The Queen (in green) signs, as Trudeau looks on
April 17, 1982: Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain signs the Constitution Act, 1982, "patriating" the Constitution of Canada. Until then, the British Parliament could still amend that Constitution, created by the British North America Act of 1867.
That act made Canada a separate country in the British Empire, but not fully independent. As the years passed, various acts made the country more and more independent, but still not fully so, as the Empire became the British Commonwealth.
Pierre Trudeau became Prime Minister of Canada, and thus the nation's head of government, in 1968. In his previous post, as Minister of Justice to Prime Minister Lester Pearson, he had expanded the country's freedoms. But he knew that the patriation of the Constitution would eventually be necessary. Eventually, the British Parliament, under their Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, agreed.
As Canada's head of state, Queen Elizabeth signed the Act at the Canadian Parliament in the national capital of Ottawa, Ontario. Immediately afterward, Trudeau signed it. The British monarch remains head of state for Canada, but with very little power over the nation.
The Act included the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is not just Canada's answer to the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States: It goes further than that, enacting into law the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It also granted Canada full separation of church and state: While the Church of England overall, and the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec and in other pockets within the country, had long had some power, no longer would they be able to dictate to any citizen of Canada to violate their conscience.
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April 17, 1982 was a Saturday. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were underway, but no games were played that day. The NBA was still in its regular season, and these 3 games were played:
* The New Jersey Nets beat the Detroit Pistons, 147-132 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan. Ray Williams scored 52 points for the Nets.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 130-124 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Golden State Warriors, 95-94 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
Football was out of season. But a full slate, and then some, of Major League Baseball games was played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 5-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Bobby Murcer hit a home run, but Jack Morris outpitched Tommy John.
* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 2-1 at Shea Stadium.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4, his hit being a triple.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians, 12-10 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Chicago White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Baltimore Orioles at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Pale Hose won the opener, 3-1; and the nightcap, 10-6. Rookie Cal Ripken Jr. went 0-for-3 in the 1st game, and didn't play in the 2nd game. His streak began 13 days later. Eddie Murray went 5-for-5 in the nightcap, but with no RBIs.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Joaquín Andújar pitched a 3-hit shutout, allowing a double to Gary Mathews, and singles to Pete Rose and Dick Davis. Mike Schmidt did not play. Steve Carlton only lasted 5 innings.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 2-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.
* The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-2 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edison International Field in 1998, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004.) Brian Downing hit 2 home runs, Rod Carew went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs, and Reggie Jackson went 1-for-3.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Paul Householder hit a home run, and Johnny Bench went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle. The A's got home runs from Dwayne Murphy, Jim Spencer and Davey Lopes. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4 with a walk, 2 stolen bases (on his way to a record 130 that season) and an RBI.
Also, Arsenal defeated Nottingham Forest, 2-0 at Highbury.
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