House of Commons Procedure and Practice
Edited by Robert Marleau and Camille Montpetit
2000 Edition — More information …
 Search 
Previous PageNext Page

1. Parliamentary Institutions

[51] 
Union Act, 1840, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 4, ss. III and XII.
[52] 
Mallory, pp. 12-3.
[53] 
Statutes of the Province of Canada, 19-20 Victoria, c. 140. See also Bourinot, 2nd ed., pp. 38-9. An elected upper chamber had been a long-standing demand of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada. (Resolution No. 27, Journals, House of Assembly of Lower Canada, February 21, 1834, pp. 310-38, and in particular p. 316.) A total of 48 councillors were to be elected, one quarter every two years, each to serve for a period of eight years. Existing members were allowed to retain their seats during their lifetimes (Bourinot, 2nd ed., p. 38).
[54] 
Bourinot,2nd ed., pp. 38-9.
[55] 
Paul G. Cornell, Jean Hamelin, Fernand Ouellet, and Marcel Trudel, Canada: Unity in Diversity, Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967, pp. 109-17.
[56] 
Consolidated Statutes of Newfoundland (Third Series), 1916, Appendix, p. 47.
[57] 
All relevant constitutional documents relating to British Columbia may be found in the Royal Statutes of British Columbia, 1979, Vol. 7 (Appendices), Part B. See also the British Columbia Terms of Union, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 10.
[58] 
The first election took place in 1856 (see A History of the Vote in Canada, published by Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada for the Chief Electoral Officer, 1997, pp. 34-5).
[59] 
British Columbia Terms of Union, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 10.
[60] 
For further information on the pre-Confederation history of British Columbia, see Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of British Columbia, 1792-1887, San Francisco: The History Company Publishers, 1887, pp. 582-604.
[61] 
For historical accounts of the initiation of Confederation, see Bourinot, 2nd ed., pp. 39-45; 4th ed., pp. 15-6, and the Confederation Debates, 1865.
[62] 
Under Section 12 of the Union Act, 1840, Upper and Lower Canada were equally represented in the legislature of the United Province. In the beginning, this arrangement favoured Upper Canada whose population was then smaller. However, the large number of immigrants flowing into Upper Canada following the union soon gave it the preponderance of the population. Demands for increased representation were resisted by Lower Canada on the grounds that this would contravene one of the conditions under which they had agreed to unite (R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 4).
To manage the ongoing political conflict, the legislature embraced the principle of a double majority: in short, no administration should continue in power unless it enjoyed the support of a majority of the Members from each part of the province, and no measure affecting the interests of a particular section should be passed without the consent of the majority of its representatives.  However attractive in theory, the principle was not terribly practicable and was abandoned in the early 1860s.
With the opposing interests in the legislature so evenly balanced, the vote of a a single members could decide the fate of a ministry.Between May 21, 1862 and June 30, 1864, there were no less than five different ministries and legislation was virtually deadlocked (Bourinot, 2nd ed., p. 42).
[63] 
See Bourinot, 2nd ed., p. 42.
[64] 
See Bourinot, 2nd ed., p. 43.
[65] 
The Quebec Resolutions, 1864, may be found in the British North America Acts, 1867-1962, by M. Ollivier, Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1962, pp. 39-49.
[66] 
See Bourinot, 2nd ed., pp. 44-5.
[67] 
The London Resolutions, 1866, may be found in British North America Acts, 1867-1962, by M. Ollivier, pp. 50-60. In 1982, the British North America Act, 1867 was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867 (R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5).
[68] 
Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5, Preamble.
[69] 
Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5, ss. 146 and 147.
[70] 
Rupert’s Land Act, 1868, S.C. 1869, pp. iii-v; and An Act for the temporary Government of Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory when united with Canada, S.C. 1869, c. 3.
[71] 
Manitoba Act, 1870, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No.8.
[72] 
British Columbia Terms of Union, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 10.
[73] 
Prince Edward Island Terms of Union, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 12.
[74] 
Alberta Act and Saskatchewan Act; R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, Nos. 20 and 21 respectively.
[75] 
See Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5, s. 146.
[76] 
Newfoundland Act, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 32.
[77] 
See Nunavut Act, S.C. 1993, c. 28; An Act to amend the Nunavut Act and the Constitution Act, 1867, S.C. 1998, c. 15.
[78] 
Hogg, p. 4. The Constitution of Canada is defined in section 52(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982, as including: (1) the Canada Act, 1982; (2) all acts and orders referred to in the schedule of the Constitution Act, 1982 (includes the Constitution Act, 1867, and its amendments and orders in council and statutes admitting or creating new provinces or altering boundaries; and the Statute of Westminster); and (3) any amendments to any act or order referred to in (1) and (2). The British North America Act was an act of the British Parliament which established Canada as a federal union. It was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867, in 1982. Until 1982, with some exceptions, the BNA Act could only be amended by the British Parliament at the request of the Canadian Parliament. In 1982, the Canadian Parliament asked Britain to amend the Act so that all subsequent amendments would be carried out, according to a variety of amending formulae, solely by Canadian legislatures (Canada Act, 1982, and its schedules, including the Constitution Act, 1982, ss. 38-49, which contains the amending formulae). The amendments to the Constitution Act, 1867, which were contained in the Constitution Act, 1982, included the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (McMenemy, pp. 63-5).
[79] 
Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5, Preamble.
[80] 
See Hogg, p. 19.
[81] 
Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5, ss. 91 and 92.
[82] 
Constitution Act, 1982, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 44, Schedule B, ss. 1-34.
[83] 
A usage which dates from the time “when all powers of government were vested in the monarch and were exercised by delegation from the monarch”(Hogg, p. 268).
[84] 
Section 9 of the Constitution Act, 1867, provides that “Executive Government and Authority of and over Canada… be vested in the Queen”.
"This power is placed above and outside the governmental structure and political parties of the day; power is given to them temporarily and in trust by the Crown on behalf of the people."  D. Michael Jackson, The Canadian Monarchy in Saskatchewan, 2nd ed., Regina: Government of Saskatchewan, 1990, p. 12.
"…one institution (the government) does not possess power but exercises it; while the other institution  (the Crown) possesses power but does not exercise it."  Frank MacKinnon, The Crown in Canada, Cargary: Glenbow–Alberta Institute, McClelland and Stewart West, 1976.
 "The government rules.  It does not reign.  The Crown reigns… the power of the sate is held in a non-partisan office above the conflicts and divisions of the political process." Jacques Monet, The Canadian Crown, Toronto/Vancouver: Clarke, Irwin and Company, 1979.
[85] 
Hogg, p. 269. In 1953, the Canadian Parliament adopted An Act respecting the Royal Style and Titles to reflect the fact that the Sovereign was the Sovereign not only of the United Kingdom but also of Canada (S.C. 1952-53, c. 9).
[86] 
Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution,4th ed., London: Fontana, 1965, p. 111.
[87] 
Letters Patent Constituting the Office of the Governor General of Canada, 1947, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 31, Art. II, and Governor General’s Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. G-9 (see also Mallory, pp. 15-22, 33-75). See Appendix 1, “Governors General of Canada Since 1867”.
[88] 
The Great Seal of Canada signifies the power and authority of the Crown. It has both a ceremonial and an administrative purpose. Although the Governor General has formal custody of the seal, its actual custodian is the Registrar General of Canada whose incumbent has been, since 1967, the Minister of Industry (formerly Consumer and Corporate Affairs). Prior to that time, it was the Secretary of State. The seal is affixed to official documents in accordance with the provisions of the Seals Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S-6, and the Public Officers Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-30, and the Formal Documents Regulations, Consolidated Regulations of Canada, 1978, Vol. XIV, c. 1331. The Great Seal of Canada came into official use as of July 1, 1867 (Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada, The Great Seal of Canada, Supply and Services Canada, Ottawa, 1988).
[89] 
Dawson’s The Government of Canada, p. 181. The appointment being made at the discretion of the Sovereign, the term or the extension of the term is not for a fixed period. Extensions were made for The Earl of Minto (1898-1904), Earl Grey (1904-11), The Viscount Alexander (1946-52), Vincent Massey (1952-59), Georges Vanier (1959-67), Roland Michener (1967-73), and Jeanne Sauvé (1984-89). See also Appendix 1, “Governors General of Canada Since 1867”.
[90] 
Letters Patent Constituting the Office of the Governor General, 1947, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 31, Art. I.
[91] 
Letters Patent Constituting the Office of the Governor General of Canada, 1947, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 31, Art. VII.
[92]
To become law, a bill must be agreed to in the same form by all three of Parliament’s constituent parts: the House of Commons, the Senate and the Crown. Royal Assent signifies the agreement of the Crown.
[93] 
Letters Patent Constituting the Office of the Governor General of Canada, 1947, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 31, Art. VIII.
[94]
Prior to 1947, the Sovereign appointed the Administrator as each occasion arose. The continuing designation of the Chief Justice or next senior judge of the Supreme Court in the 1947 Letters Patent makes that practice no longer necessary.
[95]
Usually these are the judges of the Supreme Court, along with the Secretary and Assistant Secretary to the Governor General, the latter two for the purpose of signing documents.
[96] 
Cornell, Hamelin, Ouellet and Trudel, p. 60.
[97] 
For example, the Commission of James Murray designated him "Captain General & Governor in Chief" of the Province of Quebec, dated November 28, 1763 (Journals, 1907, Sessional Paper No. 18, p. 126).
[98] 
Van Loon and Whittington, The Canadian Political System, p. 183.
[99] 
Mallory, pp. 15-22.
[100] 
The Colonial Office was the department of the British Civil Service which managed the affairs of the colonies. The Colonial Secretary was responsible to Parliament for the government of British Colonies, Protectorates and Trust Territories, and was usually a member of the Cabinet (Wilding and Laundy, pp. 143-4).

Top of documentPrevious PageNext Page