Entries Labeled: Long Read (115)

Late XIX Century History Note: for previous information about the Great Administration, click here. The law’s delay is proverbial. Compensatory legislation dragged its slow length along for years, and the loyalists who had suffered in their pocket saw session after session pass, and their […]

Alberta Act, 1905 (Formerly The Alberta Act, 1905) Main issues: Created the province of Alberta. This law created the administration and the government and designated Edmonton as its capitol. Allowed the province to abolish the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the North-west […]

Schedule of the Alberta Act, 1905 (Formerly The Alberta Act, 1905) Main issues: Created the province of Alberta. This law created the administration and the government and designated Edmonton as its capitol. Allowed the province to abolish the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of […]

Introduction The introduction of supply bills in the Parliament, once passed into legislation, become appropriation acts. An Appropriation Act begins as a Bill. The type of bills we deal with are called Supply Bills (money bills). Once a Bill has been tabled in Parliament and been granted […]

Concept of Auditor General Definition of Auditor General by Rand Dyck and Christopher Cochrane (in their book Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches) in the context of political science in Canada: The official of Parliament whose staff audits the expenditures of government departments and […]

Consequences of Canadian Autonomy Note: for more information about the consequences of Canadian Autonomy, click here. History Yet nothing was better calculated to rouse into wild agitation the quiescent feeling of French nationalism. The attempt of Durham and his successors to end, by […]

Consequences of Canadian Autonomy Note: for more information about the consequences of Canadian Autonomy, click here. History (I)n spite of the great change in French opinion wrought by Elgin’s acceptance of French ministers, there was a little band of French extremists, the Rouges, […]

(Order of Her Majesty in Council admitting British Columbia into the Union) At the Court at Windsor, the 16th day of May, 1871 PRESENT The QUEEN’S Most Excellent Majesty His Royal Highness Prince ARTHUR Lord Privy Seal Earl Cowper Earl of Kimberley Lord Chamberlain Mr. […]

Concept of Budget Definition of Budget by Rand Dyck and Christopher Cochrane (in their book Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches) in the context of political science in Canada: The annual financial statement of the government usually issued in the early spring by the minister of finance […]

Canadian Autonomy History Canadian Autonomy History in the XIX Century Note: for previous historical period, see the entry Canadian Autonomy History. In spite, then, of the present thoroughness of Grey’s conversion to the Canadian position with regard to Home Rule, there was for him still an […]

Canadian Autonomy History in the XIX Century Note: for posterior historical period, see the entry about Canadian Autonomy here. During these years, and until late in 1845, Lord Stanley presided at the Colonial Office. Naturally of an arrogant and unyielding temper, and with something of the […]

Introduction In 1982, one of the most important documents in Canadian history was born – The Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (French: La Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), in Canada often simply the Charter, is a bill of rights […]

Life and Work Between 1839 and 1854, four governors-general exercised authority over Canada, the Right Honourable Charles Poulett Thomson, later Lord Sydenham, Sir Charles Bagot, Charles, Lord Metcalfe, and the Earl of Elgin. Their statesmanship, their errors, the accidents which modified […]

Concept of Chief Electoral Officer Definition of Chief Electoral Officer by Rand Dyck and Christopher Cochrane (in their book Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches) in the context of political science in Canada: The independent and impartial official who is in charge of the operation of the […]

Clerk of the House of Commons in Canada CLERKS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS SINCE 1867 An Order-in-Council appointee by Letters Patent under the Great Seal, the Clerk has traditionally held office at pleasure. While many of the Clerk’s functions are defined in the Standing Orders and […]

Colonial Theory and Canada: History Powerful and suggestive as Wakefield’s mind was, he had, nevertheless, to own a master in colonial theory; for the most distinguished, and by far the clearest, view of the whole matter is contained in Charles Buller’s Responsible Government for the […]

Committee of the Whole House in Canada A Committee of the Whole is the entire membership of the House of Commons sitting as a committee.[1] Each time the House resolves itself into a Committee of the Whole to deliberate on a specific matter, a new committee is created. Once that committee […]

Confederation History in Canada The provision in the Act of Union whereby the two parts of the united province were to have equal representation in the Legislative Assembly was the rock on which the union split. It brought about in the government of united Canada a dualism or quasi-federalism […]

Duty to a client in relation to Conflicts of Interest Compiled by Eric B. Appleby: General principle For centuries it has been a well settled rule that no one can be an attorney for both sides even with the consent of the parties. In Masons’ Case (1672), 89 E.R. 55, an attorney was […]

History The most obvious and natural effect of Elgin’s concessions was a revolution in the programmes of the provincial parties, and in their relations to each other and to government. It may be remembered that all the governors of the period agreed in reprobating the factiousness and […]

Constitution of Canada Major Elements Documents The two main documents that form the trunk of the Canadian constitution are the Constitution Act of 1867 (see the entry) and the Constitution Act of 1982 (see the entry). These acts are rooted in English common law that evolved from the 12th […]

The Constitutional Act, 1791 An Act to repeal certain Parts of an Act, passed in the fourteenth Year of his Majesty’s Reign, intituled, An Act for making more effectual Provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec, in North America; and to make further Provision for the Government […]

Constitutional History of Canada There are four well-defined periods in the constitutional development of Canada. The first of these was the period of arbitrary government, covering the whole of the French régime and the first third of a century of British rule in Canada proper. The second […]

Definition of Contempt Contempt meaning or descrpition: any act that obstructs or hinders the court in the administration of justice, or that shows disrespect for the court; there must be an element of deliberation for an act to amount to contempt (Source of this concept of Contempt: […]

Command and Control Regulation in Canada The following is a definition of Command and Control Regulation : Regulations which specify, usually in detail, the regulatory requirements and a set of penalties for non-compliance. It is generally oriented toward input and behavioural requirements […]

Deputy Chairs of Committees of the Whole House since 1938 On February 11, 1938, the Standing Orders of the House were amended to provide for the appointment of a Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole. The tenure of this office is for a single session rather than for a Parliament. […]

Canadian Digests Case Law Digests Or Summaries Case digests and summaries constitute a useful resource for finding case law. Digests are organized alphabetically by subject and provide brief summaries of cases. They also provide citations to full-text versions of the cases. While many […]

The Dominion Elections Background The right to vote expanded gradually until the First World War and then the electorate doubled when women gained the franchise. By 1920, nearly all adults had the right to vote, although many individuals were still disenfranchised by administrative […]

The lawyer’s Duty to the Courts: Overview Compiled by Eric B. Appleby: The lawyer is an officer of the courts. A lawyer when acting for a client has “a prior and perpetual retainer on behalf of truth and justice; and there is no Crown or other licence which in any case, or for any party or […]

Election Administration and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms Elections Canada ushered in the era of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms with Jean-Marc Hamel as Chief Electoral Officer, who began the process of responding to the Charter’s rapidly burgeoning impact on the Canada […]

Introduction Canada became a country, the Dominion of Canada, in 1867. Before that, British North America was made up of a few provinces, the vast area of Rupert’s Land (privately owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company), and the North-Western Territory. By 1864, many leaders felt that it would be […]

Electoral Boundaries in Canada While section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867 sets out the formula for the allocation of seats in the […]

Boundary Redistribution For the democratic process to be truly representative, a system for maintaining the fair and balanced distribution of constituency boundaries is essential. The Fathers of Confederation addressed this requirement in the Constitution Act, 1867, by adopting the basic […]

Reforming Electoral Finance Before 1974, only the finances of candidates were regulated under electoral legislation, leaving all others free to promote the party or candidate of their choice to whatever extent they saw fit. In the opinion of the 1966 Committee on Election Expenses (Barbeau), […]

A dissolution of Parliament terminates all business in the Senate and in the House of Commons and is followed by a general election. Unless Parliament is dissolved earlier, the date of a general election is set in accordance with the provisions of the Canada Elections Act which stipulates […]

Concept Definition of Estimates by Rand Dyck and Christopher Cochrane (in their book Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches) in the context of political science in Canada: The annual spending plans of government departments and agencies for the following fiscal year. Estimates in the Supply […]

Definition of Executive Power by Rand Dyck and Christopher Cochrane (in their book Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches) in the context of political science in Canada: The power of the executive branch of government to administer public policies and enforce laws. The Executive In […]

Background No doubt the most significant influence on electoral law in the post-war years was the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which came into effect on April 17, 1982. Sections 2 to 5 of the Charter set out fundamental freedoms and democratic rights. Under […]

Evolution of the Federal Electoral System In 1867 the main milestone was: In the first general election after Confederation in 1867, only a small minority of the population, composed largely of male British subjects with real property of a certain value, can vote in a country that has […]

An old but interesting article about this subject was produced by Michael Nelson, Secretariat at the Treasury Board of Canada (Ottawa), titled Federal Information Policy: An Introduction, and published in Government Information in Canada/Information gouvernementale au Canada, Vol. 1, No. 3.1. […]

Legislation Online Resources Statutes and Regulations:Statutes and Regulations Senate and House Bills, Progress of Legislation and Coming into Force Information. Gazettes:Canada Gazette. Hansard:House of Commons Debates (searchable from 39th Parl.). Orders in Council:Orders […]

Classically understood as the “right to be left alone,” privacy in today’s high-tech world has taken on a multitude of dimensions. To experts in this area, privacy is equated with the right to enjoy private space, to conduct private communications, to be free from surveillance and to have the […]

Canadian Federalism According to Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College: Federalism is a system of government where two levels of government exist, each sovereign in its sphere of jurisdiction. The federal or central level takes care of all of those things that are common to the whole of […]

Delegated Regulations of the Financial Administration Act The following subordinate legislation were released under the authority of the Financial Administration Act. Statutory Instruments, including regulations, are concerned with highly specific legislative detail while enabling statutes, […]

Foreign Corruption Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act Bribing a foreign public official happens, according to this piece of legislation, […]

Forms of Bills in the Legislative Process The enactment of a statute by Parliament is the final step in a long process that starts with the proposal, preparation and drafting of a bill. The drafting of a bill is a vital stage in this process—one which challenges the decision makers and […]

Canada Elections Act Definition of Canada Elections Act by Rand Dyck and Christopher Cochrane (in their book Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches) in the context of political science in Canada: The act that governs all aspects of federal elections. GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS SINCE 1867 […]

The Governor-General Canadian Parliament Structure of parliament: The Governor-General The Constitution Act of 1867 essentially made Canada an independent nation, but stated the executive government of and over Canada is declared to continue to be vested in the Queen. Today, Queen Elizabeth […]

History Note: for information about the history of Administration, click here. On Metcalfe’s departure from Canada the administration passed into the hands of Lord Cathcart, commander-in-chief of the forces. He was one of the many fine soldiers who have had their part in the upbuilding of […]

Fathers of Confederation Title given to the parliamentarians of the United Province of Canada (Quebec and Ontario), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland that attended at least one of the three constitutional conferences held to hammer out the federal constitution […]