Constitutional agreement.

OTTAWA--November 1981

The Supreme Court's decision on the Constitution left both sides claiming victory. Backing away a little from his initial decision to "press on," Mr. Trudeau agreed to sit down with the provincial premiers one more time.

Meeting in Ottawa's Conference Centre (it used to be the railway station), the 11 first ministers spent four days in intense bargaining. But, an agreement was as elusive as ever in the closed-door discussion that, at times, became very heated. So bitter was the feuding between Mr. Trudeau and Rene Levesque that the Prime Minister had to get up and leave, at one stage, to cool down. It looked as though it was all going to end in disaster yet again.

While their bosses haggled, some members of what might be called the "second team" tried to find a way out of the impasse. During a coffee break, federal Justice Minister Jean Chretien and the attorneys-general for Saskatchewan, Roy Romanow, and Ontario, Roy McMurtry, got together in a kitchen. It was in this room that the three sketched out a compromise deal. Mr. Romanow scribbled the details down on a scratch pad. Late that night, most of the so-called Gang of Eight gathered in the Chateau Laurier Hotel. Meeting in the suite of Saskatchewan Premier Alan Blakeney, they went over the proposal. At 1:30 a.m. the agreement, now bearing New-foundland Premier Brian Peckford's name as author, was sent across Confederation Square to the Four Seasons Hotel, where Ontario Premier William Davis was staying. At 2 a.m., Mr. Davis and Mr. Blakeney confirmed they had an agreement.

The deal worked out in the kitchen the day before means the federal government accepts the amending formula proposed by the provinces; no single province will be able to veto changes. The provinces agree to entrench a Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution but only if the provisions are watered down a bit. The premiers also want to be able to opt out of the Charter's less basic provisions.

Rene Levesque had not been part of the early-morning deal making; he was asleep in his hotel room across the river in Hull. When he found out about the agreement the next morning he was furious. He felt betrayed by his fellow premiers and refused to sign.

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN

The constitutional agreement is a complicated tangle of legal jargon. The old Constitution, the BNA Act, has received a facelift; it will be amended, enlarged, and patriated, or brought home from England. Added to the old Act's federal structure are new provisions including those:

* Ending the requirement of British approval for constitutional change;

* Strengthening provincial control over natural resources;

* Entrenching a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including language rights;

* Recognizing Native/Aboriginal rights;

* Establishing the principle of equalization or revenue-sharing among rich and poor provinces;

* Setting out an amending formula to facilitate future constitutional changes in Canada, by Canadians.

To amend, or change, Canada's Constitution requires the agreement of the federal House of Commons and at least seven provinces, representing not less than 50% of the country's population.

In 1982, the name of Dominion Day (1 July) was changed to Canada Day.