Charlottetown Accord essays

Charlottetown Accord essays The Charlottetown Accord was a body of legislation proposed by Federal and Provincial governments in 1992. The changes proposed in the draft of the Accord would have meant drastic changes to the constitution of Canada. There were five major changes to the Accord. The first was a modified Triple-E Senate, which would require a seventy- percent majority to defeat most federal bills that were proposed. The second change that would occur was to increase the number of seats in the House of Commons from 295 seats to 312 seats. Of the additional seventeen seats, ten would go to Ontario, three each would go to both Quebec and British Columbia, and the final seat would go to Alberta. The third alteration proposed would be an amending formula, which would give provinces a veto over future constitutional changes, which was a direct demand of Quebec. The fourth change brought about the entrenchment of an inherent right to self- government for aboriginal Canadians. This would allow the Natives to ask the courts to enforce the right to self-government after a five-year negotiation period with federal and provincial governments. The last major amendment that was proposed was to implement a new distinct society clause that would be placed in the main body of the Canadian constitution. Why was the Charlottetown Accord Created? The Charlottetown Accord grew out of discussion initiated in the summer of 1991. It was created, for the most part, because of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord in 1988, and the Oka Crisis in 1990, which was a confrontation between the Natives and the Federal Government. The Oka Crisis garnered unwanted international attention. This particular event and other minor dealings and confrontations brought aboriginal issues to the forefront of Canadian political discourse. On the final day of the Oka Crisis, the current Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced his Native ...