"You Can't Always Get What You Want": The Territorial Scope of an Independent Quebec

Abstract

In Reference Re Secession of Quebec, the Court identified Quebec’s borders as a critical issue in any secession negotiation. Canadian constitutional law requires changes to existing borders, particularly if the Aboriginal communities of Ungava maintain their opposition to becoming part of an independent Quebec, for three reasons. First, an independent Quebec has no right to territory gained in 1898 and 1912 because those territories were granted on the condition that Quebec remain in the federation. Second, the existence of constitutionally entrenched fiduciary obligations owed by the Crown to Quebec's Aboriginal peoples gives the latter a veto over a constitutional amendment that would transform provincial borders into international borders. Finally, the principle of federalism mandates that a constitutional amendment affecting the sovereignty of Aboriginal peoples, who comprise an effective third sovereign tier in Canada's federal structure, requires the consent of those Aboriginal peoples.