Brian Peckford says Mark Carney's Liberal government is acting against the constitution...

Last living person to sign the Charter and broker the deal speaks out.

I gotta say, my job is pretty cool. I get to talk to people from all walks of life, explore new ideas and often have discussions with people who are making or have made history.

It was an honour to have the opportunity to chat with Brian Peckford about the history of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the movement to patriate the constitution.

He says most of the popular history that you’ve been told just isn’t true.

Peckford was the Premier of Newfoundland from 1979 until 1989 and had a front row seat for all of this.

He saw Pierre Trudeau try to go it alone, without the provinces in patriating the constitution only to be pushed back by the Supreme Court. He was part of the negotiations that led to the premiers agreeing to a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but only with a Notwithstanding Clause.

Enjoy this conversation and learn some things most media outlets wouldn’t want you to know.

From the official show notes:

Former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford is the one man still alive who was personally in the room with then prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau when provinces and the federal government agreed, together, to a new Constitution Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He talks to Brian about the real basis for Section 33 — the notwithstanding clause — and how it came into being. He explains why the story that the federal government is telling about the clause’s alleged misuse is false, why Ottawa’s attempts to override it are unconstitutional, and why the Supreme Court has no authority to weigh in on its use, as the justices are now doing at the justice minister’s request. (Recorded April 17, 2026)