Word: distinctively
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...global trend may be on Mulroney's side. From the old Russian empire to the new Europe, there is a devolution of power not only upward toward supranational bodies and outward toward commonwealths and common markets, but also downward toward freer units of federation that would allow "distinct societies" to preserve their identity and govern themselves -- without bolting altogether. If Canadians, French and English speaking alike, choose to be part of that pattern, the current crisis over Quebec will pass just as those earlier ones did, perhaps never to be repeated again...
...other provinces on the issues that had riven the country and consumed so much of its energy. "In the name of all Quebeckers, I want to announce my profound disappointment," said a drawn Premier Robert Bourassa. "English Canada must clearly understand that Quebec is today and forever a distinct society, capable of ensuring its own development and its destiny...
...Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. He had stressed time and again that the Meech Lake effort would fail unless two balking provinces voted to ratify the accord. At the center of Mulroney's concern was the agreement's recognition that Quebec could preserve and promote a unique status as a "distinct society" within Canada, based on the fact that the province is the only one with a French-speaking majority. Many other Canadians, including former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, charged that the accord might fatally weaken the country...
...Meech Lake accord was to bring Quebec into the reformed 1982 constitution the province had refused to sign. Another goal was to short-circuit Quebec's up-and-down aspirations to break away from confederation in favor of separate nationhood. To those ends, Mulroney and Bourassa had supported the "distinct society" clause as the means to preserve Quebec's French language and culture, a deep concern among the province's 6.5 million residents. Seven other provincial premiers agreed, with varying degrees of reluctance...
Since 1982, Canada has been governed by a constitution that was never endorsed by Quebec, home to one-quarter of the country's population. Quebec felt that, among other things, the document did not adequately protect its distinct French linguistic and cultural heritage, which is threatened by immigration and a provincial birthrate that is below replacement level. In a bid to resolve the impasse, Mulroney assembled the ten provincial premiers in April 1987 at a retreat at Meech Lake, Quebec. The group cobbled together constitutional amendments that met Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa's five "minimal" demands for more provincial power...