CRISTINA CAMPIGLIO

Québec: verso la separazione dal Canada?

N. 165

 

Summary — In the twenty five years Canada has been implicated in a continuous effort aiming to reform the Constitution Act 1867. To date, the only result has been the adoption of Canada Act, which is inclusive of the Constitution Act 1982. However, Canada Act has not been accepted by the Quebec Province. In 1987, Federal and Provincial Prime Ministers signed an agreement, the Meech Lake Constitutional Accord, implying the modification of Canada Act in the sense of wider concessions to Quebec. Due to Manitoba National Assembly rejection, the agreement failed. Subsequent negotiations landed to Charlottetown Constitutional Accord 1992, recognizing that "Quebec constitues within Canada a distinct society, which includes a French-speaking majority, a unique culture and a civil law tradition ". Unfortunately, this second attempt was unsuccessful as well, as — once subjected to referendum — it was rejected by both Quebec and five anglophone Provinces. A possible evolution in the next few years is seemingly dependent on the outcome at 1994 electoral round in Quebec: the prevalence of the Liberal Party would favour the conversion of the Province into a confederate State, while the Parti québécois certainly would promote a referendum on the independence.