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The article presents information on the legal procedure with reference to the Constitution of Canada. It discusses the impact of the Charlottetown Agreement and the Meech Lake Accord on the constitutional reform. It also discusses the bilateral procedure and its role in the insertion of new provisions in the Canadian Constitution. Information on the provisions amended bilaterally for the accommodation of Quebec is also presented.

While there are many facets to Canada's perennial constitutional crisis, one issue dominates the debate: the recognition of the specificity of Quebec. The problem has been tackled but not resolved during a series of constitutional negotiations over the last forty years. Few believe that a further round of general constitutional discussions would successfully address this issue. A little-known provision in the Constitution could be employed, however, to begin the process of dealing with the challenge. Pursuant to section 43 of the Constitution Act, 1982, the governments of Quebec and Canada could adopt a bilateral constitutional amendment recognizing and entrenching French as the predominant language of the province and, in the process, effectively recognizing the Québécois nation in the Constitution of Canada. Constitutionalizing this contemporary reality would not only enhance the linguistic and cultural security of Quebec's francophone population by formally acknowledging the central element of the province's distinctive character but also ensure that the courts interpret the Constitution in a manner that both considers the interests of the francophone community and balances them with individual rights and freedoms in Quebec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]