91快色

He admits it isn鈥檛 perfect, but former prime minister Jean Chr茅tien says the notwithstanding clause he championed has certainly saved Canada from partisan courts like those plaguing the United States.

The Right Honourable retiree, speaking to U91快色 law, public policy and political science students, was keen to defend the contentious legal legacy 鈥� Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms 鈥� which gives legislatures and parliament the power to override the charter and ignore the law.

鈥淲e wanted to have a balance. We had a debate about who should dominate 鈥� you can have a government with a Supreme Court, as they have in the United States, and you run the risk of having a government with people unelected, who are the judges,鈥� said Chr茅tien, who was federal justice minister when the clause was proposed.

鈥淭he provinces were afraid that the judges would be completely above Parliament.鈥�

Guest of honour at U91快色 campus event

Chr茅tien, guest of honour at the U91快色 campus event hosted by the law school, said Section 33 has kept Canada safe from rule of partisan law, even as it still faces criticism for allowing discrimination, like Quebec鈥檚 ban on religious symbols for civil servants.

Chr茅tien, along with provincial ministers Roy McMurtry and Roy Romanow, included the notwithstanding clause in the so-called 鈥淜itchen Accord,鈥� which broke a deadlock on Canada鈥檚 new constitution, and ultimately lead to the deal signed by most provinces in 1982.

鈥淚t was done to make sure that the elected people can eventually have the last word鈥� and as you see, it鈥檚 been working for 40 years now,鈥� said Chr茅tien.

鈥楶art of the fabric of our country鈥�

Canada鈥檚 oldest living former prime minister at 89, Chr茅tien was first elected to the House of Commons in 1963, while practising law in his hometown of Shawinigan Falls, Que.

Introduced by U91快色 Faculty of Law Dean Ian Holloway, who described Chr茅tien as 鈥減art of the fabric of our country,鈥� the former prime minister鈥檚 60-year resume was then shared by Joel Tallerico, president of the Society of Law Students and MC for the event.

From leading the federal side during the 1995 Quebec referendum to laying the groundwork for same-sex marriage, while pushing through key environmental laws, Chr茅tien might have easily spent the hour bragging about his achievements in office.

National Energy Program versus economy

And while he did share stories of his political victories, Chr茅tien seemed equally happy talking about the battles, like Alberta鈥檚 anti-federalist bitterness over the National Energy Program (NEP), signed when Pierre Trudeau and Peter Lougheed led Canada and Alberta respectively.

鈥淲hat happened is the price of oil went down, not only in Alberta, all around the world 鈥� so the industry collapsed somewhat,鈥� said Chr茅tien.

鈥淎nd of course there was a shutdown of the economy, not because of Trudeau, not because of Lougheed, but because the price of oil and gas had gone down.鈥�

Laughter and charming anecdotes

If he risked upsetting Alberta all over again for blaming the NEP鈥檚 failure on the economy instead of federal meddling in oil prices (as Alberta鈥檚 favoured narrative goes), Chr茅tien鈥檚 relaxed manner and charming anecdotes kept the laughter flowing.

At one point, he told the standing-room-only audience he was one of the few prime ministers who enjoyed the gruelling antagonism that came with Parliament's Question Period, and he joked about a sweat test to see if he鈥檇 won the debate.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e trapped in a situation like that, you never know if you鈥檝e done well,鈥� said Chr茅tien, sliding a hand under his armpit, to the laughter of the crowd.

鈥淚f it was dry, I had done well. And if it was wet, I had had troubles.鈥�