Benoît Pelletier CM OQ FRSC (10 January 1960 – 30 March 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, academic, and politician in the province of Quebec.
In 2014–2015, he was Special Representative to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada in relation to the five-year review of the Specific Claims Tribunal Act.
Pelletier was one of three members of an external panel established in 2015 by the federal government to study the issues surrounding medically assisted dying.
Its highlights included a call for the Canadian Constitution to recognize the "specificity" of Quebec; a requirement that judges consider this "specificity" when ruling on charter rights cases that affect Quebec government policy; a provincial veto over constitutional changes; greater provincial autonomy over international affairs, telecommunications, and the environment; and the creation of a new council for overseeing federal-provincial issues.
[5] This document marked a shift away from former Liberal premier Robert Bourassa's definition of Quebec as a "distinct society," and Pelletier acknowledged that his party was taking a more "pro-Canada" stance than in past years.
During the period of the Gomery inquiry, he remarked that the sponsorship scandal was caused by figures in the Canadian government who believed that "with money you could change the view of the population.
While Pelletier opposed the Clarity Act, he also led the Liberal Party's opposition to the latter bill, which he argued was the prelude to a new referendum on sovereignty.
[10] He instead introduced a motion in the national assembly recognizing Quebec's right to declare independence if the Canadian government did not negotiate in good faith after a sovereigntist victory in a hypothetical future referendum.
The Liberal Party won a majority government in the 2003 Quebec general election, and Pelletier was returned by an increased margin in Chapleau.
Following a cabinet shuffle on 17 April 2007, Pelletier kept his existing ministerial designations (except for responsibility for the Agreement on Internal Trade) and was once again assigned to Aboriginal Affairs.
[16] Notwithstanding their disagreements, Pelletier and his counterparts in the Canadian government completed a four-year deal on child care funding just before the Martin administration fell in late 2005.
While stressing that he supported the five principles of Canadian medicare and favoured the public system, he nonetheless called for "some adjustments that would allow participation for the private partners.
"[19] Pelletier also negotiated with the Martin government for Quebec to have a more autonomous role in international forums such as UNESCO, and for changes to the system of federal–provincial transfers (known to some as the fiscal imbalance).
[20] In late 2004, he wrote guest columns for the English-language The Globe and Mail and National Post newspapers defending the principle of asymmetric federalism.
[25] Pelletier opposed Harper's efforts to reduce Quebec's percentage of seats in the House of Commons of Canada, saying that the proposed change would go to "the heart of balance in the federation.
[29] Pelletier's approach to federal-provincial relations was often compared to former prime minister Brian Mulroney's failed Meech Lake Accord on constitutional reform.
[32] Pelletier considered reopening a 2002 settlement with the Innu on the grounds that the agreement did not properly address concerns about Quebec's land and laws.
[33] He also took part in negotiations to resolve a 2004 crisis in the Mohawk community of Kanesatake, after violent confrontations that forced Grand Chief James Gabriel to leave the area.
[42] Pelletier opposed Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois's 2007 proposal that all new immigrants to Quebec be required to have a working knowledge of French before becoming citizens of the province.