Meech Lake agony exposes lessons for officials pushing Senate reform
OTTAWA — Newly released cabinet documents detailing the agonizing and ultimately fruitless efforts to secure the Meech Lake Accord serve as a cautionary reminder to current political leaders who would reopen the Constitution to deal with the Senate.
The minutes of Brian Mulroney’s cabinet meetings during the first half of 1990 show how difficult it is to keep constitutional talks tightly focused and to get a deal ratified, even if initially approved by all first ministers.
“The Meech Lake Accord had been a noble initiative which had become sullied in the process of ratification,” Mulroney told his ministers, according to the minutes of a May 22 meeting.
“The five demands originally put by Quebec had become a shopping list for the other provinces, and, as a result, the people of Quebec were unlikely to mourn the demise of the accord.”
The minutes were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
Meech would have constitutionally recognized Quebec as a distinct society, among other things. Its death on June 23, 1990, triggered a crisis that ultimately resulted in a nail-biting, near-death experience for the country in the 1995 referendum on Quebec independence.
Mulroney tried once more to secure Quebec’s endorsement of the Constitution with the Charlottetown accord, which broadened the scope of the constitutional changes to accommodate other provinces’ demands. It was soundly defeated in a 1992 nationwide referendum.
Since then, no prime minister has dared to reopen the constitutional can of worms.
Norman Spector, secretary to the cabinet for federalprovincial affairs during the Meech drama, said the newly released cabinet minutes reminded him that constitutional reform is difficult and complex.
“And now everybody’s afraid to touch the issue.”
However, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says he’s prepared to relaunch constitutional talks to abolish the Senate. And although Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he’s not interested in constitutional wrangling, he too has threatened to abolish the unelected upper chamber if his efforts to unilaterally reform it are stymied.
Abolition would require a constitutional amendment, but it’s not clear whether it would require approval by at least seven provinces or all 10. Harper has asked the Supreme Court to advise on the amending formula required for abolition and for his proposals to create a “consultative election” process for choosing senators and to impose term limits on them.