Frédéric Bastien is a Canadian author, historian, and journalist, best known for the book ''La Bataille de Londres. Dessous, secrets et coulisses du rapatriement constitutionnel'', whose allegations surrounding the 1982

patriation Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the Parliament o ...

of Canada's constitution caused political controversy in Quebec and led the Supreme Court of Canada to launch an internal probe.

Biography

Bastien holds a PhD in history and international politics from the Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales in Geneva and has authored two books dealing with Paris-Québec-Ottawa relations since the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...

. He is currently a history professor at

Dawson College Dawson College (French: ''Collège Dawson)'' is an English-language public general and vocational college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately 12 acre ...

in Montreal, Canada.

''La Bataille de Londres''

In ''La Bataille de Londres. Dessous, secrets et coulisses du rapatriement constitutionnel'', Bastien alleges that the patriation of Canada's constitution in 1982 amounted to a "coup d'etat" because of interference by Canada's judiciary in the patriation process. In particular, Bastien names then Chief Justice of Canada,

Bora Laskin Bora Laskin (October 5, 1912 – March 26, 1984) was a Canadian jurist who served as the 14th chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984. Laskin was appointed a puisne justice of the Supreme Court in 1970, and served on the Ontario Court of A ...

, as interfering in the process of patriation in such a way as to breach the separation of executive and judicial powers. These allegations were brought to the attention of the current Chief Justice of Canada,

Beverley McLachlin Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the p ...

, who undertook to review the matter. In April 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada launched an internal investigation into the book's claims. However, the court concluded its review after failing to find relevant documents in its archives.

Reaction

Alexandre Cloutier, Quebec Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, claimed ''La Bataille de Londres'' "shows just how far prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau was ready to go and what means he was willing to use to force the Constitution down the throat of Quebecers, gestures that are extremely serious."

Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

, when asked about the controversy during a visit in Quebec, dismissed Bastien's allegations, saying "I think that the whole population is fed up with this discussion."

The Dorchester Review ''The Dorchester Review,'' founded in 2011, is a semi-annual journal of history and historical commentary that describes itself as a non-partisan but "robustly polemical" outlet for "elements of tradition and culture inherent to Canadian experie ...

commented that Bastien "has ... succeeded in challenging the historical legitimacy and ethics of the Trudeau government ... revealing a new insight into the chicanery with which the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was imposed on Canadians, who did not need it and never asked for it." "Trudeau's Chief Judicial Activist," ''The Dorchester Review'' (Spring/Summer 2013, p. 94)

Political career

Bastien ran to be leader of the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

in the 2020 Parti Québécois leadership election, and came in fourth, losing to

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (; often identified by his initials: PSPP; born February 17, 1977) is a Canadian lawyer, television columnist and politician. He has been the leader of the Parti Québécois since October 9, 2020. He represents Camill ...

Bibliography

* ''Relations particulières: la France face au Québec après de Gaulle'' (1999), Éditions du Boréal * ''Le poids de la coopération:le rapport France-Québec'' (2006), Québec Amérique * ''La Bataille de Londres: Dessous, secrets et coulisses du rapatriement constitutionnel'' (2013), Éditions du Boréal * ''The Battle of London: Trudeau, Thatcher, and the Fight for Canada's Constitution'' (2014),

Dundurn Press Dundurn Press is one of the largest Canadian-owned book publishing companies of adult and children's fiction and non-fiction. The company publishes Canadian literature, history, biography, politics and arts. Dundurn has about 2500 books in print, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bastien, Frederic Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni 21st-century Canadian historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Dawson College faculty Journalists from Quebec Writers from Quebec Canadian non-fiction writers in French French Quebecers