The Citizens' Forum on Canada's Future (french: Le Forum des citoyens sur l'avenir du Canada) was a commission established in November 1990 by Prime Minister

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political ...

. It was more commonly known as the Spicer Commission, after its chairman,

Keith Spicer Keith Spicer (born March 6, 1934) is a Canadian academic, public servant, journalist and writer. Between 1970 and 1977, Spicer was the first Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada. Education Spicer holds a BA in Modern Languages (French a ...

Background

In the wake of the failure of the

Meech Lake Accord The Meech Lake Accord (french: Accord du lac Meech) was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the go ...

, the federal government attempted to reach out to citizens by means of a public commission of inquiry. In response to a perception that the country's unity was being threatened by linguistic and regional divisions, the purpose of the Citizens' Forum on Canada's Future was to engage Canadians in a discussion about the political and social future of Canada. The Spicer Commission held town hall meetings across the country and solicited input from Canadians on the future of the country.

Report

The commission's reporthttp://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/bcp-pco/CP32-57-1991-eng.pdf was released in June 1991. The Commission noted that many Canadians were willing to recognize Quebec's cultural and linguistic differences but not to grant the province special powers that might weaken the central government; most respondents saw official bilingualism as divisive and costly; the education system and media had not done enough to promote national unity; Canadians regarded cutbacks to federal institutions as insensitive to national symbols; and many Canadians had a lack of faith in government leaders and the political process. Also notable was Spicer's comment that there was "a fury in the land" against Mulroney. Some of the report's contents were subsequently used in the development of the

Charlottetown Accord The Charlottetown Accord (french: Accord de Charlottetown) was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October ...

Members

Richard Cashin Richard Joseph Cashin, (born January 5, 1937 in St. John's, Newfoundland) is a lawyer, former Canadian politician and trade union leader. The grandson of Sir Michael Cashin, KBE and nephew of Peter Cashin, Richard Cashin is a member of a pr ...

Carole Corcoran Carole is a feminine given name (see Carl for more information) and occasionally a surname. Carole may refer to: Given name *Carole B. Balin (born 1964), American Reform rabbi, professor of Jewish history * Carole Bayer Sager (born 1947), America ...

Fil Fraser Felix Blache-Fraser (August 19, 1932 – December 3, 2017) was a Black Canadian broadcaster, non-fiction author, film producer, film festival founder, public servant, and educator in Alberta. Broadcasting and journalism Born in Montreal in 1932, F ...

Thomas Kierans Thomas William Kierans, FCSCE, P. Eng. (February 13, 1913 – November 22, 2013) was an engineer. He was the originator and principal proponent of the Great Recycling and Northern Development Canal or GRAND Canal. Early life Kierans was born ...

Jim Matkin James G. Matkin, QC (born 1942) is a former British Columbia, Canada deputy minister of labour and of intergovernmental relations, former President and CEO of the Business Council of British Columbia, and a former British Columbia Law Society s ...

Robert Normand The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Raymond Sirois Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

, Chairman Roger Tassé

Susan Van De Velde Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

Elsie Wayne Elsie Eleanore Wayne (née Fairweather; April 20, 1932 – August 23, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Saint John from 1993 to 2004. She was born in Shediac, New Brunswick. Poli ...

Helena Zukowski Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

References

{{reflist *Colombo, John Robert. ''Canadian Global Almanac''. Toronto: Global Press, 1992. *D. Leyton-Brown, ed., ''Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs 1991''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992. Constitution of Canada Canadian commissions and inquiries History of Canada (1982–1992) Constitutional commissions 1990 establishments in Canada 1991 documents