Meech Lake revived.

OTTAWA--9 June 1990

Several attempts have been made over the past few months to put life into the ailing Meech Lake Accord. New Brunswick's Frank McKenna tried to sell a "Parallel Accord." Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said there would be public hearings into the Accord. Referendums were proposed. In the end, it has come down to what many are calling "The Last Supper."

Mr. Mulroney invited the 10 premiers to join him for dinner on the evening of Sunday, 3 June. The Prime Minister used to be a labour lawyer and was involved in many contract negotiations. In such affairs, timing is important. Offers are often made as time is running out. The sense of urgency brought on by an imminent strike or lock-out is often enough to get a contract signed. Just prior to the gathering of first ministers, Mr. Mulroney told his aides that it is "Time to roll the dice." The deadline for ratifying Meech is days away. There is a definite sense of urgency.

The dinner date has lasted seven days. As the premiers gathered around the table in the Museum of Civilization, the talk inevitably drifted around to the Meech Lake Accord. Nothing was agreed to, except that they should meet again the next day.

The talks moved to the fifth floor of Ottawa's Conference Centre. They met on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday--for up to 12 hours at a time. Sometimes the talks were cool, calm analyses of legal issues, sometimes they sank into bitter exchanges of insults. Each evening, the tired premiers left the Conference Centre to face a battery of TV lights and journalists' questions. The tight-lipped premiers gave few hints about what was going on inside the building away from curious eyes and ears.

On Thursday, 7 June, the meeting looked as though it was falling apart. The subject of Quebec's status as a "distinct society" had come up for discussion. Premiers Wells of Newfoundland and Filmon of Manitoba have grave concerns that this clause would make it possible for Quebec to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That's when the idea of a "side letter" came up.

A group of six of the country's leading constitutional lawyers were asked to write an opinion on the issue. The lawyers gave it as their view that the "distinct society" clause did not override the Charter.

Premiers Wells and Filmon asked that all the First Ministers sign the legal opinion as a "political declaration."

Robert Bourassa exploded in anger at the suggestion. Some ripe swear words were exchanged and two hours later Mr. Bourassa's office issued a terse press release: in future, Premier Bourassa would not join "any discussion related directly or indirectly to the clause in the Meech Lake Accord recognizing Quebec as a distinct society."

By now rumblings of discontent from the public were getting to the ears of those inside the meetings. Canadians from all walks of life were getting frustrated that the premiers were deciding the country's future in secret.

By the evening of the sixth day, Clyde Wells was fed up with the whole process: "I've had enough," he told his colleagues. "I'm going home." He was persuaded to stay; some say threats were made. The talks continued.

At 10.30 p.m. on Saturday, 9 June a tired but jubilant Prime Minister went on national television. He said a deal had been struck. "No one loses in the agreement," he promised. "It has one simple objective: it is about a united Canada. And, Canada wins."

The highlights of the agreement reached after more than 70 hours of bargaining are:

* The Meech Lake Accord is to be submitted to the legislatures of Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland for approval by 23 June 1990;

* A commission is to be set up to study Senate reform;

* If no deal on Senate reform can be struck before 1 July 1995, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick will give up 10 of 44 Senate seats. The four Western provinces and Newfoundland would each increase from six to eight Senators, Quebec would retain its 24 seats;

* The Yukon and Northwest Territories are to have a role in nominating Senators and Supreme Court Justices;

* Protection for the legal equality of the sexes is to be strengthened; and,

* A non-binding side document asserts that the "distinct society" clause does not infringe or deny the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

New Brunswick's Frank McKenna summed up the agreement: it "was a typically Canadian product. It was awkward; it was not pretty." Ontario's David Peterson echoed those thoughts: "It was a great exercise in nation building ... There was blood on the floor ... It is the Canadian way."

As they smiled for the cameras some among them may have recalled the final words of Clyde Wells and felt uneasy. "What is in the Meech Lake Accord," said Premier Wells at the final session, "is not the proper way to be generous to Quebec and at the same time be faithful to the principles of Canada." Mr. Wells might have added, that Canada's Native people are very unhappy. The premiers have done nothing to clarify their position with regard to the Constitution.

BESMIRCHED ANCESTOR

Meech Lake, Quebec is named after an early Canadian, Asa Meech, who settled there. In June 1988, one of Asa Meech's descendants gave an interview to the Toronto Star. John A. Meech, of Kingston, Ontario, said he didn't like the agreement and he didn't like it being named after his ancestor. "The accord should be named after its originator," he said. "It should be called the Mulroney Discord! ... Although he may have demeaned my ancestor Asa Meech, it will be Mulroney's name that goes down in infamy."

The deadline for approval of the Meech Lake Accord is midnight, 23 June 1990.

With the support of just 16% of Canadians in 1990, the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney reached the lowest approval rating of any government in Canadian history.

"What the Meech Lake Accord ought to have shown us is that our whole process of constitutional amendment is wrong, out of date, undemocratic. The Constitution belongs to the people, not the politicians. It is the people, not the politicians, who should decide what goes in, what stays in, what goes out." Senator Eugene Forsey, Canada's foremost constitutional authority in his book A Life on the Fringe: The Memoirs of Eugene Forsey (1990)