PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 861
1864, when the Constitution of Canada was made, the Catholics were very much afraid as to what might happen to them under the English Protestant majority and they were not prepared to come into the Constitution of a united Canada. Therefore the Parliament enacted section 93 in the Canadian Constitution. That section does two things. It says that if any province—naturally the reference was to provinces in Protestant areas—where Roman Catholics lived passed any law with regard to certain matters which the Roman Catholics regarded as their special privilage based upon religion, they had the right to appeal to the Governor General that a wrong was done to them, and the Governor General by section 93 had the right to look into their complaint. It was a statutory right of complaint. Not only did section 93 give the catholics a statutory right of appeal against the decision of the majority to have a certain measure annulled, but it goes much further and says that the Governor General shall have the right to enact a positive measure in protection of the Catholic minority. I would like to ask my friend, the Home Member, whether, with the inclusion of section 93 in the Canadian Constitution, he regards the Canadian Constitution to be democratic or undemocratic. What is his answer ?
11-00 A . M .
Dr. K. N. Katju : My answer is that you had drafted this Constitution.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: You want to accuse me for your blemishes ?
Mr. Chairman : He has said that he defended the present constitution because it was the majority decision. Get along.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Sir, therefore, my submission is this that no harm can be done to democracy and to democratic Constitution if our Constitution was amended and powers similar to those given to the Governor General under section 93 were given to the Governor. At any rate, that would be some kind of a safeguard to certain small linguistic areas or linguistic groups who find that the majority in the State are not doing justice to them.