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Reference.org
Patriation Reference
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<p><i>Reference Re Resolution to amend the Constitution</i> – also known as the Patriation Reference – is a historic <a href="/facts/Supreme_Court_of_Canada/RQJKhKzC">Supreme Court of Canada</a> <a href="/facts/Reference_question/tFklxhHk">reference case</a> that occurred during negotiations for the <a href="/facts/Patriation/ppuSXoYk">patriation</a> of the <a href="/facts/Constitution_of_Canada/domM3s5C">Constitution of Canada</a>. </p><p>The court affirmed the existence of an unwritten dimension to the constitution and the majority held that by <a href="/facts/Constitutional_convention_(political_custom)/rMJxcPGU">constitutional convention</a>, amendments to the constitution require a substantial degree of provincial consent. However, a differently-constituted majority of the court held that there was no <i>legal</i> barrier to the federal government seeking a constitutional amendment without any provincial consent. </p>