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THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
PRESENTS A DRAFT BILL ON CLARITY
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, December 10, 1999 – The
Government of Canada has given effect to the opinion of the Supreme Court in the
Quebec Secession Reference by presenting a draft bill that states the
circumstances for clarity under which the Government of Canada would be obliged
to enter into negotiations on the possible secession of a Canadian province, the
Honourable Stéphane Dion, President of the Privy Council and Minister of
Intergovernmental Affairs, stated today.
The draft bill is reasonable, the Minister
stated, because it seeks to set out the principles and procedures that would
guide the House of Commons in determining what would constitute a sufficiently
clear question and majority.
The Minister noted that in paragraph 87 of its
opinion, issued on August 20, 1998, the Court stated that: "The referendum
result, if it is to be taken as an expression of the democratic will, must be
free of ambiguity both in terms of the question asked and in terms of the
support it achieves."
The draft bill recognizes that Quebec's National
Assembly, or the legislative assembly of another province, can ask citizens any
question it wants in a referendum, the Minister stated. In accordance with the
Court's opinion, the draft bill is designed to announce well in advance that the
Government of Canada would not negotiate secession unless there were a clear
will for separation among the population, the Minister explained.
In presenting this draft bill, the Government of
Canada is assuming its responsibilities, Mr Dion noted. The Court stated in
paragraph 153 that "[...] it will be for the political actors to determine
what constitutes "a clear majority on a clear question" [...] Equally,
in the event of demonstrated majority support for Quebec secession, the content
and process of the negotiations will be for the political actors to
settle." The Government of Canada is one of the "political
actors" referred to by the Court, the Minister added.
The draft bill does not set a framework for a
referendum, the Minister asserted; it sets a framework for the Government of
Canada. It creates an obligation for the Government of Canada to negotiate if
things are clear, and an obligation not to negotiate if they are not.
The draft bill also states that the Government of
Canada would not enter into any negotiations if the question were unclear and,
for that reason, would not result in a clear expression of the will of the
province's population to cease to be part of Canada.
A question on a mandate to negotiate that would
not solicit a direct expression of the will of the population as to whether the
province should cease to be part of Canada, or a question offering other
possibilities in addition to secession, including a political or economic
arrangement with Canada, could not result in an expression of the will of the
population to effect secession.
Introducing other elements in the question would
make it impossible to know what people really want, Mr Dion explained. In the
Court's words, there must be a "clear expression of the desire to pursue
secession by the population of a province" (par. 88) to give rise to an
obligation to negotiate, and a clear expression that Quebecers "no longer
wish to remain in Canada". (par. 92)
The draft bill sets out a number of criteria
relating to a clear majority. It also states that the Government of Canada would
not enter into negotiations on secession unless the House of Commons concluded
that a clear majority of the province's population had clearly expressed its
will that the province cease to be part of Canada.
Secession cannot be effected through a unilateral
declaration of independence, the Minister stated. It requires a constitutional
amendment, following negotiations.
Mr Dion noted that the Government of Quebec
continues to suggest that it will hold another referendum during its present
mandate. The Government of Canada therefore feels that it needs to act now to
ensure the clarity of the process, in an atmosphere of calm, rather than in the
turbulence of a referendum campaign. Since Mr Lucien Bouchard, in spite of Prime
Minister Chrétien's appeal, does not want to renounce his plans to hold a
referendum during the current mandate, or to guarantee a clear referendum
process, we have an obligation to act, the Minister concluded.
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For information:
André Lamarre
Special Assistant
(613) 943-1838
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