1 / 27

The Canadian Constitution – Part 1

The Canadian Constitution – Part 1. Constitutions. What is a constitution?. It is a list of rules which govern the actions of any organization/country. Your student council has a constitution which stipulates the accepted rules of practice.

alder
Download Presentation

The Canadian Constitution – Part 1

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Canadian Constitution – Part 1

  2. Constitutions

  3. What is a constitution? • It is a list of rules which govern the actions of any organization/country. • Your student council has a constitution which stipulates the accepted rules of practice. • Nations have more complex constitutions but the purpose is the same.

  4. Characteristics of a Good Constitution • It is easily understood by those to whom it applies. • It is not ignored by those who are elected to power. • It can be changed easily but not too easily.

  5. Changing the Rules • A constitution written one hundred years ago cannot always meet modern needs. • Amending formulas must be written into a good constitution. • Amendments must meet the needs of most people in an organization or nation.

  6. National Constitutions • These are often complex and lengthy legal documents. • They may, however, be very simple. • Great Britain has an unwritten constitution. • Canada’s constitution is both written and unwritten.

  7. The History of Canada’s Constitution

  8. SOURCES OF THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION

  9. The 3 main sources of the Canadian Constitution Canada's constitution is based on the British model; the principles governing Canada are not codified in one single document, but can be found in: • Conventions; • Constitutional documents • Common/case law

  10. Conventions • Much of Canada’s constitution was unwritten and consisted of British parliamentary traditions and practices. • These were called conventions: unwritten rules followed primarily for reasons of tradition. • Provide the details of how our government operates • i.e. there is no formal written principle of responsible government which states that a non-confidence vote in Parliament must result in calling an election, but it is a CONVENTIONAL rule of parliamentary democracy to do so. • What does this mean? Look at the 2011 budget. • With the opposition parties prevent the federal government’s budget from passing through parliament, PM Harper was compelled, by convention, to ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call a federal election. He was not required to do so.

  11. Common Law • Judge-made or case law; • When clarification is required over a constitutional dispute, the courts clarify and interpret what the language of the Constitution means. • Allows the Constitution to adapt and reflect more recent views within Canada, because common law is not written in one document – it is flexible.

  12. Constitutional Documents • There are several early Canadian constitutional documents including The Proclamation of 1763 The Act of Union 1840 The British North America Act, 1867 The Quebec Act 1774 The Constitutional Act 1791 The Constitution Act, 1982

  13. Royal Proclamation 1763 • Made the common law of England applicable to all British-controlled territory in North America. • Established that the government (Crown) owned all non-privately held land and outlined the relationship between the Crown and Aboriginals – the Crown would control the land, the Aboriginals were allowed to use and occupy the it.

  14. Quebec Act of 1774 • Emphasize that English criminal law would be emphasized but allowed the use of the French Civil Code to regulate private matters, which is still in use in Quebec (instead of English common law) • French speakers could hold positions in public office • Impact: 3/9 Supreme Court Justices are appointed from Quebec because of their expertise and experience with the Quebec Civil Code.

  15. Constitutional Act 1791 • Divided Quebec into two parts, Upper and Lower Canada • Lower Canada = English Criminal Law and French Civil code • Upper Canada = English Criminal Law and English Common Law

  16. Constitutional Act cont’d… • All colonies of North America granted representative government • Only male property owners could vote • Frustration grew over the lack of power the elected officials had • One of major causes of rebellions of 1837 and 1838

  17. Act of Union 1840 • recommended that the two Canadas be united as one. • Under unification, both would be represented equally in the Senate and elected assembly • French was widely used in proceedings • Responsible government established – the executive was accountable to an elected legislature • Foundation for the current political model in Canada, with representation by population to be added later.

  18. Responsible Government • Executive branch of government is answerable to and must act on the decisions of the legislative branch.

  19. The British North America Act, 1867 • One of the most important early Canadian constitutional documents was the British North America Act 1867. • By this act the colonies of Canada (Ontario and Quebec) were united with the colonies of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. • Created the federation of Canada; • Main document in Canada's Constitution. • Stipulated that Canada would operate as a parliamentary democracy.

  20. BNA Act continued…. Made up of 147 sections divided into eight categories: 1.) Terms of Union 2.) Executive Power 3.) Legislative Power 4.) Judicial Power 5.) Revenue and Taxation 6.) Provincial Institutions 7.) Distribution of Legislative Power 8.) Admission of other colonies into Confederation

  21. The BNA Act did NOT… • Detail the roles of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet; • include an amending formula.

  22. The British North America Act 1867 • This act described the union and set out the rules by which it was to be governed. • The Fathers of Confederation who wrote this document were influenced by many factors including the American Civil War of 1860-1865. • They decided that a strong federal union was best for Canada. John A. MacDonald

  23. A Federal Union • This type of union provides for a sharing of power between a central government and the separate governments of individual provinces or states. • A strong federal union places more power in the hands of the central government than it grants to the provinces or states. • A legislative union which did not divide power was rejected as impractical. POWER

  24. A Federal Union One Central Government Ten Provincial Governments 8 1 9 10 7 2 6 3 4 5

  25. Legislative Unions • Legislative unions do not divide power between a central government and the provinces or states • Great Britain was established as a legislative union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

  26. Why a federal union for Canada? • Our closest neighbor, the United States, had a federal union. • Canada was a large nation with the potential to be much larger. • Canada had two founding peoples with two languages and two cultures. • A legislative union would not have been acceptable to the existing colonies.

  27. A Federal Union for Canada in 1867 Canada in 1867 Quebec Ontario Central Government (Ottawa) Nova Scotia New Brunswick

More Related