" The Act also recognized native treaty rights, increased the power provinces have over their natural resources, and provided an amendment formula, which required approval of two-thirds (seven) of the provinces and 50% of the country's population. Quebec opposed ratification of this constitution claiming the right to a constitutional veto. These efforts ended in December 1982 when the Supreme Court of Canada rejected its claim, opening the way to further negotiations.

             In 1984 Brian Mulroney became Prime Minister partly on a platform of reintegrating Quebec into mainstream Canadian life. On a personal level, he was determined to succeed where Trudeau had failed, and accepted the idea of continuing negotiations with Quebec. On several occasions, the new Quebec government of Robert Bourassa outlined its constitutional demands: constitutional veto, limitation on the spending power of the Federal government, a role in the appointment of Supreme Court judges, recognition of the distinctive character of Quebec, and improved powers over immigration. The new Mulroney government was receptive to these demands and eventually the other provinces agreed to constitutional discussions. As he said in his announcement of the Accords to the Canadian House on May 1, 1987, "Our task, simply put, was to settle a constitutional impasse which was incompletely resolved in 1981. Our task was to attempt to reconcile Quebec's distinct needs with the interests of all other provinces and the good of the country as a whole."1.

             On April 30, 1987, the provincial ministers, referred to as the First Ministers, and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney meeting at Meech Lake in the Gatineau Hills near Ottawa, agreed on a draft document which would provide the basis for Quebec to ratify the Canada Act. This agreement contained several modifications to the Canadian constitution. Reporting to the Canadian House, Prime Minister Mulroney outlined the agreement as follows:.