Fulton-Favreau formula.

QUEBEC CITY--5 June 1966

For many years, Canada's politicians have recognized problems with the country's Constitution, The BNA Act. The most serious difficulty is that there is no way to make changes to the Constitution without the involvement of the British Parliament. It seems a little embarrassing for a sovereign country to have to ask permission from another nation to change its fundamental law.

Embarrassing or not, Canada's political leaders have been unable to agree on an amending formula. What pleases Quebec is often unacceptable in other parts of the country. An amending formula that Ontario, Alberta, and others can go along with, gets turned down in Quebec.

The long search for constitutional reform almost came to an end recently. Federal Justice Minister Guy Favreau and his predecessor, David Fulton, had worked out a formula for amending the Constitution. It is known, not surprisingly, as the Fulton-Favreau formula. This was presented to the federal-provincial conference of 1964. Attorneys-general from all the provinces looked at the Fulton-Favreau formula and gave it their blessing. This could mean bringing the Constitution home to Canada; what's called patriation.

Amendments designed to change the basic powers of the provinces or those that affect the use of French or English would require the unanimous consent of the provinces. Other changes to the Constitution would have to be approved by seven provinces representing at least half of Canada's population. This formula is similar to one put forward in 1960.

Nine provinces have ratified the proposal; only Quebec remained. Now, in June 1966, Daniel Johnson's Union Nationale party has defeated the governing Liberals in a provincial election in Quebec. Mr. Johnson says he doesn't like the Fulton-Favreau formula and has withdrawn Quebec's support.

Several years of negotiations have come to nothing. That's because it is accepted that there must be unanimous support for any amending formula.

Bringing home the Constitution would have been nicely symbolic as next year marks the centenary of Canada's creation as a country.

FEDERATION OR CONFEDERATION?

Although we often refer to the union of Canada's provinces as a "Confederation" it is not. A confederation is a union of independent and sovereign nations; the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations are confederations.

Canada is a federation; an association in which communities, or even nations, unite to create a stronger society, while maintaining the individualism and freedoms of the groups that join together. That said, the Fathers of Confederation were right to use the word when they created the nation of Canada in 1867. According to The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Institutions, the words "federation" and "confederation" were used interchangeably until about 1870.