Does the Political Commission of the Liberal Party of Quebec have a hidden intention behind the adoption of a Quebec constitution by trying to have the Canadian Constitution of 1982 approved in the background?
Indeed, by proposing the adoption of a federalist Quebec constitution, it is as if the National Assembly of Quebec were de facto approving the Canadian Constitution of 1982 by recognizing the exclusive powers of the federal government and, above all, its unlimited spending power, which allows it to encroach as it sees fit on the powers of the provinces.
As Denis Coderre claims, one must take responsibility for oneself in politics. He declares himself an “assumed federalist”, which means a Quebec nationalist who accepts the Canadian Constitution adopted without Quebec’s agreement 42 years ago.
In this regard, British Columbia has done so by adopting its own constitution within the federal framework, thus de facto recognizing and approving the Canadian Constitution of 1982 by specifying its own limits of provincial powers.
However, in Quebec, the Canadian Constitution, which denies the existence of the Quebec nation and promotes the supremacy of God in its preamble, goes against the laws on the secularism of the State and the protection of the French language in Quebec. This constitution has never been approved by the National Assembly of Quebec, much less by all citizens with a referendum.
For the Quebec Liberal Party, the idea of bringing the debate on a Quebec constitution represents the ideal political parking lot until the next elections scheduled for the fall of 2026. Unless it is a hidden strategy to have the Canadian Constitution adopted by the National Assembly.
If this is the case, its political commission and its two spokespersons, Antoine Dionne Charest and André Pratte, must specify whether they will have it adopted by referendum, a democratic must in Quebec.
Let us recall that the Quebec government has given a mandate to an advisory committee on constitutional issues of Quebec within the Canadian federation. This committee will make recommendations on ways to consolidate Quebec’s powers, particularly in matters of language (Bill 96) and secularism (Bill 21), where these laws adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec had to resort to notwithstanding clauses in order not to be invalidated according to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Will this committee be able to propose limiting the federal spending power in provincial jurisdictions? I doubt it!
In short, I hope that this advisory committee will recommend to the Government of Quebec that the adoption of a Quebec constitution within the current federal framework in no way means the de facto adoption of the Canadian constitution of 1982, in particular by adopting a clause requiring a referendum to be held among the Quebec population, if ever a political party such as the Quebec Liberal Party were to take power.