Standard of the lieutenant governor of Quebec (1952–present)Standard of the lieutenant governor of Quebec (1939–1952)Standard of the lieutenant governor of Quebec (1870–1939)
It has been argued by Jeremy Webber and Robert Andrew Young that, as the office is the core of authority in the province, the secession of Quebec from the Confederation would first require the abolition or transformation of the post of lieutenant governor of Quebec; such an amendment to the constitution of Canada could not be done without, according to Section 41 of the Constitution Act, 1982, the approval of the federal parliament and all other provincial legislatures in Canada.[8] Others, such as J. Woehrling, however, have claimed that the legislative process towards Quebec's independence would not require any prior change to the viceregal post.[9] Young also felt that the lieutenant governor could refuse Royal Assent to a bill that proposed to put an unclear question on sovereignty to referendum or was based on the results of a referendum that asked such a question.[10]
The lieutenant governor of Quebec came into being in 1867, upon the creation of Quebec at Confederation,[11] and evolved from the earlier position of lieutenant governor of Canada East. Since that date, 28 lieutenant governors have served the province, amongst whom were notable firsts, such as Lise Thibault—the first female and first disabled lieutenant governor of the province. The shortest mandate by a lieutenant governor of Quebec was Lomer Gouin, from January to March 1929, while the longest was Hugues Lapointe, from 1966 to 1978.[12]
Lomer Gouin, 15th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, from January to March 1929
The appointment of Jean-Louis Roux as lieutenant governor of Quebec by Governor General Roméo LeBlanc, on the advice of Prime MinisterJean Chrétien, stirred controversy, as Roux was well known as a strong opponent of Quebec independence and, soon after he took up the post, it was revealed that, as a university student in the 1940s, he had worn a swastika on his lab coat in protest of the proposal to invoke conscription for service in World War II and had participated in an antisemitic protest.[14][15] Roux had, in an interview after his appointment as lieutenant governor, stated that he might have to use the reserve powers of the Crown should certain circumstances arise following a referendum result in favour of Quebec's separation from Canada; a statement that displeased Roux's premier at the time, Lucien Bouchard. Bouchard thereafter exploited the revelation of Roux's past antisemitism and the lieutenant governor soon resigned his post voluntarily in 1996.[14][16] The following year, Bouchard tabled in the legislature three motions, calling the Office of the lieutenant governor "a heritage of the colonial past", the appointment process controversial and interfering, and demanding the post be abolished, though, until then, the federal Crown-in-Council should appoint a person "democratically designated by the [Quebec] Assembly".[16]
Residences and offices
Since 1997 there has been no official residence; the lieutenant governors must instead obtain their own home in or near the capital. However, they still retain an official office at Édifice André-Laurendeau.
Previous residences includes Maison Sewell at 87, rue Saint-Louis (still standing), Spencer Wood from 1870 to 1966 (destroyed by fire 1966) and 1010 rue St. Louis (Maison Dunn) from 1967 to 1997.[17]
^Wiseman, Nelson (2009). "In Search of a Quebec Constitution"(PDF). Revue québécoise de droit constitutionnel. 2. Quebec City: l'Association québécoise de droit constitutionnel: 144. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
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