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Royal Proclamation
The Royal Proclamation was issued by King George " to establish a basis of government administration in the North American territories formally ceded by France to Britain in the Treaty of Paris, 1763, following the Seven Years War". Another function of the proclamation was to create a basis for treaty negotiations between the government and Aboriginal people of Canada. These treaties were essential in dividing the lands of Canada. -
Royal Proclamation *Continued
King George prohibited the purchasing of native property from anyone other than himself and his heirs. This was a crucial element of the proclamation because the Aboriginals could only sell their land under the authorization of the British Monarch, giving the monarch power over the Aboriginal people. The Royal Proclamation would relate closely to the Constitution in that while the Constitution was patriated from the United Kingdom, the rights of Aboriginals would still remain a part of law. -
Act of Union *Continued
The Act of Union has a specific provision where the French language is officially banned for government use. This would impact the Canadian Constitution in that the two official languages of Canada would become French and English. Also, the Constitution protects people from discrimination based on language. -
Act of Union
The Act of Union was perhaps one of the most important acts passed in Canadian history as it effectively united the colonies of upper and lower Canada. The most notable provision of the Act was "the establishment of a single parliament with equal representation from each constituent section". By uniting these colonies, both parts of the new province of Canada share debt and a larger, stronger economy leading to a more prosporous future with the sharing of resources and jobs etc. -
British North America Act
Signed by the Queen on March 29 and comming into effect on July 1st, the British North America Act was the statute enacted by British Parliment providing for Confederation of Canada. This act would affect the Canadian Constitution in that it's name was changed from the BNA Act to the Constitution Act in an effort to progress the movement towards patriation of the Constitution. -
Statute of Wesminster
The Statute of Wesminster was "a British law clarifying the powers of Canada's Parliament and those of the other Commonwealth Dominions". Essentially, it was one of the first laws passed to assert Canadian independence despit being in the British Commonwealth. Before the Statue, the British government had certain authorities over the legislations of the members of the commonwealth, however with the Statute of Wesminster, it illustrated the commonwealth country's desire for autonomy. -
Statute of Wesminster *Continued
One of the main reasons Canada and other commonwealth countries wanted to be more independant was the issue of going to war. When Britain went to war, so did the rest of the commonwealth and after the disasters of the first and second world wars, the desire of autonomy only grew. This Statue would affect the Canadian Constitution immensely because it outlined that the Constitution could not be ammended wihtout authorization of the British government, yet in 1982 it could be amended freely. -
Consitution Act
The Constitution Act was created out of a desire by the Trudeau government to "patriate the Canadian Constitution from the United Kingdom". Seven parts comprise the Constitution Act, the notable parts being the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the rights of aboriginal people, and the method to amending the Constitution. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms outlines the fundamental rights and freedoms of ALL Canadians regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. -
Constitution Act *Continued
The other part of the Constiution Act outlines the rights and freedoms of aborginal people in Canada as well as recognizing the treaties between the aboriginal people and the government. Because these parts are entrenched within the Constitution, amending it is done through two ways; "resolutions of the House of Commons and the Senate,plus resolutions of the provincial legislatures of at least two-thirds of the provinces and which contain 50% of the population of all the provinces". -
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was "an agreement between the federal and provincial governments to amend the Constitution by strengthening provincial powers and declaring Québec a distinct society". The significance of the Accord was that it was an attempt by the goverment to get Quebec's consent to the revised Canadian Constitution. This Accord impacted the Constitution in that it changed the formula to amending the Constitution by requiring consent of Parliament and the legislatures of the provinces. -
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord was an effort by the Canadian Prime Minister and all 10 Premiers to amend the Constitution
and specifically gain Quebec's support of the Constitution Act of 1982. Although the Accord ultimately failed, it had a huge impact on Canada in the future. One of the main aspects was the transition of federal jurisdicitions to the hands of each province, allowing provinces to operate more independantly. -
Charlottetown Accord *Continued
The significance of the Charlottetown Accord on the Constitution was that it was a Constitutional referendum, however it had the support of all 10 Provincial governments, meaning it could have been legally instituted as a Constitutional amendment. Despite this, the government learned from the production of the Meech Lake Accord in backrooms and created it as a national referendum for public scrutiny.
