Table of contents of the Québec's Positions on Constitutional and Intergovernmental Issues from 1936 to March 2001

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Part 1 : Positions of Québec

First Government of Maurice Duplessis
(August 26, 1936 to October 25, 1939)

• Constitutional amending procedure
• Distribution of powers
  General principles
• Intergovernmental policy
  Conducting intergovernmental relations

Government of Adélard Godbout
(November 8, 1939 to August 8, 1944)

• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Unilateral powers
• Intergovernmental policy
  Financial aspects of federalism

Second Government of Maurice Duplessis
(August 30, 1944 to September 7, 1959)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Constitutional amending procedure
• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
  c) Unilateral powers
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  Financial aspects of federalism

Government of Paul Sauvé
(September 11, 1959 to January 2, 1960)

• Distribution of powers
  Sectorial jurisdictions
• Intergovernmental policy
  Financial aspects of federalism

Government of Jean Lesage
(July 5, 1960 to June 5, 1966)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Constitutional amending procedure
• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
  c) Unilateral powers
• Language rights
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Conducting intergovernmental relations
  b) Financial aspects of federalism

Government of Daniel Johnson, Sr.
(June 16, 1966 to September 26, 1968)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
  c) Unilateral powers
• Individual and language rights
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  Financial aspects of federalism

Government of Jean-Jacques Bertrand
(October 2, 1968 to April 29, 1970)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
• Individual and language rights
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Conducting intergovernmental relations
  b) Financial aspects of federalism

First Government of Robert Bourassa
(May 12, 1970 to November 15, 1976)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Constitutional amending procedure
• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
  c) Unilateral powers
• Individual and language rights
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Conducting intergovernmental relations
  b) Financial aspects of federalism

Government of René Lévesque
(pre-referendum period, November 25, 1976 to May 20, 1980)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
  c) Unilateral powers
• Individual and language rights
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Financial aspects of federalism
  b) Aboriginal Nations
  c) French-Speaking and Acadian Communities of Canada

Government of René Lévesque
(post-referendum period, May 21, 1980 to May 1985)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Constitutional amending procedure
• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
  c) Unilateral powers
• Individual and language rights
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Conducting intergovernmental relations
  b) Financial aspects of federalism
  c) Aboriginal Nations

Governments of René Lévesque and Pierre Marc Johnson
(May to December 2, 1985)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Constitutional amending procedure
• Distribution of powers
  a) Sectorial jurisdictions
  b) Unilateral powers
• Individual and language rights
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Conducting intergovernmental relations
  b) French-Speaking and Acadian Communities of Canada
  c) Trade

Second Government of Robert Bourassa
(period preceding the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, December 12, 1985 to June 21, 1990)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Constitutional amending procedure
• Distribution of powers
  a) Sectorial jurisdictions
  b) Unilateral powers
• Individual and language rights
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Conducting intergovernmental relations
  b) Financial aspects of federalism
  c) Aboriginal Nations
  d) French-Speaking and Acadian Communities of Canada
  e) Trade

Second government of Robert Bourassa
(period following the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, June 22, 1990 to January 11, 1994)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Constitutional amending procedure
• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
  c) Unilateral powers
• Individual and language rights
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Conducting intergovernmental relations
  b) Financial aspects of federalism
  c) Aboriginal Nations
  d) French-Speaking and Acadian Communities of Canada
  e) Trade

Government of Daniel Johnson, Jr.
(January 11, 1994 to September 26, 1994)

• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
  c) Unilateral powers
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Financial aspects of federalism
  b) Trade

Government of Jacques Parizeau
(September 26, 1994 to January 29, 1996)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Distribution of powers
  a) Sectorial jurisdictions
  b) Unilateral powers
• Language rights
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Conducting intergovernmental relations
  b) Financial aspects of federalism
  c) Aboriginal Nations
  d) French-Speaking and Acadian Communities of Canada
  e) Trade
  f) Transportation

Government of Lucien Bouchard
(January 29, 1996 to March 8, 2001)

• Status of Québec
• Constitutional reform process
• Constitutional amending procedure
• Distribution of powers
  a) General principles
  b) Sectorial jurisdictions
  c) Unilateral powers
• Language rights
• Institutions
• Intergovernmental policy
  a) Conducting intergovernmental relations
  b) Financial aspects of federalism
  c) Aboriginal Nations
  d) French-Speaking and Acadian Communities of Canada
  e) Trade
  f) Criminal justice system for young persons

Part 2 : Speeches

Adélard Godbout :
Declaration during the debate on the Act respecting an Agreement between the Governments of the Dominion and of the Province of Québec for the suspension of certain taxes during the war, Québec Legislative Assembly, April 1942

Maurice Duplessis :
Opening statement before the Federal-Provincial Conference on the Constitution, Ottawa, January 10 to 12, 1950 (extract)

Maurice Duplessis :
Declaration made upon the first reading of Bill 43 on the implementation of a provincial income tax, Québec Legislative Assembly, January 14, 1954 (extract)

Jean Lesage :
Statement on shared-cost programs, Federal-Provincial Conference, Québec, March 31, 1964 (extract)

Jean Lesage :
Selected extracts from the book Un Québec fort dans une nouvelle Confédération, June 1965

Paul Gérin-Lajoie:
Speech to the Members of the Montréal Consular Corps, Montréal, April 12, 1965

Daniel Johnson père :
Opening statement given at the first meeting of the Constitutional Conference held in Ottawa, February 5, 1968

Jean-Jacques Bertrand :
Opening statement given at the second meeting of the Constitutional Conference held in Ottawa, February 10, 1969 (extract)

Robert Bourassa :
Statement on the Victoria Constitutional Charter, Québec National Assembly, June 23, 1971

René Lévesque :
Statement on the referendum question, Québec National Assembly, December 20, 1979

René Lévesque :
Statement made at the Meeting of the First Ministers in Ottawa from June 8 to 13, 1980, June 9, 1980

René Lévesque :
Declaration at the Federal-Provincial Conference of the First Ministers on the Constitution, held in Ottawa, November 5, 1981

Gil Rémillard :
Speech given at the Symposium on “Rebuilding the Relationship: Québec and its Confederation Partners,” Mont-Gabriel, May 9, 1986

Robert Bourassa :
Speech upon the tabling of the motion proposing that the Québec National Assembly authorize the amendment of the Canadian Constitution in compliance with the Meech Lake Accord, June 18, 1987

Claude Ryan :
Reconciliation: A Québec View. Speech given at a seminar on language rights and policies, Kingston, December 8, 1989 (extract)

Robert Bourassa :
Speech delivered at the Québec National Assembly upon the rejection of the Meech Lake Accord, June 22, 1990

Robert Bourassa :
Message to the people of Québec following the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, June 23, 1990

Gil Rémillard :
Speech at the Canadian Bar Association Meeting, Whistler, February 24, 1992

Jacques Parizeau :
Message to the Nation upon the issuing of the referendum briefs, Québec, October 1, 1995

Lucien Bouchard :
Statement following the Meeting of the First Ministers in Calgary, Québec, September 16, 1997

Jacques Brassard :
Ministerial statement on the territorial integrity of Québec, Québec National Assembly, November 12, 1997

Lucien Bouchard :
Preliminary statement the day following the Opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada on the federal government’s Reference concerning Québec’s accession to sovereignty, Québec, August 21, 1998

Joseph Facal :
Who fears Quebecers’ Democratic Determination? Brief presented before the Legislative Committee of the House of Commons entrusted with reviewing Bill C-20 (An Act to give effect to the requirement for clarity as set out in the Opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec Secession Reference), Ottawa, February 24, 2000

Joseph Facal :
Globalization, the Federative Deficit and the Case of Québec. Speech delivered on the Occasion of the XVIIIth World Congress of the International Political Science Association, Musée du Québec, August 3, 2000

Lucien Bouchard :
Speech presented before the Québec National Assembly upon the passage of Bill 99, An Act respecting the exercise of the fundamental rights and prerogatives of the Québec people and the Québec State, December 7, 2000

Part 3 : Documents

Document 1
Correspondence between W. L. Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, and Adélard Godbout, Prime Minister of Québec, regarding the Constitutional amendment on unemployment insurance, 1940

Document 2
The 1942 Tax Rental Agreement between the governments of Québec and Canada

Document 3
Preliminary brief on the Constitution presented by the Québec government at the Federal-Provincial Conference held in Ottawa from January 10 to 12, 1950 (as reproduced in the proceedings of the Conference)

Document 4
Documents on the Constitutional amendment, 1951 (pensions for the aged and the blind): An Act to improve pensions for the aged and the blind (Assented to March 7, 1951), a letter from Maurice Duplessis, Prime Minister of Québec, April 18, 1951 and a telegram from the federal Minister of Justice, Stuart S. Garson, May 4, 1951 (correspondence taken from the Debates of the House of Commons)

Document 5
An Act to institute a royal commission of inquiry on constitutional problems (Assented to February 12, 1953)

Document 6
Resolution of the Québec Legislative Assembly authorizing the 1960 Constitutional amendment (compulsory retirement of superior court judges upon reaching the age of seventy-five), January 21, 1960

Document 7
Resolution of the Québec Legislative Assembly authorizing the 1964 Constitutional amendment (old-age pensions and supplementary benefits) June 15, 1964

Document 8
Correspondence from January to February 1966 between the Prime Minister of Québec, Jean Lesage, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Lester B. Pearson, regarding the Fulton-Favreau Formula

Document 9
Statement by the Prime Minister of Québec, M. Robert Bourassa, as regards the Victoria Constitutional Charter, Québec, June 23, 1971 (communiqué)

Document 10
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the right of Quebecers to decide on their constitutional future, May 4, 1978

Document 11
Québec-Canada: A New Deal. The Québec Government Proposal for a New Partnership Between Equals: Sovereignty-Association, 1979 (extract)

Document 12
The 1980 referendum question and an extract of the Official Report of the Directeur général des élections (results)

Document 13
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly regarding the unilateral patriation of the Canadian Constitution, November 21, 1980

Document 14
Constitutional Accord, Canadian Patriation Plan, April 16, 1981 (accord signed by the provinces, except Ontario and New Brunswick)

Document 15
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly regarding the unilateral patriation of the Canadian Constitution, October 2, 1981

Document 16
Constitutional Accord of November 5, 1981, concluded without the participation of Québec

Document 17
Order-in-Council No. 3214-81 regarding Québec’s opposition to the project for patriating and amending the Canadian Constitution, November 25, 1981

Document 18
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the conditions without which Québec cannot accept the patriation of the Canadian Constitution, December 1, 1981

Document 19
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly dated March 20, 1985 on the recognition of existing aboriginal rights and the resolution dated May 30, 1989 recognizing the existence of the Maliseet Nation

Document 20
Draft Agreement on the Constitution, Proposals by the government of Québec, May 1985, and the correspondence between Messrs. René Lévesque, Prime Minister of Québec, and Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada, regarding these proposals

Document 21
Agreement between the government of Québec and the government of Canada pertaining to the Francophone Summit on November 7, 1985

Document 22
The 1987 Constitutional Accord, June 3, 1987 (“The Meech Lake Accord”)

Document 23
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly to authorize an amendment to the Canadian Constitution in accordance with the Meech Lake Accord, June 23, 1987

Document 24
An Act to establish the Commission on the Political and Constitutional Future of Québec (Assented to September 4, 1990)

Document 25
An Act respecting the process for determining the political and constitutional future of Québec (As assented to on June 20, 1991)

Document 26
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly asking the federal government to abide by the process established in Bill 150, November 27, 1991

Document 27
Consensus Report on the Constitution: Final Text, Charlottetown, August 28, 1992, (Charlottetown Accord)

Document 28
An Act to amend the Act respecting the process for determining the political and constitutional future of Québec (Assented to September 8, 1992)

Document 29
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the 1992 referendum question and an extract of the Official Report of the Directeur général des élections (results)

Document 30
Bill 1, entitled An Act respecting the future of Québec, 1995

Document 31
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the 1995 referendum question and an extract of the Official Report of the Directeur général des élections (results)

Document 32
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the right of Quebecers to define their political status, May 1996

Document 33
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly authorizing the amendment of section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867, April 15, 1997

Document 34
Decision by the Conseil des ministres no. 97-092 on the fifteenth anniversary of the coming into force of the Constitution Act, 1982, April 16, 1997

Document 35
Resolution of the Québec National Assembly dated May 21, 1997 on the October 30, 1995 referendum and the Referendum Act

Document 36
The Calgary Declaration (declaration of the provinces and territories except Québec), September 14, 1997

Document 37
Guidelines from the government of Québec regarding Canadian intergovernmental relations, December 4, 1997

Document 38
The Social Union Framework Agreement, February 4, 1999, that Québec did not sign

Document 39
Declaration of the Gouvernement du Québec respecting Québec’s participation in international forums dealing with education, language, culture and identity, March 24, 1999

Document 40
An Act respecting the exercise of the fundamental rights and prerogatives of the Québec people and the Québec State (Assented to December 13, 2000)

Part 4 : Timetable

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