WHAT IS A BOOK IN PROGRESS?

A book in progress is a publication we at PrimaryDocuments.ca are working on, but is not yet complete. However, due to the importance of the material and its relevance to the current discussions on Quebec’s Bill 21 before the SCC, we felt that it was better to have the documents available to the public. 

Download the E-Book in Progress (PDF)

CURRENT VERSION: [Version 2–November 17, 2025]*

[Errata: In version 1, the transcription for the document entitled “August 30, 1980: Report to Cabinet on Constitutional Discussions and Outlook…” we mistakenly used an earlier draft version of the document for the text. This has been fixed in Vol. 2]

Status of The Book

Introduction, Preface, etc: These items are not yet complete.

Drafting History: The drafting history portion is available and has been pulled from Michael Scott’s table,  “Drafting Period Appendices—A Clause by Clause Progression of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Appendix 3: Charter Progression Tables—Sections 2-33, 35, 52(1), Property Rights, and the Preamble,” which is set to feature in an upcoming academic journal article by Michael Scott and Charles Dumais, tentatively titled “The Drafting History of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: The 1980-1982 Drafting Period.” (formerly, “A New Drafting History of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: The 1980-1982 Drafting Period”) Please note that this drafting table may also be updated in the near future. Users are highly encouraged to supplement this table with the more recent, “Mapping the Limitations of the Notwithstanding Clause: The PrimaryDocuments.ca Drafting History for Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” (2025), by Charles Dumais, Michael Scott, & Charlie Buck.

List of Documents:  Users can view the portions we have deemed relevant to the Notwithstanding Clause in chronological order in the PDF of the book. Should you wish to review more of the document in its original form, each entry is linked at the top of the document in the book. Or, by scrolling below, you can find a list of the documents in chronological order. For the most part, the documents on the website are not the excerpts, but the entire document. Please note that this list of documents may also be updated in the near future. 

A Note on Dates: Some documents do not have a precise date as no date was found on them. However, we were able to ascertain, for example, that some were post-November Accord based on their contents.

A Note on Style: All documents are in a single font (Verdana). Document information and footnotes are in a separate font to distinguish them from the original files. Some of the documents incorporate handwritten notes and marginalia. We will provide a full primer on how we have incorporated these notes in a future version. By and large, we followed the rules found in Charles Dumais, The Quebec Resolutions (CCF, 2021). 

A Note on Footnotes: All footnotes, for the moment, are tentative and being worked on. Most footnotes are simply the names of the full documents. However, for more substantive footnotes, they are still in the midst of being finalized and should be taken with precaution.

Contents of the Book

Preface

[not yet available]

Introduction

[not yet available]

Note on Transcriptions and Dating

[not yet available]

Drafting History of The Notwithstanding Clause

[Click here]

SEE ALSO: “Mapping the Limitations of the Notwithstanding Clause: The PrimaryDocuments.ca Drafting History for Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms” (2025), by Charles Dumais, Michael Scott, & Charlie Buck. (not part of volume, but highly relevant)

The Notwithstanding Clause: List of Documents

*All documents with an asterisk have been added to the new version of the book and were not present in version 1 (January, 2025). 

February 5-6, 1979: Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers, “Best Efforts” Draft*
July 24, 1980: Report to Ministers by Sub-Committee of Officials, Charter of Rights
August 5, 1980: Memo from Deputy Minister of Justice to Prime Minister, Charter
August 15, 1980: Charter of Rights, Status Report
August 20, 1980: Memo for the Prime Ministers, Positions for the CCMC & FMC
August 29, 1980: CCMC, Charter of Rights, Report to Ministers
August 30, 1980: Report to Cabinet on Constitutional Discussions and Outlook…
September 10, 1980: Memo from Barbara Darling, Notes on a Package for Agreement*
September 13, 1980: First Ministers Conference, Proposal for a Common Stand (QC)
November 27, 1980: Special Joint Committee, Premier MacLean’s speech*
December 19, 1980: Special Joint Committee, Premier Blakeney’s speech*
January, 1981: Canada, Briefing Book for Clause by Clause Consideration of the Resolution*
February 24, 1981: Senate Debates, Senator Cook’s Speech*
March 2, 1981: Senate Debates, Senator Thompson’s Speech
March 5, 1981: Memo, Legislative Override of Charter of Rights
March 5, 1981: Memorandum, Comments Regarding Certain Comments in Senator Thompson’s Speech…*
October 24, 1981: Memo from Kirby to Prime Minister,…Federal Government’s Final Offer*
October 24, 1981: Memo from Kirby to Prime Minister, …Provincial Consensus
October 24, 1981: Memo from Kirby to Prime Minister, Federal Government’s Final Compromise Offer*
October 27, 1981: Memo from Eddie Goldenberg to Jean Chretien, First Ministers Conference*
October 29, 1981: Memo from Goldenberg to Minister of Justice, Charter of Rights
October 29, 1981: Memo from Dep. Min. of Justice to Michael Kirby, Non Obstante
October 29, 1981: Memo, Comments for Prime Minister on Charter of Rights in Prime Minister’s Briefing Book – Meeting of First Ministers – November 2, 1981 (30 October 1981).*
October 31, 1981: Memo from Goldenberg to Michael Kirby, Gang of Eight
November, 1981: Untitled Draft
November, 1981: Cabinet Document: Preferred Options
November, 1981: Memo, Possible Amendments for Quebec
November 2, 1981: Federal-Provincial Conference, Opening Statement by Premier Hatfield*
November 2-5, 1981: First Ministers Conference, NB’s Proposals concerning the Charter…*
November 3, 1981: First Ministers Conference, BC Position, Canada Act Draft
November 4, 1981: Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Constitution, Saskatchewan Proposal: Explanatory Notes & Canada Act DRAFT* 
November 4, 1981: FMC, The Kitchen Accord
November 4-5, 1981: FMC, Compromise on Fundamental Freedoms
November 5, 1981: FMC, Proposal submitted by the Government of NFLD
November 5, 1981: FMC, The November Accord, First Draft
November 5, 1981: FMC, The November Accord, Second Draft
November 5, 1981: FMC, The November Accord, Third Draft
November 5, 1981: FMC, The November Accord, Final Draft
November 5, 1981: FMC, The November Accord, English Version
November 5, 1981: FMC, The November Accord, French Version
November 5, 1981: FMC, Closing Statements
November 5, 1981: Constitution Act, Working Draft
November, 1981: Memo, The Resolution as Amended by the FM Agreement
November, 1981: Differences between the Old and New Constitutional Resolution
November 6, 1981: House of Commons Debates, The Constitution
November 6, 1981: Alberta, Legislative Assembly Debates on the Constitution*
November 9, 1981: Alberta, Legislative Assembly Debates on the Constitution*
November 9, 1981: Memo from Cameron for Michael Kirby, QC and the Agreement
November 9, 1981: Memo, Roger Tassé, Rencontre avec Rene Dussault
November 9, 1981: House of Commons, The Constitution
November 10, 1981: Alberta, Legislative Assembly Debates on the Constitution*
November 10, 1981: Memo from Tassé for the Minister, Propositions for QC
November 10, 1981: Quebec, Assemblée Nationale, Debates on the Constitution*
November 12, 1981: Memo from Tassé for the Minister, Le Quebec
November 12, 1981: Memo from Goldenberg to Tassé, Draft Changes to Resolution
November 12, 1981: Memo for Ministers with Drafts
November 16, 1981: Loose Drafts, Override in the Case of Massive Migration
November 16, 1981: Note for PM from Roger Tassé, Override of Section 28
November 16, 1981: House of Commons Debates, The Constitution
November 17, 1981: Alberta, Legislative Assembly Debates on the Constitution*
November 17, 1981: Memo to Members of Liberal Caucus from Jean Chretien
November 17, 1981: Telex from Thomas L. Wells to Jean Chrétien
November 18, 1981: Alberta, Legislative Assembly Debates on the Constitution*
November 18, 1981: House of Commons Debates, The Constitution
November 18, 1981: Telex from Premier Brian Peckford
November 18, 1981: Telex from Tassé re Section 23, 28, and 33(1)
November 18, 1981: Telex from Roy Romanow to Jean Chretien & Allan Blakeney
November 18, 1981: Telex from Roy Romanow to Jean Chretien
November 18, 1981: Telex from Harry How to Jean Chretien
November 18, 1981: Telex from Neil Crawford to Jean Chretien
November 18, November 24, & December 2, 1981: Resolutions Respecting Constitution Act, English
November 18, November 24, & December 2, 1981: Resolutions Respecting Constitution Act, French
November 19, 1981: Ontario, Legislative Assembly Debates on the Constitution*
November 19, 1981: Telex from Gerald Ottenheimer (NFLD) to Jean Chrétien
November 19, 1981: Memo, Rights Guaranteed to Both Sexes
November 19, 1981: Memo from Dep. Minister re Override in relation to Sec. 28
November 19, 1981: Parliamentary Debate, Briefing Notes
November 20, 1981: Alberta, Legislative Assembly Debates on the Constitution*
November 20, 1981: House of Commons, Resolution Respecting Constitution
November 20, 1981: House of Commons, The Constitution
November 23, 1981: Ontario, Legislative Assembly Debates on the Constitution*
November 23, 1981: House of Commons, Resolution Respecting Constitution
November 23, 1981: Telex from Howard Leeson (SK) to Jean Chretien et al re Sec. 28*
November 24, 1981: House of Commons, Resolution Respecting Constitution
November 24, 1981: Quebec, Assemblée Nationale, Debates on the Constitution*
November 25, 1981: House of Commons, Petition
November 25, 1981: Quebec, Assemblée Nationale, Debates on the Constitution*
November 26, 1981: House of Commons, Resolution Respecting Constitution
November 26, 1981: House of Commons, The Constitution
November 26, 1981: Saskatchewan, Legislative Assembly Debates…*
November 27, 1981: Saskatchewan, Legislative Assembly Debates…*
November 27, 1981: House of Commons, Resolution Respecting Constitution
November 30, 1981: Quebec, Assemblée Nationale, Debates on the Constitution*
November 30, 1981: Ontario, Legislative Assembly Debates on the Constitution*
November 30, 1981: House of Commons, Resolution Respecting Constitution
December 1, 1981: House of Commons, Resolution Respecting Constitution
December 2, 1981: Saskatchewan, Legislative Assembly Debates…*
January 27, 1982: Letter from Premier Peckford to PM Trudeau re Nov. Accord
February 23, 1982: UK, House of Commons Debates, Canada Bill
March 3, 1982: UK, House of Commons Debates, Canada Bill
March 29, 1982: House of Commons, Emergency Measure, Charter Rights

PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF THIS BOOK: [Version 1–January 30, 2025]