1. THE CONSTITUTION OF CANADA AN OUTLINE

2. Introduction  Canada is a democracy; specifically, a constitutional monarchy  Our Head of State is Queen Elizabeth (she is also Queen of Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Bahamas, Grenada, etc.)  Her representatives in Canada and the provinces are the Governor General and the Lieutenant-Governor of each province

3. 3 branches of government  Executive: Includes the Cabinet and the bureaucracy of the government that carry out the government business and laws of Canada; all the civil service  Legislative: The legislative bodies of Canada. They make and debate the laws. Includes parliament and the Senate  Judicial: Includes all of the various courts of Canada. They decide who broke the law and the punishment that corresponds.

4. So…  Therefore, the legislative branch would create a law about the time of year that a person could fish. The executive branch would see to it through setting up various ministries and agencies that people only fished during that time. The judiciary would put anyone on trial that broke the law and fished outside of the allotted time and would decide upon an appropriate punishment.

5. Canada is also a federal state  Federalism combines unity with diversity; the USA, Australia, and Switzerland are all federal states  The Fathers of Confederation wanted two things: 1. To maintain the identity, culture, and special institutions of each of the provinces 2. And a real union to protect them from the expansionism of the USA and for economic growth and development

6. What makes up our Constitution?  British North America Act (1867) –it is now renamed The Constitution Act, 1867  Legislation (all the various acts passed by the government)  Custom (e.g. There is no written provision for a Prime Minister)  Judgments of the courts (interpretations of the Act)  Agreements between the national and provincial governments

7. Of what does our written Constitution consist?  The American Constitution is one written document  The Canadian written constitution is made up of: 1. 25 primary documents outlined in the Constitution Act 2. 14 Acts of the British Parliament 3. 7 Acts of the Canadian Parliament 4. And 4 British orders-in-council

8. What events have symbolized Canada’s desire for independence from Britain?  After WW1, Canada signed the peace treaties as a distinct power  Canada was a founding member of the League of Nations and the International Labour Organization  1926: the Imperial Conference recognized Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State, and Newfoundland as “autonomous communities, in no way subordinate to the United Kingdom…”

9. What events have symbolized Canada’s desire for independence from Britain?  1931: Statute of West Minster gave Canada and the other dominions of the Commonwealth their independence in all foreign and domestic matters  1947: Canadian Citizenship Act made all immigrants to Canada Canadian citizens rather than British subjects  1949: effectively established the Supreme Court of Canada as the country’s final court of appeal (used to go to Britain)

10. What was left?  By 1980, Canada was an independent country; but the only way it could make changes to its Constitution was through an Act of the British government  Attempts had been made to repatriate the constitution from 1927 to 1980, but federal and provincial governments couldn’t agree on how to do it  In other words, they could not agree on an amending formula

11. The road to repatriation  1971: PM Pierre Trudeau met with premiers to discuss issues such as a special status for Quebec and an amending formula for the constitution  But after criticism from Quebec, Robert Bourassa withdrew his support, so the plan was neglected  1980: Premier Rene Levesque called a provincial referendum for permission for Quebec to negotiate with Canada for sovereignty-association  Trudeau promised that he would renew Canada’s constitution if Quebec voted NON  They did, by 59.5% of the votes

12. What changes did the Constitution Act make in our Constitution? 1. It established a constitutional amending formula 2. It protected English and French language rights 3. Established the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 4. It gave the provinces wide powers over their natural resources 5. Reaffirmed treaty rights of Aboriginal peoples (Indians, Inuit, and Metis) 6. Established the principle of equalization to ensure all Canadians have access to basic public services