of Canada
solemnly affirms that the same requirement would be indispensable in the event
that another province called for an amendment with respect to guarantees for
minorities within its territory," Minister Dion concluded.
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Enclosure: Full text of the
statement by Minister Dion
For information: André Lamarre
Press Secretary
(613) 943-1838
STATEMENT BY MINISTER DION
ON THE AMENDMENT OF
SECTION 93 (EDUCATION) OF THE
CONSTITUTION ACT, 1867
Introduction
Mr. Speaker,
On April 15, 1997, the Quebec National Assembly voted unanimously in favour
of a resolution for a constitutional amendment that would end the application to
Quebec of subsections (1) to (4) of section 93 (education) of the
Constitution Act, 1867. I tabled an identical resolution in the House on April
22, but the election call prevented us from moving to strike a committee to
examine this constitutional amendment. That is why I am tabling that resolution
again, so that it can be referred to a special joint committee that is to report
to Parliament in the coming weeks.
As I have indicated on several occasions, the Government of Canada supports the
proposed amendment because it is a good thing for the citizens affected by it
and because it enjoys a reasonable degree of support from those citizens.
It is one thing to want linguistic school boards and another thing to want to
achieve them by way of a constitutional change. Although the Government of
Canada has noted in recent months the existence of a consensus surrounding this
proposal, including for the constitutional amendment, we could not flout the
democratic traditions that Quebecers share with all their fellow Canadians. The
Official Opposition in the National Assembly asked the Government of Quebec, in
vain, to strike a parliamentary committee. Therefore, we feel it is necessary to
proceed, respecting our parliamentary procedure, by striking a joint committee
to which experts, groups and citizens will be able to express their views. Such
a committee will allow them to make their opinions known while promoting better
understanding of the changes sought by the constitutional amendment.
A desirable amendment that
is supported by all the groups affected
For some time now, Quebec society has been secularized and has become
considerably diversified through the contribution of newcomers. It is therefore
not surprising that this society has questioned on many occasions the
appropriateness of a system established on a denominational basis. Throughout
the consultations and reports that have marked the past 30 years, a consensus
has emerged on the need to reorganize school structures along linguistic, rather
than denominational, lines. That consensus was confirmed during the Estates
General on Education (1996), which verified that Catholic and Protestant
Quebecers, Anglophones and Francophones alike, wanted to establish linguistic
school boards.
Quebec’s National Assembly acted on that desire for change by unanimously
passing, on April 15, 1997, the resolution to amend section 93 of the
Constitution Act, 1867, with respect to its application to Quebec. Two months
later, on June 19, 1997, Quebec MNAs again demonstrated their agreement on this
matter by unanimously voting in favour of the legislation that will ensure the
implementation of linguistic school boards and govern the place and role of
confessionality in Quebec’s school system (An Act to amend the Education Act).
The proposed amendment not only makes it possible to adapt the Canadian
Constitution to take account of the deep-seated changes Quebec society has
undergone, but it also has the merit of allowing for the changes sought by the
vast majority of the citizens that are affected. First, it is noteworthy that
the Quebec government is not seeking to exclude any reference to religion in
education, but rather to secularize the administrative structures. Many
Quebecers are attached to religious instruction, and the Quebec government has
taken account of that. Specifically, section 520 of the Education Act, as
amended by section 36 and by the schedule of the Act to amend the Education Act,
authorizes schools that so desire to retain their denominational orientation.
Furthermore, the right to religious instruction is still guaranteed under
section 41 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, a document that
has quasi-constitutional status according to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Such arrangements help explain the support garnered by the reform sought by the
Quebec authorities. While it has not expressed itself on the means used, the
assembly of Quebec bishops has nevertheless publicly supported the establishment
of linguistic school boards and has not opposed amending section 93. For their
part, many groups and associations have endorsed the constitutional amendment
requested by Quebec’s National Assembly. By way of example, I would mention
the Catholic Committee of the Superior Council of Education, the Federation of
School Boards, the Federation of Parents’ Committees, and teachers’
associations representing the entire teaching force of the province.
While section 93 does not protect linguistic rights, language and denomination
nevertheless have close historical ties. In the past, Quebec’s Anglophone
minority relied heavily on the Protestant school boards to assure its
development. The constitutional amendment proposed today does not run counter to
the interests of that community, on the contrary. In effect, section 23 of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms will continue to provide strong
constitutional guarantees to Quebec Anglophones. While section 93 guarantees the
existence of denominational management structures in Montreal and Quebec City
and the right of dissent in the rest of the province, section 23 allows the
minority to control and manage linguistic school structures.
In addition, the establishment of linguistic school boards will allow the
Anglophone community to consolidate its school population and thus to establish
a more solid foundation for its rights under section 23. As things stand now,
Protestant school boards serve a growing number of children whose language of
instruction is French. This phenomenon threatens to strip the Anglophone
community of its control over those institutions -- institutions which are less
and less reflective of sociological reality and which cannot, in any event,
address the needs of the Catholic segment of the community. In that regard, it
is important to note that students who profess the Protestant faith today
account for less than 40% of the school population served by Protestant school
boards.
Of course, it is only normal for any minority group to want to increase its
constitutional rights. We understand the Anglophone minority’s concerns about
its demographic situation, about the provisions that limit access to English
schools, and about the secessionist orientation of the current Quebec
government. In this light, we understand why some groups in the Anglophone
community are using this opportunity to call for the full application of section
23 in Quebec. Nevertheless, the Government of Canada believes that this issue
raises a whole other debate. While the proposed amendment does not go as far as
some might want, it nevertheless deserves to be passed because it is in the
interests of both the minority and the majority in Quebec.
The government of which I am a member has reiterated on a number of occasions
that any constitutional amendment must be the subject of a reasonable consensus
within the minorities affected. I am pleased to note that that requirement is
met in this case. The Government of Canada solemnly affirms that the same
requirement would be indispensable in the event that another province called for
an amendment with respect to guarantees for minorities within its territory.
Conclusion
Quebec society has succeeded in reaching a consensus on a constitutional issue
which touches upon such vital issues for citizens as schooling, language,
religion and the Constitution. For that reason, and because it will benefit the
Quebec community as a whole, the Government believes that this amendment should
be passed.
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