'We are not opening the Constitution': Trudeau pans Quebec's plans

As Premier Philippe Couillard kicks off a renewed discussion about Quebec signing on to the 1982 Constitution, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants no part of it.

"You know my views on the Constitution," Trudeautold reporters in French on Thursday morning in Ottawa. "We are not opening the Constitution."

Couillardreleased a177-page document outlining his government's vision of Quebec's role within Canada and laying out arguments in support of reopening negotiations.

• Why now? Questions abound as Couillard poised to reopen constitutional debate
• Quebec plans to reopen constitutional debate, launch coast-to-coast discussion

It repeatsthe"five conditions" set out by former premier Robert Bourassathat drovenegotiations forthe Meech Lake accord 30 years ago, includingConstitutional recognition forthe Quebec nation.

After Trudeau's cabinet met Thursday morning, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the federal government has a productive relationship with Quebec.

"The priorities that have been expressed by Quebecersand, may I say, by all Canadians, is that we should focus on the economy and on the creation of jobs,"he said."That's a full-time job."

'Not the right timing'

"It has to be settled one day or the other," said Liberal MP DenisParadis, but "if some people don't want to talk about it right now, it's not the right timing."

"I don't think there's much appetite among Canadians regarding this," said his caucus colleaguePablo Rodriguez.

The fact that Quebec never signed is not a small detail. Ithas to be corrected eventually.- NDP leadership candidate Guy Caron

"I think most people in federal politics would rather that we not reopen the Constitution, but it's not really our decision to make, is it?" said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.

She saidother issues can't be resolved Senate reform and environmental rights among them without wading in.

"If you're looking at a time to have that conversation, it's certainly better to have it at a time when we're not in a crisis," she said.

"If Quebec is interested in reopening the discussion about the Quebec's place in Canada and the Constitution, there are certainly other constitutional issues we would like to discuss," Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said in a statement.

That would includeCanada's "terribly flawed" and "outdated" equalization payments system, he said, which "takes over $500 million a year out of Saskatchewan even while our economy is being hit by low resource prices, while providing over $11 billion a year to Quebec."

International Trade Minister Franois-PhilippeChampagne was asked about constitutional talks being a slippery slope, with every province wanting to add something else.

"Well, we're not going to do that, so it's very simple," he said.

'Radical federalist'

"I think that Philippe Couillard is showing himself to be a bridge builder, and Justin Trudeau is slamming the door on that for his own partisan, petty political gain rather than looking at the long game for the country," said NDP Leader Tom Mulcair.

"Using Quebec as a whipping boy is a very old strategy, and Trudeau son is trying to emulate Trudeau pre[father], and frankly it's unbecoming a prime minister of Canada whose No. 1job is keeping the country together," he said.

Conservative JacquesGourdesaid in French that this debatetakes political courage.

MPs divided over reopening Constitution

7 years ago

Duration 1:44

MPs muse about the proposal by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard to reopen the Constitution.

"The fact that Quebec never signed is not a small detail. Ithas to be corrected eventually," said New Democrat Guy Caron, praising Couillard's approach as constructive.

Bloc Qubcois MP Xavier Barasalou-Duvalsaid Trudeau is a "radical federalist."

"He doesn't want to speak, doesn't want to talk, doesn't want to hear. So it's not the way that you should drive a country," he said. "We see that there's no opportunity in Canada."

Divisive history

Quebec was the only province not to sign on to Canada's Constitution in 1982 after a passionate and divisive debate.

• CBC Digital Archives: Pierre Trudeau brings home the Constitution
• Archives: Charting the Future: Canada's new Constitution

Theprovince's statuswithin Canada became one of the most contentious issues in Canadian politics over the next two decades, with two failed attempts by the subsequent Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords to bring Quebec into the Constitution under new terms.

The Liberal prime minister who came next, Jean Chrtien, was at the helm when the 1995 Quebec referendum vote nearly returned a majority in favour of pursuingindependence. His government brought then constitutional expert Stphane Dion into cabinet to lead the federal response, ultimately resulting in the Clarity Act, which sets out the terms for any future sovereignty referendum.

Dionis now Canada's ambassador to Germany and Trudeau'sspecial envoy to the European Union.

During former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper's tenure, the House of Commons passed a controversial motion recognizing the Qubcois as a nation.

The constitutional front hasbeen largely quiet since then, with federal and provincial sovereigntist parties findinglower levels of support and governments at both levels focusing on other issues in the federal-provincial relationship.

• 2011 poll:Are Canadians over theirConstitutional phobias?

Meech Lake revisited?

When Couillardbecame leader of the Quebec Liberals in 2013, the strongfederalist said he was in favour of reopening the discussion to help the province "reintegrate into the Canadian family."

But what's changed since the last round of constitutional wrangling tosuggest anew "dialogue" will succeed?

"To be frank, I don't know," saidformer politician turned law professor Benot Pelletier, suggesting that so far this looks like a second try for theMeech Lake accord. "I thought that he would come up with something different."

Couillardlikely wants a mandate in the next provincial election to proceed, Jean Charest's former intergovernmental affairs minister said.

Aboriginal groups, who also want the Constitution reopened to address their concerns, may be Quebec's allies in the discussion, he suggested.

"The word 'Constitution' is back in the public debate," he said.

Quebec wants to reopen constitutional talks

7 years ago

Duration 8:31

Jean-Marc Fournier, Quebecs Minister responsible for Canadian Relations, sits down with Rosemary Barton to discuss Premier Philippe Couillards 177-page document outlining his government's vision of Quebec's role within Canada