The British North America Act 1867
A convergence of internal and external factors
convinced colonial and imperial political leaders that a union of
British North American colonies was desirable: in the Province of
Canada, politicans were seeking a solution to political inertia,
financial difficulties, and the expected loss of American markets;
in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, pro-union politicians equated
confederation with railway-based economic expansion and, like the
Canadians, saw the proposed plan as a logical response to possible
armed attack by war-mongering Northern soldiers or Empire-hating
Fenians; in Great Britain, government officials looked to the day
when they no longer had international responsibilities in the
northern half of the North American continent. Despite concerted
opposition, particularly in the Maritimes, the British Parliament
passed the British North America Act (renamed the Constitution Act,
1867, in 1982) on 8 March 1867, an act joining together the Province
of Canada (to be reconstituted as the provinces of Ontario and
Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick on 1 July 1867, and creating
a federal system of government with designated national (section 91)
and provincial (section 92) powers.
Statutes of the United Kingdom, 30-31
Victoria, Chap. 3
Assented to 29 March 1867 [Source: Statutes of Canada, 1867.]
An Act for the Union of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick, and the Government thereof; and for Purposes connected
therewith.
(29th March, 1867.)
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:
I. -- PRELIMINARY.
1. This Act may be cited as The British North
America Act, 1867.
2. The Provisions of this Act referring to
Her Majesty the Queen extend also to the Heirs and Successors of Her
Majesty, Kings and Queens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland.
II. -- UNION.
3. 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 a Day therein appointed,
not being more than Six Months 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.
4. The subsequent Provisions of this Act
shall, unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, commence and
have effect on and after the Union, that is to say, on and after the
Day appointed for the Union taking effect in the Queen's
Proclamation; and in the same Provisions, unless it is otherwise
expressed or implied, the Name Canada shall be taken to mean Canada
as constituted under this Act.
5. Canada shall be divided into Four
Provinces, named Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
6. The Parts of the Province of Canada (as it
exists at the passing of this Act) which formerly constituted
respectively the Provinces 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.
7. The Provinces of Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick shall have the same Limits as at the passing of this Act.
8. 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 in every Tenth Year thereafter,
the respective Populations of the Four Provinces shall be
distinguished.
III. -- EXECUTIVE POWER.
9. The Executive Government and Authority of
and over Canada is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the
Queen.
10. The Provisions of this Act referring to
the Governor General extend and apply to the Governor General for
the Time being of Canada, or otherwise 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.
11. 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.
12. 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 Members thereof, or by the Governor
General 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 Parliament of
Canada.
13. 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.
14. It shall be lawful for the Queen, if Her
Majesty thinks fit, to authorize the Governor General from Time to
Time to 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.
15. 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.
16. Until the Queen otherwise directs, the
Seat of Government of Canada shall be Ottawa.
IV. -- LEGISLATIVE POWER.
17. There shall be One Parliament for Canada,
consisting of the Queen, an Upper House styled the Senate, and the
House of Commons.
18. 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.(8)
19. The Parliament of Canada shall be called
together not later than Six Months after the Union.(9)
20. Repealed.(10)
The Senate.
21. The Senate shall, subject to the
Provisions of this Act consist of One Hundred and four Members, who
shall be styled Senators.(11)
22. In relation to the Constitution of the
Senate Canada shall be deemed to consist of Four Divisions: --
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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 Divisions of Lower Canada specified in
Schedule A. to Chapter One of the Consolidated Statutes of
Canada.(12)
23. The Qualifications of a Senator shall be
as follows:
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(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.(13) |
24. 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.
25. Repealed.(14)
26. 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.(15)
27. 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.(16)
28. The Number of Senators shall not at any
Time exceed One Hundred and twelve.(17)
29. (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.(18)
30. 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.
31. The Place of a Senator shall become
vacant in any of the following Cases:
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(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. |
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. 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.
The House of Commons.
37. 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.(20)
38. 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.
39. A Senator shall not be capable of being
elected or of sitting or voting as a Member of the House of Commons.
40. 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.
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.
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 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, including the City and County of St. John,
shall be an Electroal 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.
41. 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.(22)
42. Repealed.(23)
43. Repealed.(24)
44. 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.
45. 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.
46. The Speaker shall preside at all Meetings
of the House of Commons.
47. 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.(25)
48. 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.
49. 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.
50. 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.(26)
51. (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:
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1. There shall be 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.(27) |
(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.(28)
51A. 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.(29)
52. 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.
Money Votes; Royal Assent.
53. Bills for appropriating any Part of the
Public Revenue, or for imposing any Tax or Impost, shall originate
in the House of Commons.
54. 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.
55. 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.
56. 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.
57. 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.
V. -- PROVINCIAL CONSTITUTIONS.
Executive Power.
58. 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.
59. 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.
60. The Salaries of the Lieutenant Governors
shall be fixed and provided for by the Parliament of Canada.(30)
61. 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.
62. 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.
63. 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.(31)
64. 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.(32)
65. 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, 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.(33)
66. 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 of the Executive Council thereof.
67. 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.
68. 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.
Legislative Power.
1. -- ONTARIO.
69. There shall be a Legislature for Ontario
consisting of the Lieutenant Governor and of One House, styled the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
70. 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.(34)
2. -- QUEBEC.
71. 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.(35)
72. 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.
73. The Qualifications of the Legislative
Councillors of Quebec shall be the same as those of the Senators for
Quebec.
74. The Place of a Legislative Councillor of
Quebec shall become vacant in the Cases, mutatis mutandis, in which
the Place of Senator becomes vacant.
75. 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.
76. 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.
77. 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.
78. 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.
79. 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.
80. 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.(36)
3. -- ONTARIO AND QUEBEC.
81. Repealed.(37)
82. 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.
83. 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.(38)
84. 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.(39)
85. 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.(40)
86. 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.(41)
87. 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.
4. -- NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWICK.
88. 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.(42)
89. Repealed.(43)
6. -- THE FOUR PROVINCES.
90. 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.
VI. -- DISTRIBUTION OF LEGISLATIVE POWERS.
91. It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and
with the Advice and Consent of the Senate and House of Commons, to
make laws for 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. Repealed.(44)
1A. The Public Debt and Property.(45)
2. The Regulation of Trade and Commerce.
2A. Unemployment insurance.(46)
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.(47)
Exclusive Powers of Provincial Legislatures.
92. 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. Repealed.(48)
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.
Non-Renewable Natural Resources, Forestry
Resources and Electrical Energy.
92A. (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.(49)
Education.
93. 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.(50)
Uniformity of Laws in Ontario, Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick.
94. 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.
Old Age Pensions.
94A. 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.(51)
Agriculture and Immigration.
95. 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.
VII. -- JUDICATURE.
96. 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.
97. 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.
98. The Judges of the Courts of Quebec shall
be selected from the Bar of that Province.
99. (1) Subject to subsection two of this
section, 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.(52)
100. 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.(53)
101. 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.(54)
VIII. -- REVENUES; DEBTS; ASSETS; TAXATION.
102. 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.
103. 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.
104. 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.
105. 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.(55)
106. 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.
107. 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.
108. The Public Works and Property of each
Province, enumerated in the Third Schedule to this Act, shall be the
Property of Canada.
109. 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.(56)
110. All Assets connected with such Portions
of the Public Debt of each Province as are assumed by that Province
shall belong to that Province.
111. Canada shall be liable for the Debts and
Liabilities of each Province existing at the Union.
112. 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.
113. 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.
114. 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.(57)
115. 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.
116. 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.
117. 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.
118. Repealed.(58)
119. 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.(59)
120. 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.
121. 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.
122. 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.(60)
123. 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.(61)
124. 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.(62)
125. No Lands or Property belonging to Canada
or any Province shall be liable to Taxation.
126. 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.
IX. -- MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
General.
127. Repealed.(63)
128. 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.
129. 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.(64)
130. 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.(65)
131. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise
provides, the Governor General in Council may from Time to Time such
Officers as the Governor General in Council deems necessary for the
Effectual Execution of this Act.
132. 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.
133. 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.(66)
Ontario and Quebec.
134. 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.(67)
135. 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.(68)
136. Until altered by 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.
137. 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.
138. 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.
139. 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.(69)
140. 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.(70)
141. 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.(71)
142. 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.(72)
143. 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.(73)
144. 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.
145. Repealed.(74)
XI. -- ADMISSION OF OTHER COLONIES.
146. 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.(75)
147. 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.(76)
SCHEDULES
THE FIRST SCHEDULE.(77)
Electoral Districts of Ontario.
A.
EXISTING ELECTORAL DIVISIONS.
COUNTIES.
1. Prescott.
2. Glengarry.
3. Stormont.
4. Dundas.
5. Russell.
6. Carleton.
7. Prince Edward.
8. Halton.
9. Essex.
RIDINGS OF COUNTIES.
10. North Riding of Lanark.
11. South Riding of Lanark.
12. North Riding of Leeds and North Riding of Grenville.
13. South Riding of Leeds.
14. South Riding of Grenville.
15. East Riding of Northumberland.
16. West Riding of Northumberland (excepting therefrom the
Township of South Monaghan).
17. East Riding of Durham.
18. West Riding of Durham.
19. North Riding of Ontario.
20. South Riding of Ontario.
21. East Riding of York.
22. West Riding of York.
23. North Riding of York.
24. North Riding of Wentworth.
25. South Riding of Wentworth.
26. East Riding of Elgin.
27. West Riding of Elgin.
28. North Riding of Waterloo.
29. South Riding of Waterloo.
30. North Riding of Brant.
31. South Riding of Brant.
32. North Riding of Oxford.
33. South Riding of Oxford.
34. East Riding of Middlesex.
CITIES, PARTS OF CITIES, AND TOWNS.
35. West Toronto.
36. East Toronto.
37. Hamilton.
38. Ottawa.
39. Kingston.
40. London.
41. Town of Brockville, with the Township of Elizabethtown
thereto attached.
42. Town of Niagara, with the Township of Niagara thereto
attached.
43. Town of Cornwall, with the Township of Cornwall thereto
attached.
B.
NEW ELECTORAL DISTRICTS.
44. The Provisional Judicial District of ALGOMA.
The County of BRUCE, divided into Two Ridings, to be
called respectively the North and South Ridings: --
45. The North Riding of Bruce to consist of the
Townships of Bury, Lindsay, Eastnor, Albermarle, Amable, Arran,
Bruce, Elderslie, and Saugeen, and the Village of Southampton.
46. The South Riding of Bruce to consist of the
Townships of Kincardine (including the Village of Kincardine),
Greenock, Brant, Huron, Kinloss, Culross, and Carrick.
The County of HURON, divided into Two Ridings, to be
called respectively the North and South Ridings: --
47. The North Riding to consist of the Townships
of Ashfield, Wawanosh, Turnberry, Howick, Morris, Grey,
Colborne, Hullett, including the Village of Clinton, and
McKillop.
48. The South Riding to consist of the Town of
Goderich and the Townships of Goderich, Tuckersmith, Stanley,
Hay, Usborne, and Stephen.
The County of MIDDLESEX, divided into Three Ridings,
to be called respectively the North, West, and East Ridings: --
49. The North Riding to consist of the Townships
of McGillivray and Biddulph (taken from the County of Huron),
and Williams East, Williams West, Adelaide, and Lobo.
50. The West Riding to consist of the Townships
of Delaware, Carradoc, Metcalfe, Mosa and Ekfrid, and the
Village of Strathroy.
[The East Riding to consist of the Townships now
embraced therein, and be bounded as it is at present.]
51. The County of LAMBTON to consist of the
Townships of Bosanquet, Warwick, Plympton, Sarnia, Moore,
Enniskillen, and Brooke, and the Town of Sarnia.
52. The County of KENT to consist of the
Townships of Chatham, Dover, East Tilbury, Romney, Raleigh, and
Harwich, and the town of Chatham.
53. The County of BOTHWELL to consist of the
Townships of Sombra, Dawn, and Euphemia (taken from the County
of Lambton), and the Townships of Zone, Camden with the Gore
thereof, Orford, and Howard (taken from the County of Kent).
The County of GREY, divided into Two Ridings, to be
called respectively the South and North Ridings: --
54. The South Riding to consist of the Townships
of Bentinck, Glenelg, Artemesia, Osprey, Normanby, Egremont,
Proton, and Melancthon.
55. The North Riding to consist of the Townships
of Collingwood, Fuphrasia, Holland, Saint-Vincent, Sydenham,
Sullivan, Derby, and Keppel, Sarawak and Brooke, and the Town of
Owen Sound.
The County of PERTH, divided into Two Ridings, to be
called respectively the South and North Ridings: --
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