Constitution of Canada
[2] Its contents are an amalgamation of various codified acts, treaties between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples (both historical and modern), uncodified traditions and conventions.
[10] The Treaty of Paris of 1783 ended the American War of Independence and sent a wave of British loyalist refugees northward to Quebec and Nova Scotia.
[12] Title to the Northwest Territories was transferred by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1870, out of which the province of Manitoba (the first to be established by the Parliament of Canada) was created.
[13] Although listed, Newfoundland never ratified the statute so was still subject to imperial authority when its entire system of government and economy collapsed in the mid-1930s.
In the interim, the British parliament periodically passed constitutional amendments when requested by the government of Canada.
In a formal ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed the Constitution Act, 1982 into law on April 17, 1982.
Previously, the Canadian constitution could be formally amended by an act of the British parliament, or by informal agreement between the federal and provincial governments, or even simply by adoption as the custom of an oral convention or performance that shows precedential but unwritten tradition.
In recent years, the 1867 document has mainly served as the basis on which the division of powers between the provinces and the federal government is analyzed.
Endorsed by all provincial governments except that of Quebec, this was the formal Act of Parliament that effected Canada's full legislative independence from the United Kingdom.
The Charter is the constitutional guarantee of the civil rights and liberties of every citizen in Canada, such as freedom of expression, of religion, and of mobility.
The general formula set out in section 38(1), known as the "7/50 formula," requires: (a) assent from both the House of Commons and the Senate; (b) the approval of two-thirds of the provincial legislatures (at least seven provinces) representing at least 50 per cent of the population of the provinces (effectively, this would include at least Quebec or Ontario, as they contain more than half of the population of Canada).
This formula specifically applies to amendments related to the proportionate representation in Parliament, powers, selection, and composition of the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the addition of provinces or territories.
Canada's constitution has roots going back to the thirteenth century, including England's Magna Carta and the first English Parliament of 1275.
It embraces the entire global system of rules and principles which govern the exercise of constitutional authority.
Governmental structure of the original four provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario) is described in Part V of the Constitution Act, 1867.
For example, laws preventing discrimination in employment, housing, and services have clauses making them quasi-constitutional in ten of thirteen jurisdictions.
[35] A small number of statutes within provincial constitutions cannot be amended by a simple majority of the legislative assembly, despite section 45.
[36] Courts have not yet ruled about whether this kind of language really would bind future legislatures, but it might do so if the higher bar was met when creating the law.
Greyson was charged with public mischief and sentenced to 89 days in jail, 100 hours of community work, and two years of probation.
[40] A grapefruit-sized stain remains on the original document; restoration specialists opted to leave most of the paint intact, fearing that removal attempts would only cause further damage.
