In Canada, we have experienced many changes that have affected us for the better or worse. One of these changes was the Charter Of Rights And Freedoms. Introduced in 1982 as part of the constitution, the Charter was made to give Canadians rights and freedoms that are necessary in a free and democratic society. The Charter was added to the constitution that was signed by the Queen of Britain. With the constitution being created, it gave Canada full independence from Britain. Although the Charter has been used in Canada for a long time now, others still have doubts about and think that it should not be apart of Canadian history. People who have power tend to misuse the Charter to their own benefit, these people could be judges or members of
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This is shown when Rene Levesque was opposed to the Charter Of Rights And Freedoms. Levesque was the leader of the Parti Quebecois. Levesque wasn’t the only one who was against the Charter. Other provinces, like Alberta, felt that “it would diminish their influence,transferring power from elected politicians to non-judges”(CBC). Levesque felt that Trudeau’s plans wasn’t gonna benefit Quebec. Levesque says that Trudeau is “ literally crushing provinces into federal mode. This cannot go for Quebec.”(CBC). Conservative premiers, BIll Davis of Ontario and Richard Hatfield of New Brunswick were the only ones who supported Trudeau. The rest went alongside Levesque and formed the group called the Gang Of Eight. The group fought against Trudeau’s plans through courts. However, Trudeau was very adamant with bringing the new Canadian constitution to Canada, and even threatened to go alone. After a few meeting with the Gang Of Eight, Trudeau proposed a referendum. This didn’t go well with the Gang Of Eight, as they knew that if a referendum were to happen, Trudeau would easily win the vote as he had lots of Canadians on his side. So, this caused the Gang Of Eight to back off, except for Levesque. Seven members who left the Gang Of Eight chose to side with Trudeau as they made an agreement by adding the “notwithstanding clause” to the Charter.This was created behind Levesque’s back, as he left the room before proposing the clause. Levesque never knew about this until the next morning. This got him to feel betrayed by his former members as he thought that they should have stayed strong and fight Trudeau. He and other citizens of Quebec, also thought that this agreement was conspired by English-speaking Canadians to be made against Quebec. The betrayal of the former members of the group was characterized by Levesque as “the night of long knives”. This was because he Levesque claimed that he was stabbed in the
This is shown when Rene Levesque was opposed to the Charter Of Rights And Freedoms. Levesque was the leader of the Parti Quebecois. Levesque wasn’t the only one who was against the Charter. Other provinces, like Alberta, felt that “it would diminish their influence,transferring power from elected politicians to non-judges”(CBC). Levesque felt that Trudeau’s plans wasn’t gonna benefit Quebec. Levesque says that Trudeau is “ literally crushing provinces into federal mode. This cannot go for Quebec.”(CBC). Conservative premiers, BIll Davis of Ontario and Richard Hatfield of New Brunswick were the only ones who supported Trudeau. The rest went alongside Levesque and formed the group called the Gang Of Eight. The group fought against Trudeau’s plans through courts. However, Trudeau was very adamant with bringing the new Canadian constitution to Canada, and even threatened to go alone. After a few meeting with the Gang Of Eight, Trudeau proposed a referendum. This didn’t go well with the Gang Of Eight, as they knew that if a referendum were to happen, Trudeau would easily win the vote as he had lots of Canadians on his side. So, this caused the Gang Of Eight to back off, except for Levesque. Seven members who left the Gang Of Eight chose to side with Trudeau as they made an agreement by adding the “notwithstanding clause” to the Charter.This was created behind Levesque’s back, as he left the room before proposing the clause. Levesque never knew about this until the next morning. This got him to feel betrayed by his former members as he thought that they should have stayed strong and fight Trudeau. He and other citizens of Quebec, also thought that this agreement was conspired by English-speaking Canadians to be made against Quebec. The betrayal of the former members of the group was characterized by Levesque as “the night of long knives”. This was because he Levesque claimed that he was stabbed in the