Britain, the Charter of Rights and the spirit of the 1982 Canadian Constitution

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12677307
AutoresFrédéric Bastien (Dawson College, autor correspondente)
Ano2010
Volume48
Fascículo3
Páginas320-347
Data de publicação2010-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCommonwealth and Comparative Politics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1466-2043 • E-ISSN: 1743-9094
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14662043.2010.492971
OpenAlexW2020068993
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas7

The Canadian Constitution remained a British statute from 1867 to 1982, a situation that endured even after the country became independent in 1931. As a result, every time Canadians wanted constitutional changes, legislation had to be passed in Westminster. Between 1980 and 1982, following the Quebec referendum on independence, the then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau undertook to change this situation. This meant devising a Canadian amending formula and, most importantly for Trudeau, the inclusion of an entrenched bill of rights in the constitution. Trudeau's initial project was opposed by eight of 10 provinces and this situation proved difficult for the UK. The opposing provinces lobbied British lawmakers in order to convince them to vote against the federal request. That situation eventually forced Ottawa to accept a diluted version of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Bill of rights · Charter · Constitution · Economics · Independence (probability theory · Legislation · Order (exchange · Political science · Politics · Prime minister · Referendum · Statute · Canadian Identity and History · Law