Canada Act

Canada Act, also called the Constitutional Act of 1982, which made Canada a fully sovereign state. The British Parliament approved it on Mar. 25, 1982, and Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed it on Apr. 17, 1982. When Quebec residents voted (May, 1980) in a referendum not to seek sovereignty, Prime Minister Trudeau moved to create an amended constitution. The final document, agreed upon in Nov., 1981, by the federal government and every province except Quebec, combines the British North America Act of 1867, subsequent amendments to that act by the British Parliament, and new material resulting from 18 months of intense negotiations between federal and provincial powers. It contains a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees 34 rights including religious freedom, minority language education, and cultural tolerance. The Charter contains a clause which allows many rights to be overridden in federal or provinical legislatures by a "notwithstanding clause." Other parts of the Act recognize native treaty rights, increase the power provinces have over their natural resources, and provide an amendment formula, which requires approval of two-thirds (seven) of the provinces and 50% of the country's population. Quebec's attempts to oppose the Canada Act ended in Dec., 1982, when its claim to constitutional veto was rejected by the Supreme Court of Canada. Negotiations with Quebec continued with the Meech Lake Accord, which failed in 1990, and with subsequent federal initiatives.

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Canada Act 1982

The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c. 11) is an Act of Parliament passed by the British Parliament that severed all remaining legislative dependence of Canada on the United Kingdom, in a process known as "patriation". It contains the text of the Constitution Act, 1982, in both of Canada's official languages, in Schedule B, and a translation of the main body into French in Schedule A, making it the first Act of Parliament from Great Britain since the middle ages to be passed in French.

History

Canada's road to political self government began with the British North America Act, 1867 (now called in Canada the "Constitution Act, 1867," although it is still often referred to by its British name, or simply the "BNA Act"). This act created the modern state of Canada by combining the Province of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a dominion within the British Empire. From this Canada adopted a Westminster style government with a Parliament. A Governor General fulfilled the constitutional duties of the British Sovereign on Canadian soil.

Despite this, the United Kingdom still had the power to legislate for Canada. The Statute of Westminster 1931 removed this power of the British Parliament for Canada, as well as the other British Dominions (Australia, the Irish Free State, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and the Dominion of Newfoundland), save where the Dominion consented to Imperial legislation. Also, the British North America (No. 2) Act 1949 was passed by the British Parliament, giving the Canadian Parliament significant constitutional amending powers. However, an Act of the British Parliament was still required to make some amendments in the Canadian constitution.

This delay in patriation of the Canadian constitution was due in large part to the lack of agreement over a mechanism for amending the constitution that would be acceptable to all of the provinces, particularly Quebec.

Enactment of the Act

The Canada Act was the last request of the Canadian government to amend the country's constitution. After unpromising negotiations with the provincial governments, Pierre Trudeau eventually came to hope that the federal Parliament could unilaterally patriate the constitution, but the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the Patriation Reference that a substantial level of consent from the provinces was needed according to constitutional conventions (though not in law). Trudeau succeeded in convincing nine provinces out of ten by adding the Notwithstanding Clause to limit the application of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Aside from some objections from British MPs who protested Canada's past mistreatment of Quebec and Aboriginal peoples (as recalled with frustration by Jean Chrétien in his memoirs Straight from the Heart), there was little opposition from the British government to passing the Act. Through section 2 of the Canada Act 1982, the United Kingdom ended its involvement in further amendments to the Canadian constitution.

Proclamation by the Queen of Canada

Whilst the Canada Act 1982 received Royal Assent on March 29, 1982 in London, it was not until the Queen came to Canada that the Constitution Act, 1982, its Canadian equivalent, was proclaimed by letters patent as a statutory instrument by the Queen during her presence in Canada.

The Constitution Act 1982 was signed into law by Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada on a rainy April 17, 1982 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Queen Elizabeth remains Queen and Head of State of Canada to this day. Her constitutional powers over Canada were not affected by the Act. Canada has full sovereignty over its realm and the Queen's role is separate from her role as the British monarch.