Jean Pierre Derriennic
Associate Professor, Department of political science, Laval University
My opinions on the constitutional reform of 1982 are as far from the criticisms of Québec nationalists as they are from the admiration of many federalists.
The exercise, inaptly named “repatriation of the constitution”, consisted of adopting a constitutional amendment procedure, since such a procedure had not been adopted in 1931 when Canada became independent. From 1931 to 1982, our constitution had an amendment procedure which required a formal request to the UK Parliament in London. This peculiar process was used on several occasions between 1931 and 1982. It worked, and it is easy to understand why: there must be a way to amend the constitution, but it must not be easy for politicians to change the rules which, after all, apply to them above all. The procedure in effect before 1982 fulfilled these two conditions: Canada’s leaders did not dare go frequently to London to request constitutional amendments, but when there were serious reasons for doing so, it could be done without difficulty.
