Won’t reopen Constitution

Justin Trudeau is throwing cold water on the Quebec government’s plan to reopen the constitutional debate, with his government arguing that Quebecers aren’t interested in revisiting old national unity battles.

Justin Trudeau is throwing cold water on the Quebec government’s plan to reopen the constitutional debate.

The prime minister is responding to a Canadian Press report that Quebec is embarking on a broad national discussion in the coming months in the hopes of having the province’s distinct character officially recognized.

Even before Premier Philippe Couillard announced his plan, Trudeau — arriving on Parliament Hill for a cabinet meeting in Ottawa — already dismissed it as a non-starter. He says he has no plans to reopen the Constitution.

The Canadian Press obtained a copy of Couillard’s thinking on Quebec’s place within Canada, a 200-page founding document entitled, “Quebecers: Our Way of Being Canadians.”

The document states the famous “five conditions” for approval first set out by former Quebec premier Robert Bourassa in 1986: recognition of Quebec as a distinct society, limits on federal spending power, guaranteed Quebec representation on the Supreme Court, a constitutional veto right and increased control over immigration.