''Quebec Veto Reference'' (officially, ''Reference: Objection by Quebec to a Resolution to amend the Constitution'')

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Taranto, and proceeds along the gulf coas ...

2 S.C.R. 793 is a

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

opinion on whether there is a constitutional convention giving the province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

over

amendments to the Constitution of Canada Before 1982, constitutional amendment, modifying the Constitution of Canada primarily meant amending the ''Constitution Act, 1867, British North America Act, 1867''. Unlike most other constitutions, however, the Act had no amending formula; in ...

. The issue arose during

patriation Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The process was necessary because, at the time, under the '' Statute of Westminster, 1931'', and with Canada's agreemen ...

debates, after the Supreme Court ruled in the

Patriation Reference ''Reference Re Resolution to amend the Constitution'' – also known as the Patriation Reference – is a historic Supreme Court of Canada reference case that occurred during negotiations for the patriation of the Constitution of Canada. T ...

that there is a constitutional convention requiring "a substantial degree of provincial consent" for amendments to the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada () is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents are an amalgamation of various ...

. In November 1981, the Government of Quebec ordered that a

reference A reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''nam ...

be taken in the Quebec Court of Appeal, asking whether the consent of the Province of Quebec is required, by constitutional convention, for constitutional amendments affecting the legislative competence of the Quebec legislature, or the status or role of Quebec's government or legislature. On April 7, 1982, the Quebec Court of Appeal answered in the negative. By that time, the

Canada Act 1982 The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c. 11) () is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and one of the enactments which make up the Constitution of Canada. It was enacted at the request of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada to patriate ...

had already been passed by the UK Parliament, though not proclaimed in force. On April 13 the Attorney General of Quebec appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, but on April 17 the Canada Act 1982 was proclaimed in force by the Queen. In June 1982 the Supreme Court heard the appeal. On December 6 the court rendered judgement, upholding the opinion of the

Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA; ) is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The court was created on May 30, 1849, as the Court ...

that Quebec did not have a veto by constitutional convention.

General references

External links

Library of Parliament research report
{{italic title Supreme Court of Canada cases Canadian constitutional case law 1982 in Canadian case law Supreme Court of Canada reference question cases