Reference re a Resolution to amend the Constitution, [1981] 1 S.C.R. 753 Рalso known as the Patriation Reference Рis a leading opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada where the Court affirmed the existence of an unwritten dimension to the Constitution and held that constitutional convention did not require Quebec to consent to the patriation of the Constitution. The Supreme Court Building in Ottawa The Supreme Court of Canada (French: Cour supr̻me du Canada) is highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal for all litigants in the Canadian justice system. ... Patriation is a legal term particularly used in Canada, to describe a process of constitutional change also known as bringing home the constitution. ...
Following the adoption of the Constitution Act, 1982 by Parliament in December of 1981, the Quebec government submitted a reference question to the Quebec Court of Appeal which asked: The Constitution Act, 1982 (Schedule B of the Canada Act 1982 (U.K.)) is a part of the Constitution of Canada. ... A Reference Question in Canada is a submission by the federal or a provincial government to the Supreme Court of Canada or the provinces respective Court of Appeal in which the submitting government would like the court to answer a legal question regarding the Constitution Acts, the constitutionality of... The Court of Appeal of Quebec (in French: la Cour dappel du Québec) is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. ...
Is the consent of the Province of Quebec constitutionally required, by convention, for the adoption by the Senate and the House of Commons of Canada of a resolution the purpose of which is to cause the Canadian Constitution to be amended in such a manner as to affect:
(i) the legislative competence of the Legislature of the Province of Quebec in virtue of the Canadian Constitution;
(ii) the status or role of the Legislature or Government of the Province of Quebec within the Canadian federation;
The Court of Appeal held that consent was not required. The Quebec government appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
Opinion of the Court
A unanimous Court agreed with the Court of Appeal that consent was not required. In the Court's analysis it confirmed that the constitution did consist of both a written and unwritten component that make up a "global system of rules and principles which govern the exercise of constitutional authority in the whole and every part of the Canadian state".
Aftermath
The decision was unique at the time as it was the first to be televised live on national television. This televised telecast lost audio during the final momemts of when justice Laskin was about to render his decision.
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