The Parti Quebecois, Bill 101, 1980, 1982, Meech Lake, Charlottetown, 1995

 In 1976, the Parti Quebecois comes to power in Quebec with a landslide victory  The party platform was to “build the country of Quebec”  In 1977, Levesque passes Bill 101 (The Charter of the French Language)  Bill 101 restricted the use of English and access to English schools  French became to only language of business, government and courts  The “Language Police” enforced the new law  Many English speaking people and businesses left Quebec

 Levesque knew that most French Canadians did not want complete separation from Canada  Therefore, he proposed Sovereignty Association  This means Quebec would be its own country but would keep close economic ties with Canada  In 1980, a referendum was held in Quebec asking permission to begin talking to Canada about sovereignty association  The people of Quebec were asked to choose their country – Quebec was divided and the issue was hotly debated throughout the province  In the end, 60% of Quebec voted against sovereignty association

 In 1982, Pierre Trudeau attempt to bring “repatriate” the constitution and create a “Charter of Rights and Freedoms”– the BNA act was a British Document that we could not change – replace it with a Canadian document  However, the leaders of eight provinces (The Gang of 8, led by Levesque) attempted to block the constitution in order to get more power for the provinces  During a secret meeting in the middle of the night, the 7 members of the gang of 8 betray Lévesque and sign a deal with Trudeau – “The Night of Long Knives”  Canada gets a constitution and charter of rights but Quebec refuses to sign

 New Prime Minister Brian Mulroney wanted to bring Quebec and Canada back together  The MLA was a amendment (change) to the constitution that addressed the needs of Quebec 1. Quebec was a distinct society f 9 supreme court judges had to be from Quebec 3. Any change to the constriction required all the provinces to agree 4. Quebec could control its own immigration 5. All provinces could opt out of Federal programs  In order to pass Meech Lake must be agreed to by all the provinces within three years  The MLA was defeated in the provincial votes in Manitoba, Newfoundland and New Brunswick  Elijah Harper (A native Chief and MPP in Manitoba) is credited for defeating Meech lake  He stalled the passing of the bill  He was fighting for Natives to be recognized as distinct just like the French

 In 1992, Mulroney tries again  The Charlottetown Accord was similar to Meech Lake but it added Native Self- government  Defeated  After Charlottetown, Quebec’s frustration boils over and there are new calls for separation

 Quebec attempts outright separation in 1995  The No side won 50.6% to 49.4%  Canada stayed together by only a few thousand votes

 In 2000, Jean Chretien's Parliament passed a bill that defined the circumstances under which a province can separate  The key points of the law are Giving the House of Commons the power to decide whether a proposed referendum question was considered clear before the public vote; 2. Specifically stating that any question not solely referring to secession was to be considered unclear; 3. Giving the House of Commons the power to determine whether or not a clear majority has expressed itself in any referendum, implying that some sort of supermajority is required for success;supermajority 4. Stating that all provinces and the First Nations were to be part of the negotiations;First Nations 5. Allowing the House of Commons to override a referendum decision if it felt the referendum violated any of the tenets of the Clarity Act; 6. The secession of a province of Canada would require an amendment to the Constitution of Canada.

 Bill 101 destroys the English language in Quebec  Quebec tries to separate twice – 1980 & 1995  Quebec did not sign the Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982)  Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords try to bring Quebec into the constitution (both failed)  The Clarity Act states that Canada has the right to decide whether a province can separate or not