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Date: 1983-03-15
By: Prime Minister, Canada
Citation: Proposed Resolution to authorize His Excellency the Governor General to issue a proclamation respecting amendments to the Constitution of Canada, The Prime Minister (15 March 1983)
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Proposed Resolution to authorize His Excellency the Governor General to issue a proclamation respecting amendments to the Constitution of Canada

THE PRIME MINISTER

25827-15-3-83

Motion for a Resolution to authorize His Excellency the Governor General to issue a proclamation respecting amendments to the Constitution of Canada

Whereas the Constitution Act, 1982 provides tha an amendment to the Constitution of Canada may be made by proclamation issued by the Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada where so authorized by resolutions of the legislative assemblies as provided for in sections 38 and 41 thereof;

And Whereas the Constitution of Canada, reflecting the country and Canadian society, continues to develop and strengthen the rights and freedoms that it guarantees;

And Whereas, after a gradual transition of Canada from colonial status to the status of an independent and sovereign state, Canadians have, as of April 17, 1982, full authority to amend their Constitution in Canada;

And Whereas historically and equitably it is fitting that the first exercise of that full authority should relate to the rights and freedoms of the first inhabitants of Canada, the aboriginal peoples;

Now Therefore the Senate and the House of Commons resolve that His Excellency the Governor General be authorized to issue a proclamation under the Great Seal of Canada amending the Constitution of Canada as follows:

PROCLAMATION AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION OF CANADA

1. (1) Section 25 of the Constitution Act, 1982 is renumbered as subsection 25(1).

(2) Section 25 of the said Act is further amended by adding thereto the following subsection:

“(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the aboriginal, treaty and other rights and freedoms that pertain to the aboriginal peoples of Canada apply equally to male and female persons.”

(The following clause is an alternative to clause 5.)

[2. The said Act is further amended by adding thereto, immediately after section 35 thereof, the following section:

“35.1 The government of Canada and the provincial governments are committed to the principle that, before any amendment is made to Class 24 of section 91 of the Constitution Act, 1867,  to section 25 of this Act or to this Part,

(a) a constitutional conference that includes in its agenda an item relating to the proposed amendment, composed of the Prime Minister of Canada and the first ministers of the provinces, will be convened by the Prime Minister of Canada; and

(b) the Prime Minister of Canada will invite representatives of the aboriginal peoples of Canada to participate in the discussions on that item.”]

3. The said Act is further amended by adding thereto, immediately after section 37 thereof, the following Part:

“PART IV.1

CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCES

Whereas the ancestors of the aboriginal peoples of Canada occupied the forests, plains, arctic ice, mountains and seacoasts of the vast territories now known as Canada for many centuries before the first settlers arrived on the Atlantic coast some four hundred years ago;

And whereas the aboriginal peoples, over the decades in which the settlers moved across the continent, shared with those settlers their knowledge of the land and of the skills needed to survive and flourish upon it;

And whereas the aboriginal peoples by their own courage and determination have succesfully lived until this day in their own cultures and communities, cherishing their own customs and ways, under the Creator of all things, continuing to hold sacred their identity with the land, with the creatures that live upon it and in the rivers that traverse it, with the plant life that it supports and with the seas that surround it;

And whereas the aboriginal peoples, as Canadians, are entitled to the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all Canadians by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;

And whereas the aboriginal peoples continue, each in a unique manner, to make a contribution to Canadian society;

And whereas it is fitting, in the process of constitutional renewal, to identify the distinct place that the aboriginal peoples occupy in Canadian society, having regard to the cultural differences between those peoples, and to define their rights as aboriginal peoples for entrenchment in the Constitution as a charter of rights of the aboriginal peoples;

And whereas it is fitting for the conferences provided for in this Part to consider the following for inclusion in that charter of rights of the aboriginal peoples:

– the identification of the rights now recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, and in particular the rights of the aboriginal peoples to the use and occupancy of land and their rights to fish, hunt, trap and gather, based on traditional and continuing use and occupancy as recognized by treaties and land claim settlements,

– the preservation and enhancement of the use by the aboriginal peoples of their own cultures, customs, traditions, religions and languages including the education of their children within their own languages, as well as within one of the official languages of Canada, in order that their children may be equipped to live in the cultural milieu of their choice,

– the institution of various forms of aboriginal government within the Constitution of Canada and under the laws of Canada to meet the respective needs of their communities and aggregations of communities, and

– the definition of whatever additional rights may be identified and agreed upon at such conferences;

And whereas it is fitting that a charter of rights of the aboriginal peoples provide for the enforcement of the rights contained within it:

(First alternative – three conferences)

[37.1 (1) In addition to the conference convened in March, 1983, three constitutional conferences composed of the Prime Minister of Canada and the first ministers of the provinces shall be convened by the Prime Minister of Canada, the first within two years after April 17, 1982, the second within three years after that date and the third within four years after that date.

(2) Each conference convened under subsection (1) shall have included in its agenda an item respecting constitutional matters that directly affect the aboriginal peoples of Canada, including the identification and definition of the rights of those peoples to be included in the Constitution of Canada, and the Prime Minister of Canada shall invite representatives of those peoples to participate in the discussions on that item.

(3) The Prime Minister of Canada shall invite elected representatives of the governments of the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories to participate in the discussions on any item on the agenda of a conference convened under subsection (1) that, in the opinion of the Prime Minister, directly affects the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.”]

(Second alternative – two conferences)

[37.1 (1) In addition to the conference convened in March 1983, two constitutional conferences composed of the Prime Minister of Canada and the first ministers of the provinces shall be convened by the Prime Minister of Canada, the first within three years after April 17, 1982 and the second within five years after that date.

(2) Each conference convened under subsection (1) shall have included in its agenda an item respecting constitutional matters that directly affect the aboriginal peoples of Canada, including the identification and definition of the rights of those peoples to be included in the Constitution of Canada, and the Prime Minister of Canada shall invite representatives of those peoples to participate in the discussions on that item.

(3) The Prime Minister of Canada shall invite elected representatives of the governments of the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories to participate in the discussions on any item on the agenda of a conference convened under subsection (1) that, in the opinion of the Prime Minister, directly affects the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.”]

4. (1) Paragraph 42(1)(e) of the said Act is repealed.

(2) Paragraph 42(1)(f) of the said Act is repealed.

(The following clause is an alternative to clause 2)

[5. The said Act is further amended by adding thereto, immediately after section 48 thereof, the following section:

“48.1 Before any amendment is made to Class 24 of section 91 of the Constitution Act, 1867,  to section 25 or 35 of this Act or to this section,

(a) a constitutional conference that includes in its agenda an item relating to the proposed amendment, composed of the Prime Minister of Canada and the first ministers of the provinces, shall be convened by the Prime Minister of Canada; and

(b) the Prime Minister of Canada shall invite representatives of the aboriginal peoples of Canada to participate in the discussions on that item.”]

6. The said Act is further amended by adding thereto, immediately after section 54 thereof, the following section:

“54.1 Part IV.1 and this section are repealed on April 18, [1986] [1987].” (The date depends on which alternative is chosen in Clause 3.)

7. The said Act is further amended by adding thereto the following section:

“61. A reference to the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982 shall be deemed to include a reference to the Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1983.”

8. This Proclamation may be cited as the Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1983.