Canada
- Constitution Act 1982
School
Law
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
{ Adopted in: 1982 }
{ ICL Document Status: 14 April 1994 }
Part I Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
[Preamble]
Whereas Canada is founded upon the principles that recognize
the
supremacy of
God and the rule of law:
[Title 1] Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms
Section 1 [Limitation of Rights]
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the
rights and
freedoms
set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits
prescribed by law
as can
be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
[Title 2] Fundamental Freedoms
Section 2 [Freedom of Religion, Speech, Association]
Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression,
including
freedom of
the press and other means of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly and
(d) freedom of association.
[Title 3] Democratic Rights
Section 3 [Electoral Rights]
Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election
of members
of the
House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be
qualified for
membership therein.
Section 4 [Term Limits]
(1) No House of Commons and no legislative assembly shall
continue for
longer
than five years from the date fixed for the return of the
writs at a
general
election of its members.
(2) In time of real or apprehended war, invasion or
insurrection, a
House of
Commons may be continued by Parliament and a legislative
assembly may
be
continued by the legislature beyond five years if such
continuation is
not
opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the members of
the House
of
Commons or the legislative assembly, as the case may be.
Section 5 [Minimum Sessions]
There shall be a sitting of Parliament and of each legislature
at least
once
every twelve months.
[Title 4] Mobility Rights
Section 6 [Freedom to Move]
(1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in,
and
leave
Canada.
(2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the
status of a
permanent
resident of Canada has the right
(a) to move to and take up residence in an province; and
(b) to pursue the gaining of livelihood in any province.
(3) The rights specified in Subsection (2) are subject to
(a) any laws or practices of general application in force in a
province
other
than those that discriminate among persons primarily on the
basis of
present or
previous residence; and
(b) any laws providing for reasonable residency requirements
as a
qualification
for the receipt of publicly provided social services.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not preclude any law, program
or
activity that
has as its object the amelioration in a province of conditions
of
individuals
in that province who are socially or economically
disadvantaged if the
rate of
employment in that province is below the rate of employment in
Canada.
[Title 5] Legal Rights
Section 7 [Personal Integrity]
Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of the
person and
the
right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the
principles of
fundamental justice.
Section 8 [Search and Seizure]
Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable
search or
seizure.
Section 9 [Imprisonment]
Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or
imprisoned.
Section 10 [Arrest]
Everyone has the right on arrest or detention
(a) to be informed promptly of the reason therefor;
(b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be
informed of
that
right; and
(c) to have the validity of the detention determined by way of
habeas
corpus
and to be released if the detention is not lawful.
Section 11 [Fair Trial]
Any person charged with an offence has the right
(a) to be informed without unreasonable delay of the specific
offence;
(b) to be tried within a reasonable time;
(c) not to be compelled to be a witness in a proceedings
against that
person in
respect of the offence;
(d) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to
law in a
fair and
public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal;
(e) not to be denied reasonable bail without cause;
(f) except in the case of an offence under military law tried
before a
military
tribunal, to the benefit of trial by jury where the maximum
punishment
for the
offence is imprisonment for five years or a more severe
punishment;
(g) not to be found guilty on account of any act or omission
unless, at
the
time of the act or omission, it constituted an offence under
Canadian
or
International law or was criminal according to the general
principles
of law
recognized by the community of nations;
(h) if finally acquitted of the offence, not to be tried for
it again
and, if
finally found guilty and punished for the offence, not to be
tried or
punished
for it again; and
(i) if found guilty of the offence and if punishment for the
offence
has been
varied between the time of commission and the time of
sentencing, to
the
benefit of the lesser punishment.
Section 12 [No Cruel Punishment]
Everyone has the right not to be subjected to any cruel or
unusual
treatment or
punishment.
Section 13 [Right Against Self-Incrimination]
A witness who testifies in any proceedings has the right not
to have
any
incriminating evidence so given used to incriminate that
witness in any
other
proceedings, except in a prosecution for perjury or for the
giving of
contradictory evidence.
Section 14 [Right to Interpreter]
A party or witness in any proceedings who does not understand
or speak
the
language in which the proceedings are conducted or who is deaf
has the
right to
the assistance of an interpreter.
[Title 6] Equality Rights
Section 15 [General Equality, No Discrimination]
(1) Every individual is equal before the and under the law and
has the
right to
the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without
discrimination based
on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex,
age, or
mental or
physical disability.
(2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or
activity that
has as
its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged
individuals
or
groups including those that are disadvantaged because or race,
national
or
ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental or
physical
disability.
[Title 7] Official Languages of Canada
Section 16 [English, French]
(1) English and French are the official languages of Canada
and have
equal
rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of
the
Parliament and
government of Canada.
(2) English and French are the official languages of New
Brunswick and
have
equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to the
use in all
institutions of the legislature and government of New
Brunswick.
(3) Nothing in this Charter limits the authority of Parliament
of a
legislature
to advance the equality of status or use of English and
French.
Section 16.1 [New Brunswick]
(1) The English linguistic community and the French linguistic
community in New
Brunswick have equality of status and equal rights and
privileges,
including
the right to distinct educational institutions and such
distinct
cultural
institutions as are necessary for the preservation and
promotion of
those
communities.
(2) The role of the legislature and the government of New
Brunswick to
preserve
and promote the status, rights and privileges referred to in
Subsection
(1) is
affirmed.
Section 17 [Parliamentary Languages]
(1) Everyone has the right to use English or French in any
debates or
other
proceedings of Parliament.
(2) Everyone has the right to use English or French in any
debate and
other
proceeding of the legislature of New Brunswick.
Section 18 [Legislative Languages]
(1) The Statutes, records and journals of Parliament shall be
printed
and
published in English and French and both language
versions are equally authoritative.
(2) The Statutes, records and journals of New Brunswick shall
be
printed and
published in English and French and both language versions are
equally
authoritative.
Section 19 [Court Languages]
(1) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or
in any
pleading
in or process issuing from any court established by
Parliament.
(2) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or
in any
pleading
in or process issuing from any court of New Brunswick.
Section 20 [Administrative Languages]
(1) Any member of the public of Canada has the right to
communicate
with, and
to receive available services from, any head or central office
of an
institution of the Parliament or government of Canada in
English or
French, and
has the same right with respect to any other office of any
such
institution
where
(a) there is significant demand for communications with and
services
from that
office in such language; or
(b) due to the nature of the office, it is reasonable that
communications with
and services from that office be available in both English and
French.
(2) Any member of the public in New Brunswick has the right to
communicate
with, and to receive available services from, any office of an
institution of
the legislature or government of New Brunswick in English or
French.
Section 21 [Other Language Provisions]
Nothing in Sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates from any
right,
privilege,
or obligation with respect to the English and French
languages, or
either of
them, that exists or is continued by virtue of any other
provision of
the
Constitution of Canada.
Section 22 [Prior Language Rights]
Nothing in Sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates from any
legal or
customary
right or privilege acquired or enjoyed either before or after
the
coming into
force of this Charter with respect to any language that is not
English
or
French.
[Title 8] Minority Language Educational Rights
Section 23 [Educational Languages]
(1) Citizens of Canada
(a) whose first language learned and still understood is that
of the
English or
French linguistic minority population of the province in which
they
reside, or
(b) who have received their primary school instruction in
Canada in
English or
French and reside in a province where the language in which
they
received that
instruction is the language of the English or French
linguistic
minority
population of the province,
have the right to have their children receive primary and
secondary
school
instruction in that language in that province.
(2) Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or is
receiving
primary
or secondary school instruction in English or French in
Canada, have
the right
to have all their children receive primary and secondary
school
instruction in
the same language.
(3) The right of citizens of Canada under Subsections (1) and
(2)
to have their children receive primary and secondary school
instruction
in the
language of the English or French linguistic minority
population of a
province
(a) applies wherever in the province the number of children of
citizens
who
have such a right is sufficient to warrant the provision to
them out of
public
funds of minority language instruction; and
(b) includes, where the number of children so warrants, the
right to
have them
receive that instruction in minority language educational
facilities
provided
out of public funds.
Section 29 [School Privileges]
Nothing in this Charter abrogates or derogates from any rights
or
privileges
guaranteed by or under the Constitution of Canada in respect
of
denominational,
separate, or dissentient schools.
Section 30 A reference in this Charter to a
Province or to
the
legislative assembly or legislature of a province shall be
deemed to
include a
reference to the Yukon Territory and the Northwest
Territories, or to
the
appropriate legislative authority thereof, as the case may
be.
Section 31 Nothing in this Charter extends the
legislative
powers of any
body or authority.
Section
32 (1)
This Charter applies
a) to
the Parliament and government of Canada in respect of
all matters within the authority of Parliament including all
matters
relating
to the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories; and
b) to
the legislature and government of each province in
respect of all matters within the authority of the legislature
of each
province.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection
(1),
section 15
shall not have effect until three years after this section
comes into
force.
Section
33 (1)
Parliament or the legislature of a province may
expressly declare in an Act of Parliament or of the
legislature, as the
case
may be, that the Act or a
provision
thereof shall operate notwithstanding a provision included in
section
2 or sections 7 to 15 of this Charter.
(2) An Act or a provision of an Act in respect of which
a
declaration made
under this section is in effect shall have such operation as
it would
have but
the
provision of this Charter referred to in the
declaration.
(3) A declaration made under
subsection (1)
shall
cease to have effect five years after it comes into force or
on such
earlier
date as may be specified in the
declaration.
(4)
Parliament or the legislature of a province may re-enact a
declaration made
under subsection (1).
(5) Subsection (3) applies in
respect of a
re-enactment made under subsection (4).
Section 34 This Part may be cited as the Canadian
Charter
of
Rights and Freedoms.
CANADIAN
CONSTITUTION
Section 93. [Education]
http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1867.html
http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/
.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)
93A. Paragraphs (1) to (4) of section 93 do not apply to
Quebec. (50.1)
SUBSEQUENT
PROVINCIAL ACTS
Manitoba Act, 1870
http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ma_1870.html
22. In and for the Province, the said 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
or practice in the Province the Union:--
(2) An appeal shall lie to the Governor General in Council
from any Act
or
decision of the Legislature of the Province, or of any
Provincial
Authority,
affecting any right or privilege of the Protestant or Roman
Catholic
minority
the Queen's subjects in relation to Education:
(3) In case any such Provincial Law, as from time to time
seems to the
Governor
General in Council requisite for the due 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
only 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 he Governor General in Council under this
section.
Newfoundland Act 1949
http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/nfa.html
EDUCATION
17. (1) In lieu of section ninety-three of the Constitution
Act, 1867,
this
Term shall apply in respect of the Province of Newfoundland
and
Labrador:
(2) In and for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the
Legislature shall
have exclusive authority to make laws in relation to education
but
shall
provide for courses in religion that are not specific to a
religious
denomination.
(3) Religious observances shall be permitted in a school where
requested by
parents.
Alberta Act 1905
http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/aa_1905.html
17. Section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 shall apply to
the said
province,
with the substitution for paragraph (1) of the said section
93, of the
following paragraph:-
"(1) Nothing in any such law shall prejudicially affect any
right or
privilege with respect to separate schools which any class of
persons
have at
the date of the passing of this Act, under the terms of
chapters 29 and
30 of
the Ordinances of the North-west Territories, passed in the
year 1901,
or with
respect to religious instruction in any public or separate
school as
provided
for in the said ordinances."
(2) In the appropriation by the Legislature or distribution by
the
Government
of the province of any moneys for the support of schools
organized and
carried
on in accordance with the said chapter 29, or any Act passed
in
amendment be no
discrimination against schools of any class described in the
said
chapter 29.
(3) Where the expression "by law" is employed in paragraph (3)
of the
said section 93, it shall be held to mean the law as set out
in the
said
chapters 29 and 30; and where the expression "at the Union" is
employed, in the said paragraph (3), it shall be held to mean
the date
at which
this Act comes into force.
Saskatchewan Act 1905
http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/sa_1905.html
17. Section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 shall apply to
the said
province,
with the substitution for paragraph (1) of the said section
93, of the
following paragraph:-
"(1) Nothing in any such law shall prejudicially affect any
right or
privilege with respect to separate schools which any class of
persons
have at
the date of the passing of this Act, under the terms of
chapters 29 and
30 of
the Ordinances of the North-west Territories, passed in the
year 1901,
or with
respect to religious instruction in any public or separate
school as
provided
for in the said ordinances."
(2) In the appropriation by the Legislature or distribution by
the
Government
of the province of any moneys for the support of schools
organized and
carried
on in accordance with the said chapter 29, or any Act passed
in
amendment be no
discrimination against schools of any class described in the
said
chapter 29.
(3) Where the expression "by law" is employed in paragraph (3)
of the
said section 93, it shall be held to mean the law as set out
in the
said
chapters 29 and 30; and where the expression "at the Union" is
employed, in the said paragraph (3), it shall be held to mean
the date
at which
this Act comes into force.
(2) Term 17 of the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada
set out
in the
Schedule to the said Act is further amended by adding thereto
the
following:
Constitution Amendment, 1987 (Newfoundland Act) extended
education
rights to
the Pentecostal Church.
"(2) For the purposes of paragraph one of this Term, the
Pentecostal
Assemblies of Newfoundland have in Newfoundland all the same
rights and
privileges with respect to denominational schools or
denominational
colleges as
any other class or classes of persons by law in Newfoundland
at the
date of
Union, and the words "all such schools" in paragraph (a) of
paragraph
one of this Term and the words "all such colleges" in
paragraph (b)
of paragraph one of this Term include, respectively, the
schools and
the colleges
of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland."
Constitution Amendment, 1997 (Newfoundland Act).
http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/cap_1987.html
1. Term 17 of the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada
set out in
the
Schedule to the Newfoundland Act is repealed and the following
substituted
therefor:
"17. In lieu of section ninety-three of the Constitution Act,
1867, the
following shall apply in respect of the Province of
Newfoundland:
In and for the Province of Newfoundland, the Legislature shall
have
exclusive
authority to make laws in relation to education but
(a) except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c), schools
established,
maintained and operated with public funds shall be
denominational
schools, and
any class of persons having rights under this Term as it read
on
January 1,
1995 shall continue to have the right to provide for religious
education,
activities and observances for the children of that class in
those
schools, and
observances for the children of that class in those schools,
and the
group of
classes that formed one integrated school system by agreement
in 1969
may
exercise the same rights under this Term as a single class of
persons;
(b) subject to provincial legislation that is uniformly
applicable to
all
schools specifying conditions for the establishment or
continued
operation of
schools,
(i) any class of persons referred to in paragraph (a) shall
have the
right to
have a publicly funded denominational school established,
maintained
and
operated especially for that class, and
(ii) the Legislature may approve the establishment,
maintenance and
operation
of a publicly funded school, whether denominational or
non-denominational;
(c) where a school is established, maintained and operated
pursuant to
subparagraph
(b)(i), the class of persons referred to in that subparagraph
shall
continue to
have the right to provide for religious education, activities
and
observances
and to direct the teaching of aspects of curriculum affecting
religious
beliefs, student admission policy and the assignment and
dismissal of
teachers
in that school;
(d) all schools referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) shall
receive
their share
of public funds in accordance with scales determined on a
non-discriminatory
basis from time to time by the Legislature; and
(e) if the classes of persons having rights under this Term so
desire,
they
shall have the right to elect in total not less than two
thirds of the
members
of a school board, and any class so desiring shall have the
right to
elect the
portion of that total that is proportionate to the population
of that
class in
the area under the board's jurisdiction."
Constitution Amendment, 1997 (Quebec) permitted the province
to replace
the
denominational school boards with ones organized on linguistic
lines.
. The Constitution Act, 1867, is amended by adding,
immediately
after
section 93, the following: Quebec "93A. Paragraphs (1) to (4)
of
section
93 do not apply to Québec."
Constitution Amendment, 1998 (Newfoundland) allowed the
province to
abolish the
denominational school system.
http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/term17.html
[The following is substituted for Term 17 in the Terms of
Union between
Newfoundland and Canada:]
17. (1) In lieu of section ninety-three of the Constitution
Act, 1867,
this
section shall apply in respect of the Province of
Newfoundland.
(2) In and for the Province of Newfoundland, the Legislature
shall have
exclusive authority to make laws in relation to education, but
shall
provide
for courses in religion that are not specific to a religious
denomination.
(3) Religious observances shall be permitted in a school where
requested by
parents.
The Constitution Of Canada
http://www.nelson.com/nelson/polisci/constitution.html
THE CONSTITUTION OF CANADA
All laws, rules, and practices that structure the way the
Canadian
political
system runs add up to the "constitution" of Canada. The
Constitution
includes a great many statutes, orders-in-council, and
judicial
decisions that
interpret these documents. In addition, there are informal
rules,
called
constitutional conventions, that regulate how our political
actors
behave.
Finally, there are some traditions and customs that may not be
obligatory but
are followed.
The late Eugene Forsey briefly describe the workings of
parliamentary
government, which largely depend on informal, conventional
rules. This
is an
extract from one of his publications, How Canadians Govern
Themselves,
which is
also available on-line.
When most people refer to the Constitution, they may be
thinking of a
subset of
the rules that makes up the formal "Constitution of Canada."
Section
52(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 outlines what documents
are part of
the
formal Constitution. This is a special collection of rules,
declared to
be the
"supreme law of Canada," that takes precedence over any other
law.
The Constitution can only be changed according to the amending
formulas
set out
in Part V of the Constitution Act, 1982 (see below). More than
two
dozen
documents were included in the 1982 description of the
Constitution,
and since
then six new constitutional amendments have been added to the
list.
Peter Oliver has written an interesting article, " The 1982
Patriation
of
the Canadian Constitution - Reflections on Continuity and
Change," that
provides an overview analysis of the significance of, and the
events
surrounding, the Constitution Act, 1982.
CONSTITUTIONAL DOCUMENTS
For a comprehensive list of documents that relate to Canada's
Constitution—and
the full text of those documents—you should visit William F.
Maton's
collection
of constitutional documents and proposals. There you will find
the
"Constitution of Canada" documents, as well as other important
historical documents and constitutional proposals. The two
most
important constitutional
documents are:
The Constitution Act, 1867. This statute of the British
Parliament
created
Canada in 1867 and set out the division of powers between the
federal
and
provincial governments. Its original name was the British
North America
Act,
1867, but this was changed in 1982.
The Constitution Act, 1982. This act created for the first
time a set
of
amending procedures for the Constitution to be amended
entirely in
Canada.
Until 1982, many changes to the then British North America
Acts had to
be
carried out by the British Parliament. This act also includes
the
Charter of
Rights & Freedoms. The Constitution Act, 1982, was
actually created
as a
part of the Canada Act, 1982. The Canada Act ended any further
British
legislative authority over Canada.
Other documents that are of particular interest in Canada's
constitutional
development are:
The Royal Proclamation, 1763
The Quebec Act, 1774
The Constitutional Act, 1791
The Jay Treaty of 1794
Lord Durham's Report & Buller's Commentary (extract)
(1838)
The Union Act, 1840
The Reciprocity Treaty, 1854
Colonial Laws Validity Act, 1865
Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory Order (June 23,
1870)
Manitoba Act, 1870
British Columbia Terms of Union (May 16, 1871)
Constitution Act, 1871
The Numbered Indian Treaties (1871-1922)
Prince Edward Island Terms of Union (1873)
The Yukon Territory Act, 1898
Saskatchewan Act (1905)
Alberta Act (1905)
Statute of Westminster, 1931
1947 Letters Patent for a Canadian Governor General
Newfoundland Act (1949)
British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949
1960 Canadian Bill of Rights
The federal government has a useful set of documents relating
to the
Constitution and its renewal. One of the sites provides
background on
the
Constitution that may answer many questions. A detailed
history of
Canada's
constitutional evolution is also provided here.
Another interesting site, run by the National Library of
Canada, has a
collection of discussions about the pre-Confederation context
and
development
of Canada's Constitution.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
There are five amending processes laid out in Part V of the
Constitution Act,
1982. Since these amending formulas came into effect in 1982,
there
have been
nine formal amendments to the Constitution of Canada:
Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1983 dealt with
Aboriginal rights.
Constitution Act, 1985 (Representation) permitted future
changes to the
distribution of seats for Parliament to be done by ordinary
statute.
Constitution Amendment, 1987 (Newfoundland Act) extended
education
rights to
the Pentecostal Church.
Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1993 (New Brunswick Act)
made
English and
French both official languages in New Brunswick.
Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1993 (Prince Edward
Island)
cleared the
way for the "fixed link" bridge to replace ferry services to
P.E.I.
Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1997 (Newfoundland Act)
allowed
the
Province of Newfoundland to create a secular school system to
replace
the
church-based education system.
Constitution Amendment, 1997 (Quebec) permitted the province
to replace
the
denominational school boards with ones organized on linguistic
lines.
Constitution Amendment, 1998 (Newfoundland) allowed the
province to
abolish the
denominational school system.
Constitution Act, 1999 (Nunavut) provides for representation
in the
House of
Commons and the Senate for the Nunavut Territory.
Regional Vetoes
The federal government enacted legislation in 1996 that
effectively
places a
new amending process on top of the "7 & 50" formula of
s.38 of
the Constitution Act, 1982, with a statutory requirement that
the
federal
government can only introduce constitutional amendments that
have broad
regional support. In effect, this has created a system of
regional
vetoes to
amendments under s.38. You can read the details in the
Constitutional
Amendments Act.
There are serious issues with the desirability and
constitutionality of
the
regional veto formula. For a flavour of this debate, see the
evidence
of
witnesses who appeared before the Special Senate Committee
that
examined the
Bill (C-110).
Proposed Amendments
A number of proposals for major changes to the Constitution
have been
made over
the years, without success. Several comprehensive packages
have come
close, having
initial agreement among the first ministers, but failed to get
enough
sustained
support to be made into law.
The first ministers have agreed on two other sets of proposed
amendments, but
they failed to pass:
The Meech Lake Accord was originally agreed to by all ten
premiers and
the
Prime Minister of Canada in 1987, and again in 1990. But this
measure
failed to
gain approval of all the legislatures.
The Charlottetown Accord, negotiated in 1992 with unanimous
agreement
among the
first ministers, also failed to become law. It is available in
two
versions
on-line: the plain-English Consensus Report and the legal
text.
The Charlottetown Accord was defeated in two referendums held
simultaneously:
one was organized by the Quebec government in Quebec, while
the federal
government organized the referendum in the rest of Canada.
The results of the 1995 Quebec Sovereignty Referendum are
available
on-line.
With the precedent of the 1992 referendum, many believe that a
future
package
of constitutional amendments could not be passed without
popular
approval
through another referendum. Indeed, both Alberta and British
Columbia
have
legislation that requires the holding of a referendum in those
provinces on
constitutional amendments. In the case of Alberta, the
referendum must
be held
before a vote is held in the legislature on the resolution to
amend the
Constitution. The B.C. government has to put any proposed
amendment to
a
referendum even before introducing a motion in the
legislature.
For details, see Alberta's Constitutional Referendum Act and
B.C.'s
Constitutional Amendment Approval Act.
A number of citizens' groups have emerged since the Meech Lake
negotiations to
demand that future constitutional renewal not be left to the
first
ministers
alone. They suggest that a constituent assembly (sometimes
called a
citizens'
forum or constitutional convention) be created with
representation from
various
groups in Canadian society. For information on this idea,
connect to: