''Quebec Veto Reference'' (officially, ''Reference: Objection by Quebec to a Resolution to amend the Constitution'')

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tar ...

2 S.C.R. 793 is a

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

opinion on whether there is a constitutional convention giving the province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

over

amendments to the Constitution of Canada Before 1982, modifying the Constitution of Canada primarily meant amending the ''British North America Act, 1867''. Unlike most other constitutions, however, the Act had no amending formula; instead, changes were enacted through Acts of the ...

. The issue arose during

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 ...

debates, after the Supreme Court ruled in the

Patriation Reference ''Reference Re Resolution to amend the Constitution'' – also known as the Patriation Reference – is a historic Supreme Court of Canada reference case that occurred during negotiations for the patriation of the Constitution of Canada. ...

that there is a constitutional convention requiring "a substantial degree of provincial consent" for amendments to the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

. In November 1981, the Government of Quebec ordered that a

reference Reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''name'' ...

be taken in the Quebec Court of Appeal, asking whether the consent of the Province of Quebec is required, by constitutional convention, for constitutional amendments affecting the legislative competence of the Quebec legislature, or the status or role of Quebec's government or legislature. On April 7, 1982, the Quebec Court of Appeal answered in the negative. By that time, the

Canada Act 1982 The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c. 11; french: Loi de 1982 sur le Canada) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and one of the enactments which make up the Constitution of Canada. It was enacted at the request of the Senate and House ...

had already been passed by the UK Parliament, though not proclaimed in force. On April 13 the Attorney General of Quebec appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, but on April 17 the Canada Act 1982 was proclaimed in force by

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

. In June 1982 the Supreme Court heard the appeal. On December 6 the court rendered judgement, upholding the opinion of the

Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The Court wa ...

that Quebec did not have a veto by constitutional convention.

General references

External links

Library of Parliament research report
{{italic title Supreme Court of Canada cases Canadian constitutional case law Supreme Court of Canada case articles without infoboxes 1982 in Canadian case law Supreme Court of Canada reference question cases