Editing Pierre Trudeau (section)

=== Patriation of the constitution ===
In 1982, Trudeau succeeded in patriating the Constitution.<ref name="NYT_Kaufman_20000929_Eulogy" /> In response to a formal request from the Canadian Houses of Parliament, with the consent of all provinces except Quebec, the British Parliament passed an act ceding to the governments of Canada the full responsibility for amending Canada's Constitution.<ref name="ConstAct1982">{{cite web| url = https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-13.html#h-57| title = ''Constitution Act, 1982'', Part V and s. 52(3).| date = August 7, 2020| access-date = June 24, 2021| archive-date = September 4, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210904091100/https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-13.html#h-57| url-status = live}}</ref> Earlier in his tenure, he had met with opposition from the provincial governments, most notably with the Victoria Charter. Provincial premiers were united in their concerns regarding an amending formula, a court-enforced Charter of Rights, and a further devolution of powers to the provinces. In 1980, Chrétien was tasked with creating a constitutional settlement following the Quebec referendum in which Quebeckers voted to remain in Canada.{{sfn|English (2009)|p=459}}

After chairing a series of increasingly acrimonious conferences with first ministers on the issue, Trudeau announced the federal government's intention to proceed with a request to the British Parliament to patriate the constitution unilaterally, with additions to be approved by a referendum without input from provincial governments. Trudeau was backed by the NDP, Ontario Premier [[Bill Davis]], and New Brunswick Premier [[Richard Hatfield]] and was opposed by the remaining premiers and PC leader Joe Clark. After numerous provincial governments challenged the legality of the decision using their [[Reference question|reference power]], conflicting decisions prompted a [[Patriation Reference|Supreme Court decision]] that stated unilateral patriation was legal, but was in contravention of a [[constitutional convention (political custom)|constitutional convention]] that the provinces be consulted and have general agreement to the changes.

After the court decision, which prompted some reservations in the British Parliament of accepting a unilateral request,<ref>{{Cite journal |first = Andrew |last = Heard |title = Canadian Independence |year = 1990 |place = Vancouver |publisher = Simon Fraser University |url = https://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/324/Independence.html |access-date = August 25, 2010 |archive-date = February 21, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090221150147/http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/324/Independence.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Trudeau agreed to meet with the premiers one more time before proceeding. At this meeting, Trudeau reached an agreement with nine of the premiers on patriating the constitution and implementing the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'', with the caveat that Parliament and the provincial legislatures would have the ability to use a [[Section Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|notwithstanding clause]] to protect some laws from judicial oversight. The notable exception was Lévesque who, Trudeau believed, would never have signed an agreement. The objection of the Quebec government to the new constitutional provisions became a source of continued acrimony between the federal and Quebec governments, and would forever stain Trudeau's reputation amongst nationalists in the province.

The ''[[Constitution Act, 1982]]'', including the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'', was proclaimed by Queen [[Elizabeth II]], as [[Monarchy of Canada|Queen of Canada]], on April 17, 1982. With the enactment of the ''[[Canada Act 1982]]'', the British Parliament ceded all authority over Canada to the governments of Canada. The ''Constitution Act, 1982'', part of the ''Canada Act 1982'', established the supremacy of the Constitution of Canada, which now could only be amended by the federal and provincial governments, under the amending formula established by the ''Constitution Act, 1982''.<ref name="ConstAct1982" />

The Charter represented the final step in Trudeau's liberal vision of a fully independent Canada based on fundamental human rights and the protection of individual freedoms as well as those of linguistic and cultural minorities. [[Section Thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982|Section 35]] of the ''Constitution Act, 1982'', clarified issues of aboriginal and equality rights, including establishing the previously denied aboriginal rights of [[Metis (people)|Métis]]. Section 15, dealing with equality rights, has been used to remedy societal discrimination against minority groups. The coupling of the direct and indirect influences of the Charter has meant that it has grown to influence every aspect of Canadian life and the Charter's notwithstanding clause has been infrequently used.