Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 29, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 1 2 Winnipeg free september justices turned thumbs Down on Manitoba reasoning by Michael Doyle Winnipeg free press Ottawa it was a single strand of reasoning by Manitoba counsel Kerf rejected by the majority of supreme court of Canada which created the Gap giving prime minister Trudeau the option to take the constitutional tuck it in the Crook of his Arm and make the Long dash to the hearings began april 28 and lasted five Early twaddle presented a crucial argument that was rejected me said it was a convention that provincial assent is needed before the Federal government can make any constitutional changes affecting the Powers of the the majority of the justices have he further argued that this Conven Tion has become crystallised into Law and that to break the convention was to in against a kind of unwritten the justices but already the question of just what Trudeau owes to the notion of convention has be come the Crux of the arguments be tween proponents of the Federal like Justice minister Jean and like opposition Leader Joe sympathizers on both sides claim Victory by Ingeborg Boyens both Federal and provincial sympathizers claimed yesterdays supreme court decision on the Constitution As a Victory for their those Manitoba leaders who agreed with the Federal position said the court gave Ottawa the Legal mandate to Patriate the Constitution without further consultation with the provincial argued the court judgment awarded the Federal government Only the Legal not the moral to bring Home the Canadian Manitoba progressive party Leader Sid Green said the court ruled that the Federal position is legally right but morally in answering yes to the third question asked of the court agreed that Ottawa could legally Patriate the Constitution without consent of the prov the court also said past convention implied the provinces should be Green said the judges split the third question asked of them because they wanted to make it Clear they didst support Ottawa unilateral i think canadians Are More concerned about right and wrong than Legal or he intolerable position the Inkster la said the British House of commons will be put in an intolerable position if it is asked to Rule on Trudeau he said Trudeau should Settle for simple leaving the Hornier questions of an amending formula and a Bill of rights for a later Manitoba native leaders claimed the ruling gives their demands for prior consultation More Robert of the grand Council of the four nations said the court ruled that Trudeau current Campaign infringes on the moral and Legal rights of the Indian to impose a unilateral decision on Canadas founding people would be As unconstitutional As imposing one on the he Green matter of wrong any attempt to Patriate without recognizing the Indian people and entrenching the Constitution is a breach of Trust of the highest he the supreme court has confirmed that while it May be such a move would be purely Daniels said Indian lobby groups will be meeting within the next few Days to plot their strategy against it is our right and duty to carry on the fight Here in Canada and in in he Legal question 1 Doug Leader of Manitoba said the court Deci Sion be seen As a saw off Between the two the Legal ruling has always been the most important matter before the supreme he the first ques on whether the rights of the prov inces would be was never an he and everyone knew the Federal government has been flying in the face of convention and Lauchlan said it was unfair to equate convention with whether a government Breaks with convention and tradition is a political Issue not a Pseu Dolegal he he said the courts decision has Given the convention a legitimacy it didst previously have and both sides would be better served by a final attempt to reach an Lauchlan said he hoped the premiers take their complaints to Lon Don because it makes us look like a banana University of Manitoba Law professor Dale Gibson said it was very unusual for a court to be asked to determine whether a course of action would contradict the important thing is the response on the Legal said although Ottawa now has the Legal mandate to Patriate the he it May not have the Politi Cal mandate to Gibson said traditions have been breached in the most notably when Lester pearsons Liberal govern ment was Defeated by a technicality in but stayed in David constitutional Law Sec Tion chairman of the Canadian bar said the decision was a Federal Victory because courts Only have a mandate to Rule on Legal Matas said he didst think popular opinion would stand in Ottawa people dont believe agreement is so they wont fault the govern ment for going ensures petitions Matas said the two sided ruling will Likely ensure petitions to Westminster by both sides in the nip Leader Howard Pawley said the decision be described As a Victory for either Ottawa or the eight dissenting the decision this morning shows there is no he its time to sit Down and Deal with the package in a no divisive Pawley said the Federal and Provin Cial governments should put aside their constitutional Wrangle to Settle Cana Das More pressing economic Manning urges placing debate on Back Burner Edmonton up the Federal government should put the Constitution debate aside for 10 or 20 years and get on with the pressing problems facing the senator Ernest Manning said commenting on the supreme court of Canada decision on the Federal Constitution the former Premier of Alberta said the Ottawa has several courses of action available and that the Best approach would be to forget the whole thing for a who took part in numerous Federal provincial conferences on the Constitution during his 25 years As said there Are serious eco nomic and political problems to be dealt i think it would be extremely regret table if the government of in Stead of addressing these urgent becomes embroiled in a protracted debate with the provinces and in parliament Over this Constitution thing which is not he said there is no Rush for a new we got along for a Hundred years with our present Constitution and it make one Iota of difference to the rank and file of canadians if it sat there for another five years or 10 years or at least until we get these other matters dealt he noted that Justice minister Jean Chretien has said Ottawa will proceed with its that the worst course of action because of its divisive the senator in addition to its simply the wrong thing to do in the Light of what the supreme court has said about the close relationship be tween Constitution convention and Constitution if the Federal government is deter mined to go he then it should drop the charter of rights from the package and seek simple a striation and an amending Here is what the justices said the proposition was advanced on behalf of the attorney general of Mani Toba that a convention May crystallize into Law and that the require ment of provincial consent to the kind of Resolution that we have Al though in origin has become a Rule of in our is not no instance of an explicit recognition of a convention As having matured into a Rule of Law was the very nature of a As political in inception and As depending on a consistent course of political recognition by those for whose Benefit up photo and to those whose detriment if any the convention developed Over a consid Erable period of is inconsistent with its Legal the justices said common Taw is a product of judicial Effort based on issues which have attained Legal formulation and Are subject to Modifica Tion or even reversal by the courts which gave them on this there was no such parental role played by the had twaddle won this the Case against Ottawa would have been the justices had ruled 90 that the Constitution infringed on provincial had they ruled next that the Conven Tion had crystallized into then the infringement they were unanimous about would have become then they would never have been Able to get to the third which saw them Rule 72 that the government was within its Legal rights to bring Home the 1867 British North America and insert a charter of rights along with an Amend ing Trudeau they is unconstitutional in the conventional sense because it does not have enough provincial they did not say How much was Only two provinces new its too bad 1 would have Given my for an agreement Chretien says after Clark vows 100 fight against Legal trickery by Michael Doyle Winnipeg free press Ottawa opposition Leader Joe Clark vowed yesterday he will fight 100 per cent against any plan prime minister Trudeau May have to push ahead with the Constitution in the face of a Cloudy supreme court of Canada but under pressure for the opposition Leader could not say what weapons he has against Trudeau Legal the prime minister should not risk deepening the divisions in this country by pushing ahead with his Clark the prime minister should not if he does will oppose him Clark it is extremely unlikely that he will join provincial premiers in a possible lobbying trip to London this is a Canadian ques and he said he would not break an Al party agreement for two Days of debate and a vote after the commons returns to work if Trudeau introduces new constitutional changes before the Reso Lution goes to he can consider the today Deal Clark Trudeau is under pressure to Intro Duce new constitutional amendments because the nine supreme court justices yesterday differentiated Between Legal rights of Newfoundland and those of the rest of the they said a referendum would have to be held in Newfoundland before the Federal government could unilaterally change newfoundlands Powers in con and the justices have agreed unanimously that the current proposal changes the constitutional Powers of All the Clark said interest rates and economic matters Are the priorities of the people and he appeared to agree with a questioner who suggested he wants the Constitution put on the Bac Burner for As for Concrete Clark indicated he would hold further meetings with the progressive conservative he said that the very act of persuasion by an opposition party in Parlia ment can have an he also said he does not want to think about other options such As advising the governor general and the Queen that they should not transmit Trudeau Resolution to the British the supreme court yesterday recognized 63 a constitutional convention that provincial assent is needed before constitutional changes affecting the provinces Are but ruled 72 that the Trudeau plan was legally accept Justice minister Jean Chretien later said that convention is a political ques he said in 54 years of deadlock and in last Summers lengthy negotiations and several Federal provincial conferences the government had tried to Deal with the politics of meeting the advertising Campaign conventions can be Chretien he cited the Case of Borrner prime minister Lester Pearson who once refused to take the conventional route of letting his government fall after it was Defeated on a monetary Clark had scathing comments about breaking convention is the very heart of the Canadian Clark the prime minister is a the Cabinet is a Chretien yesterday refused to give details about a Federal advertising Campaign designed to sell the new Constitution and the charter of rights to the he called upon canadians to drop the it is now time to put behind us this constitutional Chretien said shortly after the Chretien had spoken with prime min ister Trudeau by Telephone to Korea and he took a Tough we decided to proceed the Way we have proceeded and we intend to finish the he i dont see at this moment Why we should change our he said he had been afraid some justices would say the charter of rights was illegal and he declared himself extremely Happy that they had now the Constitution would be Able to guarantee rights to the people at the expense of both Levels of Chretien it was the provinces which decided to take the Issue to court and find out if it was Chretien and they found out it Chretien responded to reports of a possible new referendum in Quebec on the Issue by saying that he is prepared to fight yet again in if Trudeau asks because he is a he said Ottawa dealt with the requirement for consent politically with various attempts at we have decided to take the Legal recourse and do what was politically nobody can say we have not taken our responsibilities its too bad we did not have an Chretien his voicing betraying an unusually emotional i would have Given one Arm to get constitutional issues conflict for time Ottawa up the government has not yet decided when parliament will be asked to proceed with final debate of the constitutional Resolution or whether the expected october Bud get will take spokesmen said Justice minister Jean Chretien indicated at a news conference that the government intends to move promptly with the Resolution under terms of an Al party agreement reached in will receive Only two More Days of commons the package then goes to London where the British parliament is to approve but he refused to spell out a com Mons timetable for the say ing Only that debate will begin soon after the 14 resumption of Parlia a spokesman for won government House said no Deci Sion had been made on the legislative timetable for finance minister Allan Maceachen budget must be followed by eight Days of although they need not be consecutive Brunswick and Ontario support split 63 on the question of Conven the majority said by no Able Standard could this situation be thought to pass it clearly does not disclose a sufficient measure of provincial agree contacted in Ottawa said the decision was certainly a Victory for the my View is that the court considers it unconstitutional for Trudeau to he but he agreed the court judgment does permit a constitutional convention to be Western reaction As mixed As ruling by John Ward the Canadian press the supreme court of Canadas equivocal decision on Ottawa constitutional package offered something for both sides of the question and nongovernmental spokesmen in the West reacted opponents of prime minister tru Deaus Patria Tion initiative took heart from the courts ruling that there is a convention requiring provincial con sent to such supporters of the Federal position concentrated on the portion of the decision that held the package is native groups saw the ruling As hold ing the door open for them to seek a better Deal from the Federal govern moral Victory Howard a constitutional expert the Law faculty of the univer sity of called the Deci Sion a pyrrhic Victory for the Federal government and a moral win for the provinces opposed to the constitutional he if even two provinces were opposed to an amendment that affects their the British As a trustee of the Canadian cons Titu could refuse the Here we have not Only but eight provinces opposed and a Clear state ment from the supreme court that should Ottawa a convention would be Garth a political science professor at the University of took the opposite in Happy that the third on did support the Federal he the split on the question of tradition was not As but that not the most fundamental he said Ottawa should go ahead with the final Steps in the Brian a member of British columbian constitutional said it would be unthinkable and unconscionable for Trudeau to proceed in the face of the court i Hope hell pause now and reflect on not Only the decision of the supreme but on the mood of the Smith i think the mood of the country is that he should do More Mel Hurtig of a prominent Canadian urged tru Deau to go ahead with changes without further i dont think the British parliament has any alternative but to allow it the Constitution to be brought Back to once and for Hurtig said it is Clear that the prov inces should be consulted on matters that directly affect but theres no reason Given the 7to2 decision on the matter of Law that the Federal government cannot proceed to take the first Steps toward Patria Tion and i think that could be accomplished quite Nystrom pleased lome the new democratic party my for Yorkton Melville who is a renegade from his party line on the said the court decision supports his what the supreme court has said in three of its judgments is that it violates Canadian legally they can do but morally and traditionally its not so Chris government Leader in the called the decision a defeat for the court has said that legally he can do but morally he Pear son i believe this will end up As a Victory for the provinces and in always for Elmer president of Al Bertas federation of Metis Settle said he thinks the decision will work for native this will give us More time to pressure them into defining native and Metis rights in the he it boils Down to a very political Bill of the United native nations of British said native rights must be Given a stronger status in the the thing that were concerned about is to make sure that aboriginal rights Are not enshrined As sort of a Sec on class but Are enshrined As one of the Basic rights on which the country is ;