Accommodation as a Canadian tradition.

• Author: Nolin, Pierre Claude

A debate over "reasonable accommodation" necessary to integrate recent immigrants into society has been taking place in Quebec and in other parts of Canada. This article argues that Canadian history is replete with examples of pragmatic compromises made to reconcile various interests and groups. The same pragmatic approach has been apparent in the development of our parliamentary institutions.

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The story of our development as a country, and the parallel evolution of our parliamentary institutions, is a story of pragmatic accommodation through adaptation and innovation. And make no mistake: accommodation was often passionately resisted. There have been tensions, setbacks, and bumps along the road. But from the very beginning, there was one overriding fact: for early settlers of an unknown and often hostile new continent, accommodation was a fundamental condition of survival.

When it comes to pragmatism, adaptation and innovation, Canada has been particularly successful. We need to remember that this phenomenon originated in necessity, and was often controversial. Efforts to accommodate competing interests and minority populations were not always successful. When accommodations were made, they were often made begrudgingly. But over time, pragmatic accommodation became more than just a successful strategy for survival. What was once a distasteful and unavoidable imperative evolved into a cultural value that we have come to treasure. Pragmatic accommodation has entered our collective mindset and has become part of our way of life, indeed, part of our very identity as Canadians.

This legacy has roots early in our history. The successful government of New France--and the security of settlements like Quebec--depended on coming to an arrangement with aboriginal peoples in the region. And so it was that in 1701 that the governor of New France, Louis-Hector de Callibre, signed the Great Peace of Montreal with 39 First Nations, among them members of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Huron and the Algonquin. Callibre chose accommodation over long-term counter-insurgency. It was a choice that would define the evolution of Canada ever since.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was another important landmark in the development of a relationship with the Aboriginal peoples. It recognized the First Nations and established the constitutional framework for negotiating treaties with them. Indeed, it is regarded as the Aboriginal "Magna Carta." It is now entrenched in the Canadian Charter of Right and Freedoms, which guards against the abrogation or derogation of any Aboriginal, treaty or other rights including the Royal Proclamation of 1763. It is important to acknowledge that there remains much to be done to accommodate First Nations in our country. The Royal Proclamation serves as the base for concluding land claims and honouring other treaty rights.

From the moment it acquired this new territory in 1763, Britain also had to confront the French fact. Of necessity, its colonial policy often had to be more flexible and more pragmatic than its own domestic policy. The Old World assumption that inhabitants of acquired lands would automatically be assimilated did not apply in this case. The New World imperative of pragmatic accommodation would take over in 1774 with the adoption of the Quebec Act, an extraordinary measure in many respects. The Act would greatly expand the territory of Quebec. It would restore the civil law and the seigneurial system which had been displaced by common law in the years following the French and Indian War. The Act also made Quebec unique among British colonies in North America in that it would be governed by a governor and a legislative council, but would not have a representative assembly.

Most notably, the Quebec Act allowed the free practice of Catholicism in Quebec, and modified the oath of allegiance in order to allow Catholics to hold office in the government. It was another 50 years before Catholics in England would be granted the full freedom provided under the Quebec Act.

This pragmatic approach turned out to be effective in Quebec, but it was definitely contentious elsewhere. The Quebec Act was among the provocations that led to the revolution in the Thirteen Colonies to the south. It was denounced both by the First Continental Congress, and in the text of the Declaration of Independence itself. But the challenges of governing a New World territory such as Quebec simply could not be ignored, and the Colonial administration wisely chose the controversial but pragmatic solution that included religious tolerance and minority accommodation. In a sense, this policy was vindicated to the extent that the colonies that would later join the Canadian confederation declined to participate in the revolution that broke out in the American colonies.

The new strategy of accommodation was contrary to Old World instincts. When it first came about, it was the product of survival or absolute necessity. While this new way of doing things began as a tactical device to which...