Document Information

Date: 1981-11-26
By: Saskatchewan (Legislative Assembly)
Citation: Saskatchewan, Legislative Assembly, Debates and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, 19th Leg, 4th Sess, 1981 at 1-2.
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His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor was then pleased to open the session with the following speech:

MR.. SPEAKER, MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY:

It is my privilege to welcome you to the fourth session of the 19th legislature of Saskatchewan.

1981 has been a year of important achievements for the people of Saskatchewan. We have finally resolved disputes over the constitution and energy. Our province continues to prosper in a period of national recession. There are, however, many new challenges before us that call for a vigorous response from our people and their elected representatives.

THE CONSTITUTION

On November 5, 1981, the federal government and nine provincial governments, including my government, concluded an historic agreement on the constitution. This agreement heralds a new constitutional era for Canada and for all Canadians.

For the first time in our 114-year history we now have the means to change our constitution without recourse to the parliament in Great Britain. By providing for a Canadian constitutional amendment formula, this agreement secures our total independence as a country. In that sense it can be said that Canada’s present-day leaders have concluded successfully the task of nation building begun over a century ago.

My government believes that the new amending formula is a good one for Canada. It confirms and maintains our federal system of government. It ensures the appointed Senate cannot block indefinitely constitutional reforms desired by Canadians and their duly elected governments. It combines flexibility and protection of provincial jurisdiction.

The November 5 agreement also provides for other substantive constitutional changes. It guarantees the protection of individual rights and freedoms while recognizing that in some cases that protection remains the ultimate responsibility of parliament and the legislatures and not the courts.

The agreement constitutionalizes the principle of equalization, one of the crowning achievements of postwar co-operative federalism which commits governments to maintaining reasonably comparable levels of public service for all Canadians wherever

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they happen to live. It also clarifies and confirms provincial jurisdiction over natural resources, an important cornerstone of Saskatchewan’s economy and a vital part of the confederation bargain for western Canada.

My government is proud of the role it has played in the events and negotiations leading up to this agreement. Saskatchewan was the only province to argue before the Supreme Court of Canada that constitutional change could be achieved other than through unilateral action on the one hand or unanimous agreement on the other. In confirming the constitutional convention of provincial consent and in adopting my government’s contention that a broad provincial consensus was sufficient to safeguard the federal principle, the supreme court broke the constitutional logjam and made agreement possible.

My government deeply regrets that the government of the province of Quebec was unable to support the agreement; we wish it had decided otherwise. The participation of Quebec in the building of our country has been and will continue to be of vital importance.

My government is pleased that the proposal put forward by Telex from the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, the Hon. Roy Romanow, to the Hon. Jean Chretien of the federal government on Wednesday, November 18, has now been accepted. This called for section 28 of the constitutional resolution now before parliament, dealing with equality rights between men and women, to be removed from the ambit of section 33 of that resolution and for the inclusion of a section recognizing treaty and aboriginal rights. My government has been advised that its proposal has been accepted by the other nine governments which were parties to the November 5 agreement.

It is clear that there is still work to be done. Governments must honour their moral and constitutional obligation to Canada’s aboriginal peoples. Other constitutional issues including such important matters as the Supreme Court of Canada and Senate reform will also require our attention.