Le fédéralisme canadien d’hier à aujourd’hui : quelle reconnaissance de la nation québécoise ?

Abstract

Constitutional regimes should be able to adapt themselves to the changing conditions of the communities they govern. In Canada there have been very few formal changes in constitutional texts since they were passed in 1867. Therefore, the complex task of progressive adaptation to the Canadian Constitution falls mainly on the courts and, lastly, on the Supreme Court of Canada. However, an analysis of the decisions taken by the Court reveals that said development takes a centralized course and this poses a problem for Québec, who wishes to retain legal and political autonomy. Of all the official amendments that were made to the Constitution, we highlight that of 1982 because it drastically shifted the essence and nature of the initial federal agreement without counting on the consent of Québec. Between 1986 and 1992 we witnessed the failure of the two attempts to amend the Constitution, with those who intended to resume relations between Québec and the Anglophone territory. Since then there has been no constitutional proposal to reopen the debate on the status and powers of Québec in the Canadian federation. So then unless there is a constitutional amendment through which the multifunctional character of the federation is officially recognized and through which an institutional asymmetry is founded which favours Québec, some Quebeckers shall continue to consider the secession from Canada as a potential way of achieving self-determination for the nation of Québec.