Kitchen Accord: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:02, 6 August 2005

Revision as of 14:43, 24 August 2005

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The '''Night of the Long Knives''' (in [[French language|French]] '''Nuit des longs couteaux''') is the name [[Quebec]] nationalists use to refer to the night in November 1981 when the [[Canada Act 1982|Constitution Act 1982]] was agreed upon by [[Pierre Trudeau]] (former [[Prime Minister of Canada]]) and the provincial Premiers, excluding [[René Lévesque]] the [[Premier of Quebec]].

The phrase is a reference to the "[[Night of the Long Knives]]," of 1934 [[Germany]], in which leftist [[Nazi]]s were purged from party ranks, as they were seen as a threat to [[Hitler]]'s new political status.

The Constitution was a bitter point amongst the provincial Premiers and Trudeau, and soon a group emerged called "The Gang of Eight". The "Gang" included every Premier except for [[Bill Davis]] ([[Ontario]]) and [[Richard Hatfield]] ([[New Brunswick]]). The 8 Premiers submitted their own plan for a Constitution, without a [[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|Charter]] and with a provincial [[veto]] on Constitutional amendments. Trudeau constantly threatened to take the case for [[patriation]] straight to the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|U.K. Parliament]], "..[without] bothering to ask one Premier." The "Gang" soon appealed to the [[Supreme Court of Canada]], which ruled that the federal government had the right to proceed with the unilateral patriation of the Constitution, but, according to convention, it was preferable if it could first work out an agreement with a "substantial" (the number meant was undefined, Trudeau himself recognized it as 5 to 9) number of Premiers. This set the stage for a meeting amongst all Premiers and Trudeau in [[Ottawa]], in November of [[1981]].

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After 2 days of meetings, Trudeau pitched an idea to all of the Premiers: that they patriate the Constitution as it was, but continue debates for 2 years and maybe even have a national [[referendum]] on certain issues. René Lévesque, feeling threatened and that he would be cast as "undemocratic" (especially after his recent [[1980 Quebec referendum|referendum]]) agreed with Trudeau on the issue (their respective memoirs have very different stories on the conversation). The other 7 opposition Premiers were startled: Canadians were mostly in agreement with Trudeau on the issue (Even in the West, a rarity for him), and a referendum would surely give him what he wanted, with backing of the people, undermining provincial powers. Trudeau had thus succeded in breaking up the Gang of Eight. Lévesque went to sleep in [[Hull, Quebec]] for the night, telling the other Premiers to call him if anything happened.

That night, [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|Attorney-General]] [[Jean Chrétien]] negotiated with the AttorneyAttorneys-GeneralsGeneral of [[Saskatchewan]] ([[Roy Romanow]]) and [[Ontario]] ([[Roy McMurty]]). The provincial Premiers agreed to get rid of the "opt out" clause, while Chrétien reluctantly offered the [[Notwithstanding Clause]] on the Constitution. Lévesque was not called. Hatfield and Davis agreed to the compromise, and told Trudeau that he should take the deal. Trudeau accepted. The agreement is also known as the "Kitchen Accord" because it grew from conversations started in the kitchen.

The next morning, Lévesque walked into the Premier's breakfast and was told a deal had been made. Lévesque refused to sign the deal, and left the meeting. Quebec announced on [[November 25]], [[1981]] that it would veto the deal. However, the Supreme Court issued a ruling on [[December 6]], stating that Quebec had never held such veto powers.