BRITISH NORTH AMERICA (No. 1) ACT, 1949 12-13 GEORGE VI, CHAPTER 22 An Act to confirm and give effect to Terms of Union agreed between Canada and Newfoundland (1) [23rd March, 1949.] WHEREAS by means of a referendum the people of Newfoundland have by a majority signified their wish to enter into confederation with Canada; AND WHEREAS the Agreement containing Terms of Union between Canada and Newfoundland set out in the Schedule to this Act has been duly approved by the Parliament of Canada and by the Government of Newfoundland; AND WHEREAS Canada has requested, and consented to, the enactment of an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to confirm and give effect to the said Agreement, and the Senate (1) Here again the Act of the United-Kingdom was passed following a resolution of the House of Commons and the Senate. On Monday, February 14, 1949, Mr. St. Laurent moved: "That whereas by a memorandum of agreement entered into on the eleventh day of December, 1948, between Canada and Newfoundland, the terms of union of Newfoundland with Canada were agreed to, subject to approval by the parliament of Canada and the government of Newfoundland; And whereas the terms of union provide that they shall come into force immediately before the expiration of the thirty-first day of March, 1949, if His Majesty has theretofore given his assent to an Act of the parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland confirming the same; And whereas the terms of union have been approved by the parliament of Canada; A humble address be presented to His Majesty the King in the following words: The Prime Minister's motion also contained the wording itself of the Act which the Imperial Parliament was asked to pass. Mr. Drew, seconded by Mr. Graydon, moved that the motion be amended by deleting the words: "A humble address be presented to His Majesty the King in the following words": and substituting therefor: "And whereas it is desirable that the government of Canada should consult with the governments of the several provinces in respect to the said matter; Now therefore be it resolved, that the government of Canada be required to consult at once the governments of the several provinces and that upon a satisfactory conclusion of such consultations 'a humble address be presented to His Majesty in the following words':—" The following day Mr. LaCroix seconded by Mr. Pouliot, moved that the words "after they will have given their consent" be substituted for the words "upon a satisfactory conclusion of such consultation" in the last paragraph of the amendment. The sub-amendment and the amendment having both been defeated the main motion was carried on the 16th of February by 140 yeas as against 74 nays. Confirma- Repeal of 24-25, Geo. 5, c. 2. Short title and citation. and House of Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled have submitted an address to His Majesty praying that His Majesty may graciously be pleased to cause a Bill to be laid before the Parliament of the United Kingdom for that purpose: Be it therefore enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1. The Agreement containing Terms of Union between Canada and Newfoundland set out in the Schedule to this Act is hereby confirmed and shall have the force of law notwithstanding anything in the British North America Acts, 1867 to 1946. 2. In accordance with the preceding section the provisions of the Newfoundland Act, 1933, other than section three thereof (which relates to guarantee of certain securities of Newfoundland) shall be repealed as from the coming into force of the said Terms of Union. 3. This Act may be cited as the British North America Act, 1949, and the British North America Acts, 1867 to 1946, and this Act may be cited together as the British North America Acts, 1867 to 1949. SCHEDULE (2) (2) The Schedule to this Act, that is the B.N.A. Act, 1949, is omitted here but may be found as the Schedule to c. 1 of the Statutes of Canada 1949. Infra in Part V. BRITISH NORTH AMERICA (No. 2) ACT, 1949 13 GEORGE VI, CHAPTER 81 An Act to amend The British North America Act, 1867, as respects the amendment of the Constitution of Canada (1) [16th December, 1949.] WHEREAS the Senate and the House of Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled have submitted an Address to His Majesty praying that His Majesty may graciously be pleased to cause a measure to be laid before the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the enactment of the provisions hereinafter set forth: Be it therefore enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: (1) The address moved by Mr. St-Laurent, on the 17th October 1949, prayed His Majesty to cause a measure to be laid before the Parliament of the United Kingdom inserting in section 1 the following: "1. The amendment from time to time of the constitution of Canada, except as regards matters coming within the classes of subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the legislatures of the provinces, or as regards rights or privileges by this or any other constitutional Act granted or secured to the legisature or the government of a province, or to any class of persons with respect to schools or as regards the use of the English or the French language." To the motion that an humble address be presented to His Majesty, etc., Mr. Drew moved, seconded by Mr. Diefenbaker: "That the said proposed resolution be amended by striking out all the words after the first word "that" and substituting therefor the following: "That His Excellency the Governor General in Council be requested to convoke as soon as may be possible a constitutional convention of representatives of the dominion and provincial governments to devise a method of amending within Canada the constitution of Canada, and of safeguarding minority rights; so that such method may become the subject later of an humble address, when adopted, to His Majesty the King praying an amendment of the British North America Act, 1867, accordingly." The Speaker of the House, Mr. Ross Macdonald, declared the amendment out of order from the fact that it was so different, in substance and effect, from the main motion as to require its introduction as a distinct motion after notice. The following day, that is on the 18th October, Mr. Knowles moved, seconded by Mr. Wright: "That the resolution be amended by inserting therein, immediately after the word "Language," in the fourth last line thereof, the following words: "or as regards the requirement of section twenty of this Act that there shall be a session of the parliament of Canada at least once each year, or as regards the requirement of section fifty of this Act that no House of Commons shall continue for more than five years." Amend ment as to legislative authority of Parliament of Canada. 30-31 Vict., c. 3. Short title and citation. 1. Section ninety-one of the British North America Act, 1867 is hereby amended by renumbering Class 1 thereof as Class 1A and by inserting therein immediately before that Class the following as Class 1: "1. The amendment from time to time of the Constitution of Canada, except as regards matters coming within the classes of subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of the provinces, or as regards rights or privileges by this or any other Constitutional Act granted or secured to the Legislature or the Government of a province, or to any class of persons with respect to schools or as regards the use of the English or the French language or as regards the requirements that there shall be a session of the Parliament of Canada at least once each year, and that no House of Commons shall continue for more than five years from the day of the return of the Writs for choosing the House; provided, however, that a House of Commons may in time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection be continued by the Parliament of Canada if such continuation is not opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the members of such House." 2. This Act may be cited as The British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949, and shall be included among the Acts which may be cited as The British North America Acts, 1867 to 1949. Subsequently, Mr. Garson, the minister of Justice, moved the following sub-amendment: "That the amendment proposed to the resolution be amended by striking out the words "requirement of section 20 of this Act" and substituting therefor the word "requirements" and by striking out the words "or as regards the requirement of section 50 of this Act" and substituting therefor the word "and", and by adding at the end of the proposed amendment after the words "five years" the following words: "from the day of the return of the writs for choosing the house; provided, however, that a House of Commons may in time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection be continued by the parliament of Canada if such continuation is not opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the members of such house." On the 27th October, the House divided on the amendment of Mr. Knowles as amended and it was agreed to on the following division: Yeas, 147; Nays, 27. A second amendment, moved by Mr. Donald M. Fleming was negatived on the following division: Yeas, 38; Nays, 137. The same day again, the main motion, as amended, was carried by 133 yeas against 38 nays. The opportunity of this amendment was debated at length by the provincial premiers at the Federal-Provincial Conferences (which were held in 1950, the 10th, 11th and 12th of January at Ottawa, and the 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th of September at Quebec). Certain provinces objected to the right that had been granted to the Federal Government to amend its own Constitution, since the provinces had not been consulted for this amendment to the B.N.A. Act 1867. The answer of the Prime Minister was that the Federal Parliament was granted only the same right which the provinces already had and, furthermore, that this Act could be repealed when an agreement had been entered into between the federal authorities and the provinces on the subject of the manner of amending the constitution in future. BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT, 1951 (1) 14-15 GEORGE VI, CHAPTER 32 An Act to amend the British North America Act, 1867 [31st May, 1951.] WHEREAS the Senate and House of Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled have submitted an address to His Majesty praying that His Majesty may graciously be pleased to cause a measure to be laid before the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the enactment of the provisions hereinafter set forth: Be it therefore enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1. The British North America Act, 1867, is amended by adding thereto immediately after section ninety-four thereof the following heading and section: "Old Age Pensions 94A. It is hereby declared that the Parliament of Canada may from time to time make laws in relation to old age pensions in Canada, but no law made by the Parliament of Canada in relation to old age pensions shall affect the operation of any law present or future of a Provincial Legislature in relation to old age pensions." 2. This Act may be cited as the British North America Act, 1951, and the British North America Acts, 1867 to 1949, and this Act may be cited together as the British North America Acts, 1867 to 1951. Amendment as to legislation respecting old age pensions 30-31 Vict., c. 3. Short title and citation. (1) The procedure followed in relation to this amendment was as follows: The Parliament of the United-Kingdom passed the Act in consequence of an address of the Senate and House of Commons. The Address was moved and adopted in the House of Commons on the 7th of May 1951 and in the Senate on the next day. The provinces had been consulted and not only had they agreed to the amendment but they had approved the wording of the new sections. It had been thought preferable to write a new section rather than simply insert a new item in the federal powers enumerated in section 91. |