TT HAS BEEN TEN YEARS since Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau initiated
ÉÏthe process of patriating the Canadian constitution with a charter 0f£º
rights£¬a process which required approval by the British Parliament at
Westminster and the provinces of Canada£®By his own admission£¬the Prime£º
Minister¡°took what he could get¡±Ò»a flawed document(flawed with the
help of the Supreme Court of Canada)which failed to lodge sovereignty in
the people£¬left for future consideration the division of powers and included
a notwithstanding clause that allowed the federal or provincial govern£®
merits to suspend Charter rights through a vote of representative assem£®
blies£® Ò» !
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms gained the approval of all provin£®
cial premiers except Quebec¡¯s Ren6 L6vesque who£¬intent on preserving the£º
province7S French Language£¬culture and legal system£¬insisted on addi£®f
tional guarantees that could be translated into a special status within the}
federation£®At the close of the 1 980s£¬the Meech Lake Accord£¬enÎ÷neered£»
by provincial premiers meeting in closed session£¬included a¡°distinct¡£
societ)£¬£¬7 concession for Quebec£®It failed£¬however£¬to satisfy a strain of i
rising nationalism in the French province£¬and it distressed many western£»
Canadians who interpreted the clause as one that Quebec might use to gain l
special privileges£®The West7s fears were partially confirmed when Quebec£¬}
invoking the notwithstanding clause£¬refused to comply with a Supreme}
Court ruling that its language laws offended civil liberties£® }
The discredited Meech Lake Accord has since been superseded(Sep£®I
tember 1 991)by a new plan to keep Canada united£¬itself a reaction to the l
N£®ational Assembly of Quebec¡¯s startling Bill 150£¬which promised a pro£®1
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