"THE PRINCIPLES BEHIND
THE CALGARY DECLARATION"

NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

CALGARY, ALBERTA

OCTOBER 15, 1997

Clichés aside, Canada really is one of the greatest countries in the world. We know that the United Nations has rated us as having the highest quality of life for several years running, and that surveys by the OECD predict that Canada will enjoy among the fastest growth of the industrialized countries in the next few years. Our achievements, economic, social, and cultural, are envied by millions from around the globe.

Canada is a success first and foremost because of our people, and our ability to come together as citizens with all of our different cultural, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds to achieve common goals. This ability that Canadians have to come together, the spirit we saw in the spontaneous reaction of Canadians to the Saguenay and Manitoba floods, is based on a shared sense of beliefs and values that transcend language, ethnicity, or geography.

It is these common values of Canadians that are at the heart of the Calgary Declaration. This is why I am optimistic about the prospects for success of the process launched by nine premiers and the territorial leaders at Calgary. Perhaps for the first time in the unhappy constitutional history of the past thirty years, political leaders have decided to put the common values of Canadians on the table, rather than subordinating them to a series of more pragmatic political bargaining chips.

Premier Klein should be commended for the important role he has played in opening this discussion about unity and acting as host for the Calgary meeting, as should the other Alberta leaders who have made a real contribution to this debate recently: provincial Liberal leader Grant Mitchell, NDP leader Pam Barrett, Reform leader Preston Manning, and my own cabinet colleague Ann McLellan. Alberta has shown that it is possible in the interests of national unity to put aside party politics and recognize the greater good of Canada. In Mr. Manning's apt phrase, Alberta's political leaders have chosen to act as "big Westerners", not "little Westerners."

Let me quote the words of Premier Klein, from a speech he gave last spring:

"I believe in a Canada where all provinces have equal status, but a Canada that allows Quebec to protect those things that make it such a unique part of our national character. I don't think those two principles cancel each other out. The Canada I am describing might be familiar to many, because most of us grew up there: a tolerant and diverse nation where we are equal as Canadians, no matter where we live, but where the word 'equality' is not used as a blanket to smother diversity."

I don't think I could have given a clearer description of my own beliefs about this country than this statement. Furthermore, these words capture precisely the spirit that underlies the Calgary declaration.

Let us examine how this declaration, reached in Calgary through the efforts of Premier Klein and his colleagues, attempts to reconcile the deeply held Canadian ideals of equality and diversity.

The principle of the equality of all Canadians, as citizens and human beings, is a fundamental one to our idea of democracy. We may not have achieved equality as fully as we would like to in practice, but it is certainly an ideal we share in all parts of Canada. The principle of equality is recognized explicitly in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, especially in Section 15, which guarantees all Canadians the right to equality before and under the law. So the recognition of the equality of citizens as a basic Canadian value in the Calgary Declaration is simply an extension of this widely held principle.

The equality of status of the provinces is another principle that all Canadians can embrace. I am not aware of two or three different legal statuses for provinces in Canada. There is only one status of province in Canada: either you are a province, with all the constitutional rights that entails, or you are not. All provinces have the same legal powers, and all of them have the same relationship with their citizens and with the federal government, outlined under sections 92 and 93 of the Constitution Act of 1867.

While certainly a federal system must be flexible, a federation that gave vastly greater powers to one of its units than the others would be inherently unstable. So it is natural that if one or more provinces acquire certain powers not foreseen in 1867, that those powers should be offered to all the other provinces as well. This is why the Calgary Declaration specifies that if one province gains powers under a future constitutional amendment, those powers should be equally available to all the other provinces as well.

Since the Calgary Declaration has embraced the principles of equality of citizens and provinces, this has led to some debate as to who proposed the recognition of equality first, or who cares most deeply about these principles. In our political debates in this country, all parties try to claim the mantle of equality. But equality is not a Reform principle or a Liberal principle, a Tory or NDP principle, a Western principle or an Eastern principle. Equality is a principle of all Canadians, as it is truly a universal principle. It is not a partisan slogan, but a human ideal that we are all striving towards.

But, as Premier Klein also said, we cannot use the word "equality" to smother diversity. Equality does not mean uniformity or homogeneity. That is why the other key principle of the Calgary Declaration is diversity.

Who can deny that Canada is a diverse country? It is obvious that Alberta is different from Nova Scotia. It is obvious that the aboriginal peoples, the French and British settlers, and the immigrants from around the world have given us a rich and diverse cultural fabric.

As Canadians, we have learned to live with diversity. We accept that each province, each cultural community in Canada has its own way of being Canadian. And in a world where countries are being torn apart by cultural differences, this ability to live with diversity is a great Canadian strength and an example to the world.

By and large, Canadians are proud of our record of diversity and tolerance. However, there is the one aspect of Canada's diversity that almost all Canadians recognize and celebrate as fundamental to Canadian identity, but which has caused great trouble when it comes to enshrining it in our Constitution. That is, of course, the recognition of the unique character of Quebec society.

Quebec is the only province, the only federal jurisdiction in an English-speaking North America, that has a French-speaking majority and an English-speaking minority. Quebec's language, culture, and civil law are definitely unique elements of Quebec and Canada.

These are obvious sociological facts, which nobody denies. But there is a hesitation to put a recognition of the Quebec fact into the Constitution of Canada, as some people fear that by recognizing the unique elements of one province it could undermine the principles of equality of citizens and provinces that we are committed to respect.

That is why I think that the Calgary Declaration has been able to appeal to people across Canada: because it makes it clear that a recognition of Quebec's unique character is placed within the Canadian context of equality in diversity. Quebec is obviously unique, and its legislature has a special role and responsibility to protect that uniqueness. But this responsibility can be exercised in a manner fully compatible with minority and individual rights and the equality of provinces.

The principles of the Calgary Declaration, the principles enunciated by Premier Klein, are an excellent expression of Canadian values. I encourage every citizen of Alberta and of Canada, to participate in the consultations now underway on the declaration, whether by going to town halls, sending letters to your MLAs, or answering a questionnaire on the Internet.

I think that through broad public consultations, we can refine these principles, perhaps improve upon them in some ways, and eventually come up with resolutions to be passed in the legislatures across the country, along with a parallel resolution in the Parliament of Canada.

These resolutions, if passed, will be a strong signal to Quebecers that Canadians outside Quebec accept and embrace the same basic values, including a recognition of the unique Quebec reality. And it will also be a strong signal to all governments about the kinds of basic values that Canadians share.

But it is also important to realize what these resolutions are not. They are not constitutional amendments. It is a statement of principles about the kind of Canada we want, not a legal clause to be used by the Supreme Court of Canada, or a new division of powers.

The current government of Quebec is separatist, and they have indicated that they have no interest in discussing constitutional amendments. Therefore, it makes little sense today to start the amending process to include a recognition of Quebec's uniqueness in the Constitution.

But it is possible that a new Quebec government, a federalist one, will someday be interested in discussing putting such an amendment in the Constitution. And when that time comes, the Calgary Declaration could provide an excellent set of principles that we might use to draft an amendment that recognizes the equality of citizens and provinces, and that recognizes Canada's great diversity including Quebec's unique character.

If we do reopen constitutional discussions, once again you as citizens will have a say. Alberta has legislation, as does British Columbia, and as several other provinces are considering, that require constitutional amendments to be approved by the people in a referendum. Furthermore, the federal government has committed itself to using its veto to prevent any constitutional amendment that does not have the approval of five regions of Canada: British Columbia, the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic. And within the Prairie region, Alberta has over 50% of the population, so Alberta would have to approve for the Prairie region as a whole to approve.

Therefore, under the current law no constitutional amendment can be approved that does not have the approval of the people of Alberta in a referendum, even if legislatures have already passed resolutions in principle in favour of the Calgary Declaration. Albertans should not be deceived by those who would say that the federal government or the premiers are trying to sneak something into the Constitution against your will. No major constitutional amendment can happen without the people of your province having a direct say in a referendum.

The meeting of nine premiers and the territorial leaders in Calgary was the first step on a journey that I hope will put Canadian unity on a firmer foundation, a foundation of common values which all Canadians realize that they can and do share. So far, thanks to forward looking political leaders like many of your own in Alberta, and the generous response of thousands of Albertan and Canadian citizens, I think this journey is well underway.

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