Canada -
Constitution Act
1867
and 1982
|
Canada -
Constitution Act 1867
Adopted
on: 29 March 1867 }
{ ICL Document Status: 14 April 1994 }
[Preamble]
Whereas the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick have expressed their desire to be federally
united into one dominion under the Crown of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a constitution
similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom;
and whereas such a union would conduce to the welfare of
the provinces and promote the interests of the British
Empire;
and whereas on the establishment of the union by the
authority of parliament it is expedient, not only that
the constitution of the legislative authority in the
dominion be provided for, but also that the nature of the
executive government therein be declared;
and whereas it is expedient that provision be made for
the eventual admission into the union of other parts of
British North America:
[Chapter
I] Preliminary
Section
1 [Citation]
This act may be cited as the Constitution Act, 1867.
Section
2 {...}
[Chapter
II] Union
Section
3 [One Dominion]
It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the Advice
of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, to
declare by Proclamation that, on and after the passing of
this act, the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick shall form and be One Dominion under the Name
of Canada; and on and after that Day those Three
Provinces shall form and be One Dominion under that Name
accordingly.
Section
4 [Name Canada]
Unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the Name
Canada shall be taken to mean Canada as constituted under
this act.
Section
5 [Four Provinces]
Canada shall be divided into Four Provinces, named
Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
Section
6 [Province Location]
The parts of the province of Canada (as it exists at the
passing of this act) which formerly constituted
respectively the Province of Upper Canada and Lower
Canada shall be deemed to be severed, and shall form Two
separate Provinces. The part which formerly constituted
the province of Upper Canada shall constitute the
Province of Ontario; and the part which formerly
constituted the Province of Lower Canada shall constitute
the Province of Quebec.
Section
7 [Province Delimitation]
The Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall have
the same Limits as at the passing of this act.
Section
8 [General Census]
In the general Census of the Population of Canada which
is hereby required to be taken in the Year One Thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one, and every Tenth Year
thereafter, the respective Populations of the Four
Provinces shall be distinguished.
[Chapter
III] Executive Power
Section
9 [Queen]
The Executive Government and Authority of and over Canada
is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the
Queen.
Section
10 [Governor General]
The provisions of this act referring to the Governor
General extend and apply to the Governor General for the
Time being of Canada, or other the Chief Executive
Officer or Administrator for the Time being carrying on
the Government of Canada on behalf and in the Name of the
Queen, by whatever Title he is designated.
Section
11 [Council]
There shall be a Council to aid and advise in the
Government of Canada, to be styled the Queen's Privy
Council for Canada; and the Persons who are to be Members
of that Council shall be from Time to Time chosen and
summoned by the Governor General and sworn in as Privy
Councillors, and Members thereof may be from Time to Time
removed by the Governor General.
Section
12 [Continuity]
All Powers, Authorities, and Functions which under any
Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, or of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, or of the Legislature of Upper Canada, Lower
Canada, Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick, are at the
Union vested in or exerciseable by the respective
Governors or Lieutenant Governors of those Provinces,
with the Advice, or with the Advice and Consent, of the
respective Executive Councils thereof, or in conjunction
with those Councils, or with any Number of Members
thereof, or by those Governors or Lieutenant Governors
individually, shall, as far as the same continue in
existence and capable of being exercised after the Union
in relation to the Government of Canada, be vested in and
exerciseable by the Governor General with the Advice, or
with the Advice and Consent of or in conjunction with the
Queen's Privy Council for Canada, or any Member thereof,
or by the Governor General individually, as the Case
requires, subject nevertheless (except with respect to
such as exist under Acts of Parliament of Great Britain
or of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland) to be established or altered by the
Parliament of Canada.
Section
13 [Advice of Privy Council]
The provisions of this act referring to the Governor
General in Council shall be construed as referring to the
Governor General acting by and with the Advice of the
Queen's Privy Council for Canada.
Section
14 [General Governor's Deputies]
It shall be lawful for the Queen, if Her Majesty thinks
fit, to authorize the Governor General from Time to Time
appoint any Person or any Persons jointly or severally to
be his Deputy or Deputies within any part or Parts of
Canada, and in that Capacity exercise during the Pleasure
of the Governor General such of the Powers, Authorities,
and Functions of the Governor General as the Governor
General deems it necessary or expedient to assign to him
or them, subject to any Limitations or Directions
expressed or given by the Queen; but the Appointment of
such a Deputy or Deputies shall not affect the Exercise
by the Governor General himself of any Power, Authority,
or Function.
Section
15 [Commander-in-Chief]
The Command-in-Chief of the Land and Naval Militia, and
of all Naval and Military Forces, of and in Canada, is
hereby declared to continue to be vested in the Queen.
Section
16 [Seat of Government]
Until the Queen otherwise directs, the Seat of Government
of Canada shall be Ottawa.
[Chapter
IV] Legislative Power
[Part
0 General Provisions]
Section
17 [Parliament]
There shall be One Parliament for Canada, consisting of
the Queen, an Upper House styled the Senate, and the
House of Commons.
Section
18 [Privileges and Immunities]
The privileges, immunities, and powers to be held,
enjoyed, and exercised by the Senate and by the House of
Commons, and by the Members thereof respectively, shall
be such as are from time to time defined by Act of the
Parliament of Canada, but so that any Act of the
Parliament of Canada defining such privileges,
immunities, and powers shall not confer any privileges,
immunities, or powers exceeding those at the passing of
such Act held, enjoyed, and exercised by the Commons
House of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, and by the Members thereof.
Section
19 [First Session]
The Parliament of Canada shall be called together not
later than Six Months after the Union.
Section
20 {...}
[Part
1] The Senate
Section
21 [Membership]
The Senate shall, subject to the provisions of this act
consist of One Hundred and four Members, who shall be
styled Senators.
Section
22 [Composition]
In relation to the Constitution of the Senate Canada
shall be deemed to consist of Four Divisions:
1) Ontario;
2) Quebec;
3) The Maritime Provinces, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island;
4) The Western Provinces of Manitoba, British Columbia,
Saskatchewan, and Alberta;
which Four Divisions shall (subject to the provisions of
this act) be equally represented in the Senate as
follows:
Ontario by twenty-four senators;
Quebec by twenty-four senators;
the Maritime Provinces and Prince Edward Island by
twenty-four senators, ten thereof representing Nova
Scotia, ten thereof representing New Brunswick, and four
thereof representing Prince Edward Island;
the Western Provinces by twenty-four senators, six
thereof representing Manitoba, six thereof representing
British Columbia, six thereof representing Saskatchewan,
and six thereof representing Alberta;
Newfoundland shall be entitled to be represented in the
Senate by six members;
the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories shall
be entitled to be represented in the Senate by one member
each.
In the case of Quebec each of the Twenty-four Senators
representing that Province shall be appointed for One of
the Twenty-four Electoral Section Divisions of Lower
Canada specified in Schedule A to Chapter One of the
Consolidated Statutes of Canada.
Section
23 [Qualification]
The Qualification of a Senator shall be as follows:
(1) He shall be of the full age of Thirty Years:
(2) He shall be either a natural-born Subject of the
Queen, or a Subject of the Queen naturalized by an Act of
the Parliament of Great Britain, or of the Parliament of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or of
the Legislature of One of the Provinces of Upper Canada,
Lower Canada, Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick,
before the Union, or of the Parliament of Canada, after
the Union:
(3) He shall be legally or equitably seised as of
Freehold for his own Use and Benefit of Lands or
Tenements held in Free and Common Socage, or seised or
possessed for his own Use and Benefit of Lands or
Tenements held in Franc-alleu or in Roture, within the
Province for which he is appointed, of the Value of Four
thousand Dollars, over and above all the Rents, Dues,
Debts, Charges, Mortgages, and Incumbrances due or
payable out of or charged on or affecting the same:
(4) His Real and Personal Property shall be together
worth Four thousand Dollars over and above his Debts and
Liabilities:
(5) He shall be resident in the Province for which he is
appointed:
(6) In the case of Quebec he shall have his Real Property
Qualification in the Electoral Division for which he is
appointed, or shall be resident in that Division.
Section
24 [Nomination]
The Governor General shall from Time to Time, in the
Queen's Name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of
Canada, summon qualified Persons to the Senate; and,
subject to the provisions of this act, every Person so
summoned shall become and be a Member of the Senate and a
Senator.
Section
25 {...}
Section
26 [Expansion]
If at any Time on the Recommendation of the Governor
General the Queen thinks fit to direct that Four or Eight
Members be added to the Senate, the Governor General may
by Summons to Four or Eight qualified Persons (as the
Case may be), representing equally the Four Divisions of
Canada, add to the Senate accordingly.
Section
27 [Limited Addition]
In case of such Addition being at any Time made, the
Governor General shall not summon any Person to the
Senate, except upon a further like Direction by the Queen
on the like Recommendation, to represent one of the Four
Divisions until such Division is represented by
Twenty-four Senators and no more.
Section
28 [Maximum Number]
The Number of Senators shall not at any Time exceed One
Hundred and twelve.
Section
29 [Tenure]
(1) Subject to Subsection (2), a Senator shall, subject
to the provisions of this act, hold his place in the
Senate for life. (2) A Senator who is summoned to the
Senate after the coming into force of this subsection
shall, subject to this act, hold his place in the Senate
until he attains the age of seventy-five years.
Section
30 [Resignation]
A Senator may by Writing under his Hand addressed to the
Governor General resign his Place in the Senate, and
Thereupon the same shall be vacant.
Section
31 [Vacancy]
The Place of a Senator shall become vacant in any of the
following Cases:
(1) If for Two consecutive Sessions of the Parliament he
fails to give his Attendance in the Senate:
(2) If he takes an Oath or makes a Declaration or
Acknowledgement of Allegiance, Obedience, or Adherence to
a Foreign Power, or does an Act whereby he becomes a
Subject or Citizen, or entitled to the Rights or
Privileges of a Subject or Citizen, of a Foreign Power:
(3) If he is adjudged Bankrupt or Insolvent, or applies
for the Benefit of any Law relating to Insolvent Debtors,
or becomes a public Defaulter:
(4) If he is attainted of Treason or convicted of Felony
or of any infamous Crime:
(5) If he ceases to be qualified in respect of Property
or of Residence; provided that a Senator shall not be
deemed to have ceased to be qualified in respect of
Residence by reason only of his residing at the Seat of
the Government of Canada while holding an Office under
that Government requiring his Presence there.
Section
32 [Filling Vacancies]
When a vacancy happens in the Senate by Resignation,
Death or otherwise, the Governor General shall by Summons
to a fit and qualified Person fill the Vacancy.
Section
33 [Decisions on Vacancies]
If any Question arises respecting the Qualification of a
Senator or a Vacancy in the Senate the same shall be
heard and determined by the Senate.
Section
34 [Speaker]
The Governor General may from Time to Time, by Instrument
under the Great Seal of Canada, appoint a Senator to be
Speaker of the Senate, and may remove him and appoint
another in his Stead.
Section
35 [Quorum]
Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, the
Presence of at least Fifteen Senators, including the
Speaker, shall be necessary to constitute a Meeting of
the Senate for the Exercise of its Powers.
Section
36 [Majority]
Questions arising in the Senate shall be decided by a
Majority of Voices, and the Speaker shall in all Cases
have a Vote, and when the Voices are equal the Decision
shall be deemed to be in the Negative.
[Part
2] The House of Commons
Section
37 [Membership]
The House of Commons shall, subject to the provisions of
this act, consist of two hundred and eighty-two members
of whom ninety-five shall be elected for Ontario,
seventy-five for Quebec, eleven for Nova Scotia, ten for
New Brunswick, fourteen for Manitoba, twenty-eight for
British Columbia, four for Prince Edward Island,
twenty-one for Alberta, fourteen for Saskatchewan, seven
for Newfoundland, one for the Yukon Territory and two for
the Northwest Territories.
Section
38 [Sessions]
The Governor General shall from Time to Time, in the
Queen's Name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of
Canada, summon and call together the House of Commons.
Section
39 [Horizontal Incompatibility]
A Senator shall not be capable of being elected or of
sitting or voting as a Member of the House of Commons.
Section
40 [Composition]
Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides,
Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall, for
the Purposes of the Election of Members to serve in the
House of Commons, be divided into Electoral districts as
follows:
(1) Ontario shall be divided into the Counties, Ridings
of Counties, Cities, Parts of Cities, and Towns
enumerated in the First Schedule to this act, each
whereof shall be an Electoral District, each such
District as numbered in that Schedule being entitled to
return One Member.
(2) Quebec shall be divided into Sixty-five Electoral
Districts, composed of the Sixty-five Electoral Divisions
into which Lower Canada is at the passing of this act
divided under Chapter Two of the Consolidated Statutes of
Canada, Chapter Seventy-five of the Consolidated Statutes
for Lower Canada, and the Act of the Province of Canada
of the Twenty-third Year of the Queen, Chapter One, or
any other Act amending the same in force at the Union, so
that each such Electoral Division shall be for the
Purposes of this act an Electoral District entitled to
return One Member.
(3) Nova Scotia: Each of the Eighteen Counties of Nova
Scotia shall be an Electoral Section District The County
of Halifax shall be entitled to return Two Members, and
each of the other Counties One Member.
(4) New Brunswick: Each of the Fourteen Counties into
which New Brunswick is divided, Section including the
City and County of St John shall be an Electoral
District. The City of St. John shall also be a separate
Electoral District. Each of those Fifteen Electoral
Districts shall be entitled to return One Member.
Section
41 [Electoral Laws]
Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, all
Laws in force in the several Provinces at the Union
relative to the following Matters or any of them, namely,
the Qualifications and Disqualifications of Persons to be
elected or to sit or vote as Members of the House of
Assembly or the Legislative Assembly in the several
Provinces,
the Voters at Elections of such Members,
the Oaths to be taken by Voters,
the Returning Officers,
their Powers and Duties,
the Proceedings at Elections,
the Periods during which Elections may be continued,
the Trial of controverted Elections, and Proceedings
incident thereto,
the vacating of Seats of Members, and
the Execution of new Writs in case of Seats vacated
otherwise than by Dissolution,
shall respectively apply to Elections of Members to serve
in the House of Commons for the same several Provinces.
Provided that, until the Parliament of Canada otherwise
provides, at any Election for a Member of the House of
Commons for the District of Algoma, in addition to
Persons qualified by the Law of the Province of Canada to
vote, every Male British Subject, aged Twenty-one Years
or upwards, being a Householder, shall have a Vote.
Section
42 {...}
Section
43 {...}
Section
44 [Speaker]
The House of Commons on its first assembling after a
General Election shall proceed with all practicable Speed
to select One of its Members to be Speaker.
Section
45 [Speaker Vacancy]
In case of a Vacancy happening in the Office of Speaker
by Death, Resignation, or otherwise, the House of Commons
shall with all practicable Speed proceed to elect another
of its Members to be Speaker.
Section
46 [Responsibility of Speaker]
The Speaker shall preside at all Meetings of the House of
Commons.
Section
47 [Speaker Absence]
Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, in
case of the Absence for any Reason of the Speaker from
the Chair of the House of Commons for a Period of
Forty-eight consecutive Hours, the House may elect
another of its Members to act as Speaker, and the Member
so elected shall during the Continuance of such Absence
of the Speaker have and execute all the Powers,
Privileges, and Duties of Speaker.
Section
48 [Quorum]
The Presence of at least Twenty Members of the House of
Commons shall be necessary to constitute a Meeting of the
House for the Exercise of its Powers, and for that
Purpose the Speaker shall be reckoned as a Member.
Section
49 [Majority]
Questions arising in the House of Commons shall be
decided by a Majority of Voices other than that of the
Speaker, and when the Voices are equal, but not
otherwise, the Speaker shall have a Vote.
Section
50 [Term]
Every House of Commons shall continue for Five Years from
the Day of the Return of the Writs for choosing the House
(subject to be sooner dissolved by the Governor General),
and no longer.
Section
51 [Number of Members]
(1) The number of members of the House of Commons and the
representation of the provinces therein shall, on the
coming into the force of this subsection and thereafter
on the completion of each decennial census, be readjusted
by such authority, in such manner, and from such time as
the Parliament of Canada from time to time provides,
subject and according to the following rules:
1) There shall assigned to each of the provinces a number
of members equal to the number obtained by dividing the
total population of the population of the provinces by
two hundred and seventy-nine and by dividing the
population of each province by the quotient so obtained,
counting any remainder in excess of 0.50 as one after the
said process of division.
2) If the total number of members that would be assigned
to a province by the application of rule 1 is less than
the total number assigned to that province on the date of
coming into force of this subsection, there shall be
added to the number of members so assigned such number of
members as will result in the province having the same
number of members as were assigned on that date.
(2) The Yukon Territory as bounded and described in the
schedule to chapter Y-2 of the Revised Statutes of
Canada, 1970, shall be entitled to one member, and the
Northwest Territories as bounded and described in Section
2 of chapter N-22 of the Revised Statutes of Canada,
1970, shall be entitled to two members.
Section
51a [Minimal Representation]
Notwithstanding anything in this act a province shall
always be entitled to a number of members in the House of
Commons not less than the number of senators representing
such province.
Section
52 [Expansion]
The Number of Members of the House of Commons may be from
Time to Time increased by the Parliament of Canada,
provided the proportionate Representation of the
Provinces prescribed by this act is not thereby
disturbed.
[Part
3] Money Votes, Royal Assent
Section
53 [Revenue Relevant Bills]
Bills for appropriating any Part of the Public Revenue,
or for imposing any Tax or Impost, shall originate in the
House of Commons.
Section
54 [Recommended Purpose]
It shall not be lawful for the House of Commons to adopt
or pass any Vote, Resolution, Address, or Bill for the
Appropriation of any Part of the Public Revenue, or of
any Tax or Impost, to any Purpose that has not been first
recommended to that House by Message of the Governor
General in the Session in which such Vote, Resolution,
Address, or Bill is proposed.
Section
55 [Queen's Assent]
Where a Bill passed by the Houses of Parliament is
presented to the Governor General for the Queen's Assent,
he shall declare, according to his Discretion, but
subject to the provisions of this act and to Her
Majesty's Instructions, either that he assents thereto in
the Queen's name, or that he withholds the Queen's
Assent, or that he reserves the Bill for the
Signification of the Queen's Pleasure.
Section
56 [Disallowance]
Where the Governor General assents to a Bill in the
Queen's Name, he shall by the first convenient
Opportunity send an authentic Copy of the Act to one of
Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, and if the
Queen in Council within Two Years after the Receipt
thereof by the Secretary of State thinks fit to disallow
the Act, such Disallowance (with a Certificate of the
Secretary of State of the Day on which the Act was
received by him) being signified by the Governor General,
by Speech or Message to each of the Houses of the
Parliament or by Proclamation, shall annul the Act from
and after the Day of Such Signification.
Section
57 [Assent]
A Bill reserved for the Signification of the Queen's
Pleasure shall not have any Force unless and until,
within Two Years from the Day on which it was presented
to the Governor General for the Queen's Assent, the
Governor General signifies, by Speech or Message to each
of the Houses of the Parliament or by Proclamation, that
it has received the Assent of the Queen in Council.
An Entry of every such Speech, Message, or Proclamation
shall be made in the Journal of each House, and a
Duplicate thereof duly attested shall be delivered to the
proper Officer to be kept among the Records of Canada.
[Chapter
V] Provincial Constitutions
[Part
1] Executive Power
Section
58 [Lieutenant Governor]
For each Province there shall be an Officer, styled the
Lieutenant Governor, appointed by the Governor General in
Council by Instrument under the Great Seal of Canada.
Section
59 [Minimum Tenure]
A Lieutenant Governor shall hold Office during the
Pleasure of the Governor General; but any Lieutenant
Governor appointed after the Commencement of the First
Session of the Parliament of Canada shall not be
removable Within Five Years of his Appointment, except
for Cause assigned, which shall be communicated to him in
Writing within One Month after the Order for his Removal
is made, and shall be communicated by Message to the
Senate and to the House of Commons within One Week
thereafter if the Parliament is then sitting, and if not
then within One Week after the Commencement of the next
Session of the Parliament.
Section
60 [Salaries]
The Salaries of the Lieutenant Governors shall be fixed
and provided for by the Parliament of Canada.
Section
61 [Oath of Allegiance]
Every Lieutenant Governor shall, before assuming the
Duties of his Office, make and subscribe before the
Governor General or some Person authorized by him Oaths
of Allegiance and Office similar to those taken by the
Governor General.
Section
62 [Continuity]
The provisions of this act referring to the Lieutenant
Governor extend and apply to the Lieutenant Governor for
the Time being of each Province, or other the Chief
Executive Officer or Administrator for the Time being
carrying on the Government of the Province, by whatever
Title he is designated.
Section
63 [Executive Council]
The Executive Council of Ontario and of Quebec shall be
composed of such Person as the Lieutenant Governor from
Time to Time thinks fit, and in the first instance of the
following Officers, namely,
the Attorney General,
the Secretary and Registrar of the Province,
the Treasurer of the Province,
the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and
the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works, with,
in Quebec, the Speaker of the Legislative Council and the
Solicitor General.
Section
64 [Other Executive Authorities]
The Constitution of the Executive Authority in each of
the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall,
subject to the provisions of this act, continue as it
exists at the Union until altered under the Authority of
this act.
Section
65 [Continuity]
All Powers, Authorities, and Functions which under any
Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, or of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, or of the Legislature of Upper Canada, Lower
Canada, or Canada, were or are before or at the Union
vested in or exerciseable by the respective Governors or
Lieutenant Governors of those Provinces, with the Advice
or Consent of the respective Executive Councils thereof,
or in conjunction with those Councils, or with any Number
of Members thereof, or by those Governors or Lieutenant
Governors individually, shall, as far as the same are
capable of being exercised after the Union in relation to
the Government of Ontario and Quebec respectively, be
vested in and shall or may be exerciseable by the
Lieutenant Governors of Ontario and Quebec respectively,
with the Advice or with the Advice and Consent of or in
conjunction with the respective Executive Councils, or
any Members thereof, or by the Lieutenant Governor
individually, as the Case requires, subject nevertheless
(except with respect to such as exist under Acts of the
Parliament of Great Britain, or of the Parliament of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,) to be
abolished or altered by the respective Legislatures of
Ontario and Quebec.
Section
66 [Advice of Executive Council]
The provisions of this act referring to the Lieutenant
Governor in Council shall be construed as referring to
the Lieutenant Governor of the Province acting by and
with the Advice the Executive Council thereof.
Section
67 [Deputy Lieutenant Governor]
The Governor General in Council may from Time to Time
appoint an Administrator to execute the office and
Functions of Lieutenant Governor during his Absence,
Illness, or other Inability.
Section
68 [Seats of Provincial Governments]
Unless and Until the Executive Government of any Province
otherwise directs with respect to that Province, the
Seats of Government of the Provinces shall be as follows,
namely,
of Ontario, the City of Toronto;
of Quebec, the City of Quebec;
of Nova Scotia, the City of Halifax; and
of New Brunswick, the City of Fredericton.
[Part
2] Legislative Power
[Title
1] Ontario
Section
69 [Legislative Assembly]
There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting of
the Lieutenant Governor and of One House, styled the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Section
70 [Membership, Districts]
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario shall be composed of
Eighty-two Members, to be elected to represent the
Eighty-two Electoral Districts set forth in the First
Schedule to this act.
[Title
2] Quebec
Section
71 [Two Houses]
There shall be a Legislature for Quebec consisting of the
Lieutenant Governor and of Two Houses, styled the
Legislative Council of Quebec and the Legislative
Assembly of Quebec.
Section
72 [Legislative Council]
The Legislative Council of Quebec shall be composed of
Twenty-four Members, to be appointed by the Lieutenant
Governor, in the Queen's Name, by Instrument under the
Great Seal of Quebec, One being appointed to represent
each of the Twenty-four Electoral Divisions of Lower
Canada in this act referred to, and each holding Office
for the Term of his Life, unless the Legislature of
Quebec otherwise provides under the provisions of this
act.
Section
73 [Qualification]
The Qualifications of the Legislative Councillors of
Quebec shall be the same as those of the Senators for
Quebec.
Section
74 [Vacancy]
The Place of a Legislative Councillor of Quebec shall
become vacant in the Cases, mutatis mutandis, in
which the Place of Senator becomes vacant.
Section
75 [Filling Vacancies]
When a Vacancy happens in the Legislative Council of
Quebec by Resignation, Death, or otherwise, the
Lieutenant Governor, in the Queen's Name, by Instrument
under the Great Seal of Quebec, shall appoint a fit and
qualified Person to fill the Vacancy.
Section
76 [Decisions on Vacancies]
If any Question arises respecting the Qualification of a
Legislative Councillor of Quebec, or a Vacancy in the
Legislative Council of Quebec, the same shall be heard
and determined by the Legislative Council.
Section
77 [Speaker]
The Lieutenant Governor may from Time to Time, by
Instrument under the Great Seal of Quebec, appoint a
Member of the Legislative Council of Quebec to be Speaker
thereof, and may remove him and appoint another in his
Stead.
Section
78 [Quorum]
Until the Legislature of Quebec otherwise provides, the
Presence of at least Ten Members of the Legislative
Council, including the Speaker, shall be necessary to
constitute a Meeting for the Exercise of its Powers.
Section
79 [Majority]
Questions arising in the Legislative Council of Quebec
shall be decided by a Majority of Voices, and the Speaker
shall in all Cases have a Vote, and when the Voices are
equal the Decision shall be deemed to be in the Negative.
Section
80 [Legislative Assembly]
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec shall be composed of
Sixty-five Members, to be elected to represent the
Sixty-five Electoral Divisions or Districts of Lower
Canada in this act referred to, subject to Alteration
thereof by the Legislature of Quebec: Provided that it
shall not be lawful to present to the Lieutenant Governor
of Quebec for Assent any Bill for altering the Limits of
any of the Electoral Divisions or Districts mentioned in
the Second Schedule to this act, unless the Second and
Third Readings of such Bill have been passed in the
Legislative Assembly with the Concurrence of the Majority
of the Members representing all those Electoral Divisions
or Districts, and the Assent shall not be given to such
Bill unless an Address has been presented by the
Legislative Assembly to the Lieutenant Governor stating
that it has been so passed.
[Title
3] Ontario and Quebec
Section
81 {...}
Section
82 [Legislative Assembly Sessions]
The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and of Quebec shall
from Time to Time, in the Queen's Name, by Instrument
under the Great Seal of the Province, summon and call
together the Legislative Assembly of the Province.
Section
83 [Incompatibility]
Until the Legislature of Ontario or of Quebec otherwise
provides, a Person accepting or holding in Ontario or in
Quebec any Office, Commission, or Employment, permanent
or temporary, at the Nomination of the Lieutenant
Governor, to which annual Salary, or Fee, Allowance,
Emolument, or Profit of any Kind or Amount whatever from
the Province is attached, shall not be eligible as a
Member of the Legislative Assembly of the respective
Province, nor shall he sit or vote as such; but nothing
in this section shall make ineligible any Person being a
member of the Executive Council of the respective
Province, or holding any of the following Offices, that
is to say, the Offices of Attorney General, Secretary and
Registrar of the Province, Treasurer of the Province,
Commissioner of Crown Lands, and Commissioner of
Agriculture and Public Works, and in Quebec Solicitor
General, or shall disqualify him to sit or vote in the
House for which he is elected, provided he is elected
while holding such Office.
Section
84 [Electoral Laws]
Until the Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec respectively
otherwise provide, all Laws which at the Union are in
force in those Provinces respectively, relative to the
following Matters, or any of them, namely,
the Qualifications and Disqualifications of Persons to be
elected or to sit or vote as Members of the Assembly of
Canada,
the Qualifications and Disqualifications of Voters,
the Oaths to be taken by Voters,
the Returning Officers,
their Powers and Duties,
the Proceedings at Elections,
the Periods during which such Elections may be continued,
and the Trial of controverted Elections and the
Proceedings incident thereto,
the vacating of Seats of Members and the issuing and
execution of new Writs in case of Seats vacated otherwise
than by Dissolution,
shall respectively apply to Elections of Members to serve
in the respective Legislative Assemblies of Ontario and
Quebec.
Provided that, until the Legislature of Ontario otherwise
provides, at any Election for a Member of the Legislative
Assembly of Ontario for the District of Algoma, in
addition to Persons qualified by the Law of the Province
of Canada to vote, every male British Subject, aged
Twenty-one Years or upwards, being a Householder, shall
have a vote.
Section
85 [Term]
Every Legislative Assembly of Ontario and every
Legislative Assembly of Quebec shall continue for Four
Years from the Day of the Return of the Writs for
choosing the same (subject nevertheless to either the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario or the Legislative
Assembly of Quebec being sooner dissolved by the
Lieutenant Governor of the Province), and no longer.
Section
86 [Minimum of Sessions]
There shall be a Session of the Legislature of Ontario
and of that of Quebec once at least in every Year, so
that Twelve Months shall not intervene between the last
Sitting of the Legislature in each Province in one
Session and its first Sitting in the next Session.
Section
87 [Applicable Laws]
The following provisions of this act respecting the House
of Commons of Canada shall extend and apply to the
Legislative Assemblies of Ontario and Quebec, that is to
say,
the Provisions relating to the Election of a Speaker
originally and on Vacancies,
the Duties of Speaker,
the Absence of the Speaker,
the Quorum, and
the Mode of voting,
as if those Provisions were here re-enacted and made
applicable in Terms to each such Legislative Assembly.
[Title
4] Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
Section
88 [Continuity]
The Constitution of the Legislature of each of the
Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall, subject
to the Provision of this act, continue as it exists at
the Union until altered under the Authority of this act.
Section
89 {...}
[Title
6] The Four Provinces
Section
90 [Applicable Laws]
The following provisions of this act respecting the
Parliament of Canada, namely,
the Provisions relating to Appropriation and Tax Bills,
the Recommendation of Money Votes,
the Assent to Bills,
the Disallowance of Acts, and
the Signification of Pleasure on Bills reserved,
shall extend and apply to the Legislatures of the several
Provinces as if those Provisions were here re-enacted and
made applicable in Terms to the respective Provinces and
the Legislatures thereof, with the Substitution of the
Lieutenant Governor of the Province for the Governor
General, of the Governor General for the Queen and for a
Secretary of State, of One Year for Two Years, and of the
Province for Canada.
[Chapter
VI] Distribution of Legislative Powers
Section
91 [National Legislative Powers]
It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the Advice
and Consent of the Senate and House of Commons, to make
lawsfor the Peace, Order, and good Government of Canada,
in relation to all Matters not coming within the Classes
of Subjects by this act assigned exclusively to the
Legislatures of the Provinces;
and for greater Certainty, but not so as to restrict the
Generality of the foregoing Terms of this section, it is
hereby declared that (notwithstanding anything in this
act) the exclusive Legislative Authority of the
Parliament of Canada extends to all Matters coming within
the Classes of Subjects next hereinafter enumerated; that
is to say,
1) {...}
1A) The Public Debt and Property.
2) The Regulation of Trade and Commerce.
2A) Unemployment insurance.
3) The raising of Money by any Mode or System of
Taxation.
4) The borrowing of Money on the Public Credit.
5) Postal Service.
6) The Census and Statistics.
7) Militia, Military and Naval Service, and Defence.
8) The fixing of and providing for the Salaries and
Allowances of Civil and other Officers of the Government
of Canada,
9) Beacons, Buoys, Lighthouses, and Sable Island.
10) Navigation and Shipping.
11) Quarantine and the Establishment and Maintenance of
Marine Hospitals.
12) Sea Coast and Inland Fisheries.
13) Ferries between a Province and any British or Foreign
Country or between Two Provinces.
14) Currency and Coinage.
15) Banking, Incorporation of Banks, and the Issue of
Paper Money.
16) Savings Banks.
17) Weights and Measures.
18) Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes.
19) Interest.
20) Legal Tender.
21) Bankruptcy and Insolvency.
22) Patents of Invention and Discovery.
23) Copyrights.
24) Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians.
25) Naturalization and Aliens.
26) Marriage and Divorce.
27) The Criminal Law, except the Constitution of Courts
of Criminal Jurisdiction, but including the Procedure in
Criminal Matters.
28) The Establishment, Maintenance, and Management of
Penitentiaries.
29) Such Classes of Subjects as are expressly excepted in
the Enumeration of the Classes of Subjects by this act
assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of the
Provinces.
And any Matter coming within any of the Classes of
Subjects enumerated in this section shall not be deemed
to come within the Class of Matters of a local or private
Nature comprised in the Enumeration of the Classes of
Subjects by this act assigned exclusively to the
Legislatures of the Provinces.
Section
92 [Provincial Legislative Powers]
In each Province the Legislature may exclusively make
Laws in relation to Matters coming within the Classes of
Subject next hereinafter enumerated; that is to say,
1) {...} 2) Direct Taxation within the Province in
order to the raising of a Revenue for Provincial
Purposes.
3) The borrowing of Money on the sole Credit of the
Province.
4) The Establishment and Tenure of Provincial Offices and
the Appointment and Payment of Provincial Officers.
5) The Management and Sale of the Public Lands belonging
to the Province and of the Timber and Wood thereon.
6) The Establishment, Maintenance, and Management of
Public and Reformatory Prisons in and for the Province.
7) The Establishment, Maintenance, and Management of
Hospitals, Asylums, Charities, and Eleemosynary
Institutions in and for the Province, other than Marine
Hospitals.
8) Municipal Institutions in the Province.
9) Shop, Saloon, Tavern, Auctioneer, and other Licences
in order to the raising of a Revenue for Provincial,
Local, or Municipal Purposes.
10) Local Works and Undertakings other than such as are
of the following Classes:
(a) Lines of Steam or other Ships, Railways, Canals, and
other Works and Undertakings connecting the Province with
any other or others of the Provinces, or extending beyond
the Limits of the Province;
(b) Lines of Steam Ships between the Province and any
British or Foreign Country;
(c) Such Works as, although wholly situate within the
Province, are before or after the Execution declared by
the Parliament of Canada to be for the general Advantage
of Canada or for the Advantage of Two or more of the
Provinces.
11) The Incorporation of Companies with Provincial
Objects.
12) The Solemnization of Marriage in the Province.
13) Property and Civil Rights in the Province.
14) The Administration of Justice in the Province,
including the Constitution, Maintenance, and Organization
of Provincial Courts, both of Civil and of Criminal
Jurisdiction, and including Procedure in Civil Matters in
those Courts.
15) The Imposition of Punishment by Fine, Penalty, or
Imprisonment for enforcing any Law of the Province made
in relation to any Matter coming within any of the
Classes of Subjects enumerated in this section.
16) Generally all Matters of a merely local or private
Nature in the Province.
17) Non-Renewable Natural Resources, Forestry Resources
and Electrical Energy.
Section
92a [Additional Provincial Legislative Powers]
(1) In each province, the legislature may exclusively
make laws in relation to
(a) exploration for non-renewable natural resources in
the province;
(b) development, conservation and management of
non-renewable resources natural resources and forestry
resources in the province, including laws in relation to
the rate of primary production therefrom; and
(c) development, conservation and management of sites and
facilities in the province for the generation and
production of electrical energy.
(2) In each province, the legislature may make laws in
relation to the export from the province to another part
of Canada of the primary production from non-renewable
natural resources and forestry resources in the province
and the production from facilities in the province for
the generation of electrical energy, but such laws may
not authorize or provide for discrimination in prices or
in supplies exported to another part of Canada.
(3) Nothing in Subsection (2) derogates from the
authority of Parliament to enact laws in relation to the
matters referred to in that subsection and, where such a
law of Parliament and a law of a province conflict, the
law of Parliament prevails to the extent of the conflict.
(4) In each province, the legislature may make laws in
relation to the raising of money by any mode or system of
taxation in respect of
(a) non-renewable natural resources and forestry
resources in the province and the primary production
therefrom, and
(b) sites and facilities in the province for the
generation of electrical energy and the production
therefrom, whether or not such production is exported in
whole or in part from the province, but such laws may not
authorize or provide for taxation that differentiates
between production exported to another part of Canada and
production not exported from the province.
(5) The expression "primary production" has the
meaning assigned by the Sixth Schedule.
(6) Nothing in Subsections (1) to (5) derogates from any
power or rights that a legislature or government of a
province had immediately before the coming into force of
this section.
Section
93 [Education]
In and for each Province the Legislature may exclusively
make Laws in relation to Education, subject and according
to the following Provisions:
(1) Nothing in any such Law shall prejudicially affect
any Right or Privilege with respect to Denominational
Schools which any Class of Persons have by Law in the
Province at the Union:
(2) All the Powers, Privileges and Duties at the Union by
Law conferred and imposed in Upper Canada on the Separate
Schools and School Trustees of the Queen's Roman Catholic
Subjects shall be and the same are hereby extended to the
Dissentient Schools of the Queen's Protestant and Roman
Catholic Subjects in Quebec:
(3) Where in any Province a System of Separate or
Dissentient Schools exists by Law at the Union or is
thereafter established by the Legislature of the
Province, an Appeal shall lie to the Governor General in
Council from any Act or Decision of any Provincial
Authority affecting any Right or Privilege of the
Protestant or Roman Catholic Minority of the Queen's
Subjects in relation to Education:
(4) In case any such Provincial Law as from Time to Time
seems to the Governor General in Council requisite for
the Execution of the Provisions of this section is not
made, or in case any Decision of the Governor General in
Council on any Appeal under this section is not duly
executed by the proper Provincial Authority in that
Behalf, then and in every such Case, and as far as the
Circumstances of each Case require, the Parliament of
Canada may make remedial Laws for the due Execution of
the Provisions of this section and of any Decision of the
Governor General in Council under this section.
Section
94 [Uniformity of Laws in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick]
Notwithstanding anything in this act, the Parliament of
Canada may make Provision for the Uniformity of all or
any of the Laws relative to Property and Civil Rights in
Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and of the
Procedure of all or any of the Courts in Those Three
Provinces, and from and after the passing of any Act in
that Behalf the Power of the Parliament of Canada to make
Laws in relation to any Matter comprised in any such Act
shall, notwithstanding anything in this act, be
unrestricted; but any Act of the Parliament of Canada
making Provision for such Uniformity shall not have
effect in any Province unless and until it is adopted and
enacted as Law by the Legislature thereof.
Section
94a [Old Age Pensions]
The Parliament of Canada may make laws in relation to old
age pensions and supplementary benefits, including
survivors, and disability benefits irrespective of age,
but no such law shall affect the operation of any law
present or future of a provincial legislature in relation
to any such matters.
Section
95 [Agriculture and Immigration]
In each Province the Legislature may make Laws in
relation to Agriculture in the Province, and to
Immigration into the Province; and it is hereby declared
that the Parliament of Canada may from Time to Time Make
Laws in relation to Agriculture in all or any of the
Provinces, and to Immigration into all or any of the
Provinces; and any Law of the Legislature of a Province
relative to Agriculture or to Immigration shall have
effect in and for the Province as long and as far as it
is not repugnant to any Act of the Parliament of Canada.
[Chapter
VII] Judicature
Section
96 [Appointment]
The Governor General shall appoint the Judges of the
Superior, District, and County Courts in each Province,
except those of the Courts of Probate in Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick.
Section
97 [Selection of Judges]
Until the laws relative to Property and Civil Rights in
Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the
Procedure of the Courts in those Provinces, are made
uniform, the Judges of the Courts of those Provinces
appointed by the Governor General shall be selected from
the respective Bars of those Provinces.
Section
98 [Selection in Quebec]
The Judges of the Courts of Quebec shall be selected from
the Bar of that Province.
Section
99 [Tenure]
(1) Subject to Subsection (2), the Judges of the Superior
Courts shall hold office during good behaviour, but shall
be removable by the Governor General on Address of the
Senate and House of Commons.
(2) A Judge of a Superior Court, whether appointed before
or after the coming into force of this section, shall
cease to hold office upon attaining the age of
seventy-five years, or upon the coming into force of this
section if at that time he has already attained that age.
Section
100 [Salary]
The Salaries, Allowances, and Pensions of the Judges of
the Superior, District, and County Courts (except the
Courts of Probate in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick), and
of the Admiralty Courts in Cases where the Judges thereof
are being paid by Salary, shall be fixed and provided by
the Parliament of Canada.
Section
101 [Courts, General Court of Appeal]
The Parliament of Canada may, notwithstanding anything in
this act, from Time to Time provide for the Constitution,
Maintenance, and Organization of a General Court of
Appeal for Canada, and for the Establishment of any
additional Courts for the better Administration of the
Laws of Canada.
[Chapter
VIII] Revenues, Debts, Assets, Taxation
Section
102 [Consolidated Revenue Fund]
All Duties and Revenues over which the respective
Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick
before and at the Union had and have Power of
Appropriation, except such Portions thereof as are by
this act reserved to the respective Legislatures of the
Provinces, or are raised by them in accordance with the
special Powers conferred on them by this act, shall form
One Consolidated Revenue Fund, to be appropriated for the
Public Service of Canada in the Manner and subject to the
Charges of this act provided.
Section
103 [First Charge: Costs]
The Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada shall be
permanently charged with the Costs, Charges, and Expenses
incident to the Collection, Management, and Receipt
thereof, and the same shall form the First Charge
thereon, subject to be reviewed and audited in such
Manner as shall be ordered by the Governor General in
Council until the Parliament otherwise provides.
Section
104 [Second Charge: Public Debts]
The annual Interest of the Public Debts of the several
Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick at
the Union shall form the Second Charge on the
Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada.
Section
105 [Third Charge: Governor General Salary]
Unless altered by the Parliament of Canada, the Salary of
the Governor General shall be Ten thousand Pounds
Sterling Money of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of
Canada, and the same shall form the Third Charge thereon.
Section
106 [Public Service]
Subject to the several Payments by this act charged on
the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada, the same shall
be appropriated by the Parliament of Canada for the
Public Service.
Section
107 [Provincial Funds]
All Stocks, Cash, Banker's Balances, and Securities for
Money belonging to each Province at the Time of the
Union, except as in this act mentioned, shall be the
Property of Canada, and shall be taken in Reduction of
the Amount of the respective Debts of the Provinces at
the Union.
Section
108 [Provincial Property]
The Public Works and Property of each Province,
enumerated in the Third Schedule to this act, shall be
the Property of Canada.
Section
109 [Provincial Interests]
All Lands, Mines, Minerals, and Royalties belonging to
the several Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick at the Union, and all Sums then due or payable
for such Lands, Mines, Minerals, or Royalties, shall
belong to the several Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova
Scotia, and New Brunswick in which the same are situate
or arise, subject to any Trusts existing in respect
thereof, and to any Interest other than that of the
Province in the same.
Section
110 [Provincial Assets]
All Assets connected with such Portions of the Public
Debt of each Province as are assumed by that Province
shall belong to that Province.
Section
111 [Canadian Liability]
Canada shall be liable for the Debts and Liabilities of
each Province existing at the Union.
Section
112 [Provincial Liability]
Ontario and Quebec conjointly shall be liable to Canada
for the Amount (if any) by which the Debt of the Province
of Canada exceeds at the Union Sixty-two million five
hundred thousand Dollars, and shall be charged with
Interest at the Rate of Five Per Centum per Annum
thereon.
Section
113 [Special Provincial Property]
The Assets enumerated in the Fourth Schedule to this act
belonging at the Union to the Province of Canada shall be
the Property of Ontario and Quebec conjointly.
Section
114 [Nova Scotia Liability]
Nova Scotia shall be liable to Canada for the Amount (if
any) by which its Public Debt exceeds at the Union Eight
million Dollars, and shall be charged with Interest at
the Rate of Five per Centum per Annum thereon.
Section
115 [New Brunswick Liability]
New Brunswick shall be liable to Canada for the Amount
(if any) by which its Public Debt exceeds at the Union
Seven million Dollars, and shall be charged with Interest
at the Rate of Five per Centum per Annum thereon.
Section
116 [Provincial Receipts]
In case the Public Debts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
do not at the Union amount to Eight million and Seven
million Dollars respectively, they shall respectively
receive by half-yearly Payments in advance from the
Government of Canada Interest at Five per Centum per
Annum on the Difference between the actual Amounts of
their respective Debts and such stipulated Amounts.
Section
117 [Other Public Property, Defence Property]
The several Provinces shall retain all their respective
Public Property not otherwise disposed of in this act,
subject to the Right of Canada to assume any Lands or
Public Property required for Fortifications or for the
Defence of the Country.
Section
118 {...}
Section
119 [New Brunswick Allowance]
New Brunswick shall receive by half-yearly Payments in
advance from Canada for the Period of Ten Years from the
Union an additional Allowance of Sixty-three thousand
Dollars per Annum; but as long as the Public Debt of that
Province remains under Seven million Dollars, a Deduction
equal to the Interest at Five per Centum per Annum on
such Deficiency shall be made from that Allowance of
Sixty-three thousand Dollars.
Section
120 [Payments]
All Payments to be made under this act, or in discharge
of Liabilities created under any Act of the Provinces of
Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick respectively, and
assumed by Canada, shall, until the Parliament of Canada
otherwise directs, be made in such Form and Manner as may
be from Time to Time be ordered by the Governor General
in Council.
Section
121 [Freedom of Goods]
All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of
any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union,
be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.
Section
122 [Continuation of Customs]
The Customs and Excise Laws of each Province shall,
subject to the provisions of this act, continue in force
until altered by the Parliament of Canada.
Section
123 [Internal Customs Duties]
Where Customs Duties are, at the Union, leviable on any
Goods, Wares, or Merchandises in any Two Provinces, those
Goods, Wares, or Merchandises may, from and after the
Union, be imported from one of those Provinces into the
other of them on Proof of Payment of the Customs Duty
leviable thereon in the Province of Exportation, and on
Payment of such further Amount (if any) of Customs Duty
as is leviable thereon in the Province of Importation.
Section
124 [New Brunswick Lumber Dues]
Nothing in this act shall affect the Right of New
Brunswick to levy the Lumber Dues provided in Chapter
Fifteen of Title Three of the Revised Statutes of New
Brunswick, or in any Act amending that Act before or
after the Union, and not increasing the Amount of such
Dues; but the Lumber of any of the Provinces other than
New Brunswick shall not be subject to such Dues.
Section
125 [No Property Taxation]
No Lands or Property belonging to Canada or any Province
shall be liable to Taxation.
Section
126 [Provincial Revenue Funds]
Such Portions of the Duties and Revenues over which the
respective Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick had before the Union Power of Appropriation as
are by this act reserved to the respective Governments or
Legislatures of the Provinces, and all Duties and
Revenues raised by them in accordance with the special
Powers conferred upon them by this act, shall in each
Province form One Consolidated Revenue Fund to be
appropriated for the Public Service of the Province.
[Chapter
IX] Miscellaneous Provisions
[Part
1] General
Section
127 {...}
Section
128 [Oath of Allegiance]
Every Member of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada
shall before taking his Seat therein take and subscribe
before the Governor General or some Person Authorized by
him, and every Member of a Legislative Council or
Legislative Assembly of any Province shall before taking
his Seat therein take and subscribe before the Lieutenant
Governor of the Province or some Person authorized by
him, the Oath of Allegiance contained in the Fifth
Schedule to this act; and every Member of the Senate of
Canada and every Member of the Legislative Council of
Quebec shall also, before taking his Seat therein, take
and subscribe before the Governor General, or some other
Person authorized by him, the Declaration of
Qualification contained in the same Schedule.
Section
129 [Continuity]
Except as otherwise provided by this act, all Laws in
force in Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick at the
Union, and all Courts of Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction,
and all legal Commissions, Powers, and Authorities, and
all Officers, Judicial, Administrative, and Ministerial,
existing therein at the Union, shall continue in Ontario,
Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick respectively, as
if the Union had not been made; subject nevertheless
(except with respect to such as are enacted by or exist
under Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain or of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland), to be repealed, abolished, or altered by the
Parliament of Canada, or by the Legislature of the
respective Provinces, according to the Authority of the
Parliament or of that Legislature under this act.
Section
130 [Officers of Canada]
Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, all
Officers of the several Provinces having Duties to
discharge in relation to Matters other than those coming
within the Classes of Subjects by this act assigned
exclusively to the Legislature of the Provinces shall be
Officers of Canada, and shall continue to discharge the
Duties of their respective Offices under the same
Liabilities, Responsibilities, and Penalties as if the
Union had not been made.
Section
131 [Nomination]
Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, the
Governor General in Council may from Time to Time appoint
such Officers as the Governor General in Council deems
necessary for the Effectual Execution of this act.
Section
132 [Foreign Affairs]
The Parliament and Government of Canada shall have all
Powers necessary or Proper for performing the Obligations
of Canada or of any Province thereof, as Part of the
British Empire, towards Foreign Countries, arising under
Treaties between the Empire and such Foreign Countries.
Section
133 [Official Languages]
Either the English or the French Language may be used by
any Person in the Debates of the Houses of the Parliament
of Canada and of the Houses of the Legislature of Quebec;
and both those Languages shall be used in the respective
Records and Journals of those Houses; and either of those
Languages may be used by any Person or in any Pleading or
Process in or issuing from any Court of Canada
established under this act, and in or from all or any of
the Courts of Quebec.
The Acts of the Parliament of Canada and of the
Legislature of Quebec shall be printed and published in
both those Languages.
[Part
2] Ontario and Quebec
Section
134 [Provincial Officers]
Until the Legislature of Ontario or of Quebec otherwise
provides, the Lieutenant Governors of Ontario and Quebec
may each appoint under the Great Seal of the Province the
following Officers, to hold Office during Pleasure, that
is to say,
the Attorney General,
the Secretary and Registrar of the Province,
the Treasurer of the Province,
the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and
the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works, and
in the Case of Quebec the Solicitor General,
and may, by Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council,
from Time to Time prescribe the Duties of those Officers,
and of the several Departments over which they shall
preside or to which they shall belong, and of the
Officers and Clerks thereof, and may also appoint other
and additional Officers to hold Office during Pleasure,
and may from Time to Time prescribe the Duties of those
Officers, and of the several Departments over which they
shall preside or to which they shall belong, and of the
Officers and Clerks thereof.
Section
135 [Continuing Powers]
Until the Legislature of Ontario or Quebec otherwise
provides, all Rights, Powers, Duties, Functions,
Responsibilities, or Authorities at the passing of this
act vested in or imposed on the Attorney General,
Solicitor General, Secretary and Registrar of the
Province of Canada, Minister of Finance, Commissioner of
Crown Lands, Commissioner of Public Works, and the
Minister of Agriculture and Receiver General, by any Law,
Statute, or Ordinance of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, or
Canada, and not repugnant to this act, shall be vested in
or imposed on any Officer to be appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor for the discharge of the same any of
them; and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public
Works shall perform the Duties and Functions of the
Office of Minister of Agriculture at the passing of this
act imposed by the Law of the Province of Canada, as well
as those of the Commissioner of Public Works.
Section
136 [Great Seals]
Until altered any the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the
Great Seals of Ontario and Quebec respectively shall be
the same, or of the same Design, as those used in the
Provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada respectively
before their Union as the Province of Canada.
Section
137 [Transitional Provisions]
The words "and from thence to the End of the then
next ensuing Session of the Legislature," or Words
to the same Effect, used in any temporary Act of the
Province of Canada not expired before the Union, shall be
construed to extend and apply to the next Session of the
Parliament of Canada if the Subject Matter of the Act is
within the Powers of the same as defined by this act, or
to the next Sessions of the Legislatures of Ontario and
Quebec respectively if the Subject Matter of the Act is
within the Powers of the same as defined by this act.
Section
138 [Upper/Lower Canada]
From and after the Union the Use of the Words "Upper
Canada", instead of "Ontario," or
"Lower Canada" instead of "Quebec,"
in any Deed, Writ, Process, Pleading, Document, Matter,
or Thing shall not invalidate the same.
Section
139 [Great Seal Proclamations]
Any Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Province of
Canada issued before the Union to take effect at a Time
which is subsequent to the Union, whether relating to
that Province, or to Upper Canada, or to Lower Canada,
and the several Matters and Things therein proclaimed,
shall be and continue of like Force and Effect as if the
Union had not been made.
Section
140 [Legislative Proclamations]
Any Proclamation which is authorized by any Act Of the
Legislature of the Province of Canada to be issued under
the Great Seal of the Province of Canada, whether
relating to that Province, or to Upper Canada, or to
Lower Canada, and which is not issued before the Union,
may be issued by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario or
Quebec, as its Subject Matter requires, under the Great
Seal thereof; and from and after the Issue of such
Proclamation the same and the several Matters and Things
therein proclaimed shall be and continue of the like
Force and Effect in Ontario or Quebec as if the Union had
not been made.
Section
141 [Penitentiary]
The Penitentiary of the Province of Canada shall, until
the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, be and
continue the Penitentiary of Ontario and of Quebec.
Section
142 [Debts]
The Division and Adjustment of the Debts, Credits,
Liabilities, Properties, and Assets of Upper Canada and
Lower Canada shall be referred to the Arbitrament of
Three Arbitrators, One chosen by the Government of
Ontario, One by the Government of Quebec, and One by the
Government of Canada; and the Selection of the
Arbitrators shall not be made until the Parliament of
Canada and the Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec have
met; and the Arbitrator chosen by the Government of
Canada shall not be a Resident either in Ontario or in
Quebec.
Section
143 [Records]
The Governor General in Council may from Time to Time
order that such and so many of the Records, Books, and
Documents of the Province of Canada as he thinks fit
shall be appropriated and delivered either to Ontario or
to Quebec, and the same shall thenceforth be the Property
of that Province; and any Copy thereof or Extract
therefrom, duly certified by the Officer having charge of
the Original thereof, shall be admitted as Evidence.
Section
144 [Townships]
The Lieutenant Governor of Quebec may from Time to Time,
by Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Province, to
take effect from a Day to be appointed therein,
constitute Townships in those Parts of the Province of
Quebec in which Townships are not then already
constituted, and fix the Metes and Bounds thereof.
Section
145 {...}
[Chapter
X] Admission of other colonies
Section
146 [Eligible Colonies]
It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the Advice
of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, on
Addresses from the Houses of the Parliament of Canada,
and from the Houses of the respective Legislatures of the
Colonies or Provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edward
Island, and British Columbia, to admit those Colonies or
Provinces, or any of them, into the Union, and on Address
from the Houses of the Parliament of Canada to admit
Rupert's Land and the North-western Territory, or either
of them, into the Union, on such Terms and Conditions in
each Case as are in the Addresses expressed and as the
Queen thinks fit to approve, subject to the provisions of
this act; and the Provisions of any Order in Council in
that Behalf shall have effect as if they had been enacted
by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland.
Section
147 [Procedures]
In case of the Admission of Newfoundland and Prince
Edward Island, or either of them, each shall be entitled
to a Representation in the Senate of Canada of Four
Newfoundland Members, and (notwithstanding anything in
this act) in case of the Admission of Newfoundland the
normal Number Of Senators shall be Seventy-six and their
maximum Number shall be Eighty-two; but Prince Edward
Island when admitted shall be deemed to be comprised in
the Third of Three Divisions into which Canada is, in
relation to the Constitution of the Senate, divided by
this act, and accordingly, after the Admission of Prince
Edward Island, whether Newfoundland is admitted or not,
the Representation of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in
the Senate shall, as Vacancies occur, be reduced from
Twelve to Ten Members respectively, and the
Representation of each of those Provinces shall not be
increased at any Time beyond Ten, except under the
provisions of this act for the Appointment of Three or
Six additional Senators under the Direction of the Queen.
Schedule
5 [Oaths]
(1) Oath of Allegiance: "I do swear, That I will
be faithful and bear true Allegiance to Her Majesty Queen
Victoria." The Name of the King or Queen of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the Time
being is to be substituted from Time to Time, with Proper
Terms of Reference thereto.
(2) Declaration of Qualification: "I do declare
and testify, That I am by Law duly qualified to be
appointed a Member of the Senate of Canada [or as the
Case may be], and that I am legally or equitably seised
as of Freehold for my own Use and Benefit of Lands or
Tenements held in Free and Common Socage [or seised or
possessed for my own Use and Benefit of Lands or
Tenements held in Franc-alleu or in Roture (as the Case
may be),] in the Province of Nova Scotia [or as the Case
may be] of the Value of Four thousand Dollars over and
above all Rents, Dues, Debts, Mortgages, Charges, and
Incumbrances due or payable out of or charged on or
affecting the same, and that I have not collusively or
colourably obtained a Title to or become possessed of the
said Lands and Tenements or any Part thereof for the
Purpose of enabling me to become a Member of the Senate
of Canada [or as the Case may be], and that my Real and
Personal Property are together worth Four thousand
Dollars over and above my Debts and Liabilities."
Canada -
Constitution Act 1982
{
Adopted in: 1982 }
{ ICL Document Status: 14 April 1994 }
Part
I Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
[Preamble]
Whereas Canada is founded upon the principles that
recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:
[Title
1] Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms
Section
1 [Limitation of Rights]
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees
the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to
such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be
demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
[Title
2] Fundamental Freedoms
Section
2 [Freedom of Religion, Speech, Association]
Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression,
including freedom of the press and other means of
communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly and
(d) freedom of association.
[Title
3] Democratic Rights
Section
3 [Electoral Rights]
Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an
election of members of the House of Commons or of a
legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership
therein.
Section
4 [Term Limits]
(1) No House of Commons and no legislative assembly shall
continue for longer than five years from the date fixed
for the return of the writs at a general election of its
members.
(2) In time of real or apprehended war, invasion or
insurrection, a House of Commons may be continued by
Parliament and a legislative assembly may be continued by
the legislature beyond five years if such continuation is
not opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the
members of the House of Commons or the legislative
assembly, as the case may be.
Section
5 [Minimum Sessions]
There shall be a sitting of Parliament and of each
legislature at least once every twelve months.
[Title
4] Mobility Rights
Section
6 [Freedom to Move]
(1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter,
remain in, and leave Canada.
(2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the
status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right
(a) to move to and take up residence in an province; and
(b) to pursue the gaining of livelihood in any province.
(3) The rights specified in Subsection (2) are subject to
(a) any laws or practices of general application in force
in a province other than those that discriminate among
persons primarily on the basis of present or previous
residence; and
(b) any laws providing for reasonable residency
requirements as a qualification for the receipt of
publicly provided social services.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not preclude any law,
program or activity that has as its object the
amelioration in a province of conditions of individuals
in that province who are socially or economically
disadvantaged if the rate of employment in that province
is below the rate of employment in Canada.
[Title
5] Legal Rights
Section
7 [Personal Integrity]
Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of
the person and the right not to be deprived thereof
except in accordance with the principles of fundamental
justice.
Section
8 [Search and Seizure]
Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable
search or seizure.
Section
9 [Imprisonment]
Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or
imprisoned.
Section
10 [Arrest]
Everyone has the right on arrest or detention
(a) to be informed promptly of the reason therefor;
(b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to
be informed of that right; and
(c) to have the validity of the detention determined by
way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention
is not lawful.
Section
11 [Fair Trial]
Any person charged with an offence has the right
(a) to be informed without unreasonable delay of the
specific offence;
(b) to be tried within a reasonable time;
(c) not to be compelled to be a witness in a proceedings
against that person in respect of the offence;
(d) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according
to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and
impartial tribunal;
(e) not to be denied reasonable bail without cause;
(f) except in the case of an offence under military law
tried before a military tribunal, to the benefit of trial
by jury where the maximum punishment for the offence is
imprisonment for five years or a more severe punishment;
(g) not to be found guilty on account of any act or
omission unless, at the time of the act or omission, it
constituted an offence under Canadian or International
law or was criminal according to the general principles
of law recognized by the community of nations;
(h) if finally acquitted of the offence, not to be tried
for it again and, if finally found guilty and punished
for the offence, not to be tried or punished for it
again; and
(i) if found guilty of the offence and if punishment for
the offence has been varied between the time of
commission and the time of sentencing, to the benefit of
the lesser punishment.
Section
12 [No Cruel Punishment]
Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel
or unusual treatment or punishment.
Section
13 [Right Against Self-Incrimination]
A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right
not to have any incriminating evidence so given used to
incriminate that witness in any other proceedings, except
in a prosecution for perjury or for the giving of
contradictory evidence.
Section
14 [Right to Interpreter]
A party or witness in any proceedings who does not
understand or speak the language in which the proceedings
are conducted or who is deaf has the right to the
assistance of an interpreter.
[Title
6] Equality Rights
Section
15 [General Equality, No Discrimination]
(1) Every individual is equal before the and under the
law and has the right to the equal protection and equal
benefit of the law without discrimination based on race,
national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or
mental or physical disability.
(2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or
activity that has as its object the amelioration of
conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups
including those that are disadvantaged because or race,
national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or
mental or physical disability.
[Title
7] Official Languages of Canada
Section
16 [English, French]
(1) English and French are the official languages of
Canada and have equal rights and privileges as to their
use in all institutions of the Parliament and government
of Canada.
(2) English and French are the official languages of New
Brunswick and have equality of status and equal rights
and privileges as to the use in all institutions of the
legislature and government of New Brunswick.
(3) Nothing in this Charter limits the authority of
Parliament of a legislature to advance the equality of
status or use of English and French.
Section
16.1 [New Brunswick]
(1) The English linguistic community and the French
linguistic community in New Brunswick have equality of
status and equal rights and privileges, including the
right to distinct educational institutions and such
distinct cultural institutions as are necessary for the
preservation and promotion of those communities.
(2) The role of the legislature and the government of New
Brunswick to preserve and promote the status, rights and
privileges referred to in Subsection (1) is affirmed.
Section
17 [Parliamentary Languages]
(1) Everyone has the right to use English or French in
any debates or other proceedings of Parliament.
(2) Everyone has the right to use English or French in
any debate and other proceeding of the legislature of New
Brunswick.
Section
18 [Legislative Languages]
(1) The Statutes, records and journals of Parliament
shall be printed and published in English and French and
both language versions are equally authoritative.
(2) The Statutes, records and journals of New Brunswick
shall be printed and published in English and French and
both language versions are equally authoritative.
Section
19 [Court Languages]
(1) Either English or French may be used by any person
in, or in any pleading in or process issuing from any
court established by Parliament.
(2) Either English or French may be used by any person
in, or in any pleading in or process issuing from any
court of New Brunswick.
Section
20 [Administrative Languages]
(1) Any member of the public of Canada has the right to
communicate with, and to receive available services from,
any head or central office of an institution of the
Parliament or government of Canada in English or French,
and has the same right with respect to any other office
of any such institution where
(a) there is significant demand for communications with
and services from that office in such language; or
(b) due to the nature of the office, it is reasonable
that communications with and services from that office be
available in both English and French.
(2) Any member of the public in New Brunswick has the
right to communicate with, and to receive available
services from, any office of an institution of the
legislature or government of New Brunswick in English or
French.
Section
21 [Other Language Provisions]
Nothing in Sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates
from any right, privilege, or obligation with respect to
the English and French languages, or either of them, that
exists or is continued by virtue of any other provision
of the Constitution of Canada.
Section
22 [Prior Language Rights]
Nothing in Sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates
from any legal or customary right or privilege acquired
or enjoyed either before or after the coming into force
of this Charter with respect to any language that is not
English or French.
[Title
8] Minority Language Educational Rights
Section
23 [Educational Languages]
(1) Citizens of Canada
(a) whose first language learned and still understood is
that of the English or French linguistic minority
population of the province in which they reside, or
(b) who have received their primary school instruction in
Canada in English or French and reside in a province
where the language in which they received that
instruction is the language of the English or French
linguistic minority population of the province,
have the right to have their children receive primary and
secondary school instruction in that language in that
province.
(2) Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or
is receiving primary or secondary school instruction in
English or French in Canada, have the right to have all
their children receive primary and secondary school
instruction in the same language.
(3) The right of citizens of Canada under Subsections (1)
and (2) to have their children receive primary and
secondary school instruction in the language of the
English or French linguistic minority population of a
province
(a) applies wherever in the province the number of
children of citizens who have such a right is sufficient
to warrant the provision to them out of public funds of
minority language instruction; and
(b) includes, where the number of children so warrants,
the right to have them receive that instruction in
minority language educational facilities provided out of
public funds.
[Title
9] Enforcement
Section
24 [Access to Courts]
(1) Anyone whose rights or freedoms, as guaranteed by
this Charter, have been infringed or denied may apply to
a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain such remedy
as the court considers appropriate and just in the
circumstances.
(2) Where, in proceedings under Subsection (1), a court
concludes that evidence was obtained in a manner that
infringed or denied any rights or freedoms guaranteed by
this Charter, the evidence shall be excluded if it is
established that, having regard to all the circumstances,
the admission of it in the proceedings would bring the
administration of justice into disrepute.
[Title
10] General
Section
25 [Aboriginal Rights]
The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and
freedoms shall not be construed so as to abrogate or
derogate from any aboriginal, treaty, or other rights or
freedoms that pertain to the aboriginal peoples of Canada
including
(a) any rights or freedoms that have been recognized by
the Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763; and
(b) any rights or freedoms that now exist by way of land
claims agreements or may be so acquired.
Section
26 [Prior Rights]
The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and
freedoms shall not be construed as denying the existence
of any other rights and freedoms that exist in Canada.
Section
27 [Multicultural Heritage]
This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent
with the preservation and enhancement of the
multicultural heritage of Canadians.
Section
28 [Sex Equality]
Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the rights and
freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male
and female persons.
Section
29 [School Privileges]
Nothing in this Charter abrogates or derogates from any
rights or privileges guaranteed by or under the
Constitution of Canada in respect of denominational,
separate, or dissentient schools.
Section
30 [Applicability to Territories]
A reference in this Charter to a province or to the
legislative assembly or legislature of a province shall
be deemed to include a reference to the Yukon Territory
and the Northwest Territories, or to the appropriate
legislative authority thereof, as the case may be.
Section
31 [Legislative Powers]
Nothing in this Charter extends the legislative powers of
any body or authority.
[Title
11] Application of Charter
Section
32 [Canada and Provinces]
(1) This Charter applies
(a) to the Parliament and government of Canada in respect
of all matters within the authority of Parliament
including all matters relating to the Yukon Territory and
Northwest Territories; and
(b) to the legislatures and governments of each province
in respect of all matters within the authority of the
legislature of each province.
(2) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), Section 5 shall not have effect
until three years after this section comes into force.
Section
33 [Early Application]
(1) Parliament or the legislature of a province may
expressly declare in an Act of Parliament or of the
legislature, as the case may be, that the Act or a
provision thereof shall operate notwithstanding a
provision included in Section 2 or Section 7 to
15 of
this Charter.
(2) An Act or a provision of an Act in respect of which a
declaration made under this section is in effect shall
have such operation as it would have but for the
provision of this Charter referred to in the declaration.
(3) A declaration made under Subsection (1) shall cease
to have effect five years after it comes into force or on
such earlier date as may be specified in the declaration.
(4) Parliament or the legislature of a province may
re-enact a declaration made under Subsection (1).
(5) Subsection (3) applies in respect of re-enactment
made under Subsection (4).
[Title
12] Citation
Section
34 [Citation]
This part may be cited as the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms.
Part
II Rights of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada
Section
35 [General Rights]
(1) The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the
aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and
affirmed.
(2) In this act, "aboriginal peoples of Canada"
includes the Indian, Inuit, and Metis peoples of Canada.
(3) For greater certainty, in Subsection (1) "treaty
rights" includes rights that now exist by way of
land claims agreements or may be so acquired.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the
aboriginal and treaty rights referred to in Subsection
(1) are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.
Section
35.1 [Constitutional Amendments]
The government of Canada and the provincial governments
are committed to the principal that, before any amendment
is made to Class 24 of Section 91 of the
"Constitution Act, 1867", to Section 25 of this act or to this
part,
(a) a constitutional conference that includes in its
agenda an item relating to the proposed amendment,
composed of the Prime Minister of Canada and the first
ministers of the provinces, will be convened by the Prime
Minister of Canada; and
(b) the Prime Minister of Canada will invite
representatives of the aboriginal peoples of Canada to
participate in the discussions on that item.
Part
III Equalization and Regional Disparities
Section
36 [Equal Opportunities]
(1) Without altering the legislative authority of
Parliament or of the provincial legislatures, or the
rights of any of them with respect to the exercise of
their legislative authority, Parliament and the
legislatures, together with the government of Canada and
the provincial governments, are committed to
(a) promoting equal opportunities for the wellbeing of
Canadians;
(b) furthering the economic development to reduce
disparity in opportunities; and
(c) providing essential public services of reasonable
quality to all Canadians.
(2) Parliament and the government of Canada are committed
to the principle of making equalization payments to
ensure that provincial governments have sufficient
revenues to provide reasonably comparable levels of
public services at reasonably comparable levels of
taxation.
Part
IV Constitutional Conference {...}
Part
V Procedure for Amending the Constitution of Canada
Section
38 [Qualified Proceedings]
(1) An amendment to the Constitution of Canada may be
made by proclamation issued by the Governor General under
the Great Seal of Canada where so authorized by
(a) resolutions of the Senate and the House of Commons;
and
(b) resolutions of the legislative assemblies of at least
two-thirds of the provinces that have, in the aggregate,
according to the then latest general census, at least
fifty per cent of the population of the provinces.
(2) An amendment made under Subsection (1) that derogates
from the legislative powers, the proprietary rights or
any other rights or privileges of the legislature or
government of a province shall require a resolution
supported by a majority of the members of each of the
Senate, the House of Commons and the legislative
assemblies required under Subsection (1).
(3) An amendment referred to in Subsection (2) shall not
have effect in a province the legislative assembly of
which has expressed its dissent thereto by resolution
supported by a majority of its members prior to the issue
of the proclamation to which the amendment relates unless
that legislative assembly, subsequently, by resolution
supported by a majority of its members, revokes its
dissent and authorizes the amendment.
(4) A resolution of dissent made for the purposes of
Subsection (3) may be revoked at any time before or after
the issue of the proclamation to which it relates.
Section
39 [Delayed Enforcement]
(1) A proclamation shall not be issued under Section 38
(1)
before the expiration of one year from the adoption of
the resolution initiating the amendment procedure, unless
the legislative assembly of each province has previously
adopted a resolution of assent or dissent.
(2) A proclamation shall not be issued under Section 38
(1)
after the expiration of three years from the adoption of
the resolution initiating the amendment procedure
thereunder.
Section
40 [Compensation]
Where an amendment is made under Section 38
(1) that
transfers provincial legislative powers relating to
education or other cultural matters from provincial
legislatures to Parliament, Canada shall provide
reasonable compensation to any province to which the
amendment does not apply.
Section
41 [Highly Qualified Proceedings]
An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to
the following matters may be made by proclamation issued
by the Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada
only where authorized by resolutions of the Senate and
House of Commons and of the legislative assemblies of
each province:
(a) the office of the Queen, the Governor General, and
the Lieutenant Governor of a province;
(b) the right of a province to a number of members in the
House of Commons not less than the number of Senators by
which the province is entitled to be represented at the
time this part comes into force;
(c) subject to Section 43, the use of the English
or the French language;
(d) the composition of the Supreme Court of Canada; and
(e) an amendment to this part.
Section
42 [Subjects for Qualified Proceedings]
(1) An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in
relation to the following matters may be made only in
accordance with Section 38 (1):
(a) the principle of proportionate representation of the
provinces in the House of Commons prescribed by the
Constitution of Canada;
(b) the powers of the Senate and the method of selecting
Senators;
(c) the number of members by which a province is entitled
to be represented in the Senate and the residence
qualifications of Senators;
(d) subject to Section 41 (d), the Supreme Court of
Canada;
(e) the extension of existing provinces into the
territories; and
(f) notwithstanding any other law or practice, the
establishment of new provinces;
(2) Sections 38 (2) to 38 (4) do not apply in respect
of amendments in relation to matters referred to in
Subsection (1).
Section
43 [Subjects for Highly Qualified Proceedings]
An amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to
any provision that applies to one or more, but not all
provinces, including
(a) any alteration to boundaries between provinces, and
(b) any amendment to any provisions that relate to the
use of the English or the French language within a
province
may be made by proclamation issued by the Governor
General under the Great Seal of Canada only where so
authorized by resolutions of the Senate and House of
Commons and of the legislative assembly of each province
to which the amendment applies.
Section
44 [National Amendment Powers]
Subject to Sections 41 and
42,
Parliament may exclusively make laws amending the
Constitution of Canada in relation to executive
government of Canada or the Senate and House of Commons.
Section
45 [Provincial Amendment Powers]
Subject to Section 41, the legislature of each province
may exclusively make laws amending the constitution of
the province.
Section
46 [Initiative]
(1) The procedures for amendment under Sections
38, 41, 42, and
43 may
be initiated either by the Senate or the House of Commons
or by the legislative assembly of province.
(2) A resolution of assent for the purposes of this part
may be revoked at any time before the issue of a
proclamation authorized by it.
Section
47 [Default Adoption]
(1) An amendment to the Constitution of Canada made by
proclamation under Sections 38, 41, 42, and
43 may
be made without a resolution of the Senate authorizing
the issue of the proclamation if, within one hundred and
eighty days after the adoption by the House of Commons of
a resolution authorizing its issue, the Senate has not
adopted such a resolution and if, at any time after the
expiration of that period, the House of Commons again
adopts the resolution.
(2) Any period when Parliament is prorogued or dissolved
shall not be counted in computing the one hundred and
eighty day period referred to in Subsection (1).
Section
48 [Adoption Proceedings]
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada shall advise the
Governor General to issue a proclamation under this part
forthwith on the adoption of the resolution required for
an amendment made by proclamation under this part.
Section
49 [Constitutional Review]
A constitutional conference of the Prime Minister of
Canada and the first ministers shall be convened by the
Prime Minister of Canada within fifteen years after this
part comes into force to review the provisions of this
part.
Part
VI Amendment to the Constitution Act 1867 {...}
Section
50 {...}
Section
51 {...}
Part
VII General
Section
52 [Constitution of Canada]
(1) The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of
Canada, and any law that is inconsistent with the
provisions of the Constitution is, to the extent of the
inconsistency, of no force or effect.
(2) The Constitution of Canada includes
(a) the Canada Act, 1982, including this act;
(b) the Acts and orders referred to in the Schedule; and
(c) any amendment to any Act or order referred to in
Paragraph (a) or (b).
(3) Amendments to the Constitution of Canada shall be
made only in accordance with the authority contained in
the Constitution of Canada.
Section
53 [Repealed Provisions]
(1) The enactments referred to in Column I of the
schedule are hereby repealed or amended to be extent
indicated in Column II thereof, and unless repealed,
shall continue as law in Canada under the names set out
in Column III thereof.
(2) Every enactment, except the Canada Act, 1982, that
refers to an enactment referred to in the schedule by the
name in Column I thereof is hereby amended by
substituting for that name the corresponding name in
Column III thereof, and any British North America Act not
referred to in the schedule may be cited as the
Constitution Act followed by the year and number, if any,
of its enactment.
Section
54 [Repealed Provisions]
Part IV is repealed on the day that is one year after
this part comes into force, and this section may be
repealed and this act renumbered, consequentially upon
the repeal of Part IV and this section, by proclamation
issued by the Governor General under the Great Seal of
Canada.
Section
54.1 {...}
Section
55 [French Version]
A French version of the portions of the Constitution of
Canada referred to in the schedule shall be prepared by
the Minister of Justice of Canada as expeditiously as
possible and, when any portion thereof sufficient to
warrant action being taken has been prepared, it shall be
put forward for enactment by proclamation issued by the
Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada pursuant
to the procedure then applicable to an amendment of the
same provisions of the Constitution of Canada.
Section
56 [Equal Authority of Versions]
Where any portion of the Constitution of Canada has been
or is enacted in English and French or where a French
version of any portion of the Constitution is enacted
pursuant to Section 55, the English and French
versions of that portion of the Constitution are equally
authoritative.
Section
57 [Equal Authority of Versions]
The English and French versions of this act are equally
authoritative.
Section
58 [In Force]
Subject to Section 59, this act shall come into force
on a day to be fixed by proclamation issued by the Queen
or the Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada.
Section
59 [Special Date]
(1) Section 23 (1)(a) shall come into force in respect
of Quebec on a day to be fixed by proclamation issued by
the Queen or the Governor General under the Great Seal of
Canada.
(2) A proclamation under Subsection (1) shall be issued
only where authorized by the legislative assembly or
government of Quebec.
(3) This section may be repealed on the day Section 23
(1)(a)
comes into force in respect of Quebec and this act
amended and renumbered, consequentially up the repeal of
this section, by proclamation issued by the Queen or the
Governor General under the Great Seal of Canada.
Section
60 [Constitution Acts]
This act may be cited as the Constitution Act, 1982, and
the Constitution Acts 1867 to 1975 and this act may be
cited together as the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982.
Section
61 [Constitution Amendment Proclamation]
A reference to the "Constitution Acts, 1867 to
1982" shall be deemed be to include a reference to
the "Constitution Amendment Proclamation,
1983".
|
