Quebec Offered Role as ‘Distinct Society’ : Canada: New constitutional reform package also calls for expanding authority of all 10 provinces.

WASHINGTON —  In a bid to jump start its constitutional reform, stalled for more than a year, Canada on Tuesday proposed granting French-speaking Quebec special status as a “distinct society,” expanding government authority of the 10 provinces and reinforcing the civil rights of all Canadians, especially minorities and aboriginal Indians and Inuit.

Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney presented the proposals to Canada’s Parliament in Ottawa on Tuesday.

They were the product of months of bipartisan consultation aimed at reviving the process that died when an earlier constitutional revision, the so-called Meech Lake proposals, were rejected by English-speaking western provinces. That development revived the latent separatist movement in Quebec, where the provincial government has called for an independence referendum by October, 1992.

“The future of these proposals has a lot to do with the future of your northern neighbor,” said Derek H. Burney, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, briefing reporters on the new constitutional proposal in Washington on Tuesday. Whether Canada remains a unified nation or fractures “should be of maximum concern to the United States,” Burney said. “The importance can be explained in one word: stability.”

As he explained the plan, presented in detail in Ottawa and sketched more generally in Mulroney’s speech there, the new package of reforms is designed to strengthen the Meech Lake “distinct society” offer to Quebec by also emphasizing that provincial governments such as Quebec have primary authority over cultural affairs, education and broadcasting--key issues in Francophone Quebec.

But the plan also seeks to nail down backing of reluctant western provinces by providing for an elected Senate with stronger powers than the appointed upper house enjoys now, a longstanding demand of western provinces that resent political domination from Ontario and eastern Canada.

Other western interests are specifically addressed in the proposal, in that it specifies provincial control over natural resources, primarily forestry and oil and gas production. It calls for future “self-government” for Indians and Inuit, who mostly live in the west.

Unlike the constitutional reform package offered in the Meech Lake plan in 1987, Burney said, the government’s new proposal is subject to debate and amendment, and was itself the product of a special bipartisan Cabinet committee in which contending interests were represented, including Quebec and the western provinces.

The result, he said, “represents the government’s best calculation of what the various sections of the country want.”

The package will be referred to a special, bipartisan, 30-member Senate-Commons committee, which will conduct hearings nationwide for the next five months, then present a detailed report to Canada’s Parliament by the end of February. With that report, he explained, the reforms would become a formal package of amendments to be disposed of by Parliament, and, where appropriate, submitted to the provinces for ratification.

Most proposals would be subject to the normal process of constitutional amendment in Canada, requiring approval by seven of the provinces representing 50% or more of the total population.

As Mulroney stressed in his speech, Tuesday’s package contains no radical departures, but rather seeks to codify strains of constitutional change that have existed for years--such as Quebec’s “distinct” nature and its cultural separateness--or have been debated for years, such as the replacement of an appointed Senate with an elected body.

Revamping the Constitution

Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s proposals would recognize Quebec as a “distinct society,” provide for an elected Senate and allow self-government for Indians and Inuit:

DISTINCT SOCIETY: Quebec would be recognized as a distinct society because of its French-speaking majority, its unique culture and civil law. The measures would change the 1982 constitution, which Quebec never signed but is bound to uphold. Quebec, home to 7 million of Canada’s 26 million people, has felt under linguistic and cultural siege by English Canadians. A similar idea--the Meech Lake accords--failed to win unanimous ratification in all 10 Canadian provinces 15 months ago. Quebec’s government called for a referendum on sovereignty by October, 1992.

SENATE CHANGE: The proposals provide for an elected Senate. The current Senate is appointed by the government and is weak. Its powers would be expanded but still would be less than the House of Commons.

INDIANS AND INUIT: The 500,000 Indians and Inuit--or Eskimos--would be guaranteed representation in the elected Senate and would be granted formal powers of self-government within a decade.

PROVINCIAL POWER: Canada’s federal government would have more authority to regulate trade and national economic policy, removing intra-provincial barriers. Provinces would regulate such non-national issues as tourism, housing, urban affairs, forestry and mining. Provincial authority over education, cultural affairs and broadcasting would be enhanced.

CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS: The equivalent of the U.S. Bill of Rights would be expanded to include rights of property.

NEXT STEP: The package goes to a joint committee of the House of Commons and Senate, which will tour the country seeking comment. Its report is due by Feb. 28, 1992.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, Times Wire Services