Section 69 of the Constitution Act, 1867

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Proclamation bringing the Constitution Act into force, July 1, 1867 Proclamation Canadian Confederation.jpg
Proclamation bringing the Constitution Act into force, July 1, 1867

Section 69 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (French : article 69 de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1867) is a provision of the Constitution of Canada creating the Legislature of the province of Ontario, which did not exist prior to 1867. The Constitution Act, 1867 created Ontario, including the institutions of the new provincial government, such as the Legislature.

Contents

The Constitution Act, 1867 is the constitutional statute which established Canada. Originally named the British North America Act, 1867 , the Act continues to be the foundational statute for the Constitution of Canada, although it has been amended many times since 1867. It is now recognised as part of the supreme law of Canada.

Constitution Act, 1867

The Constitution Act, 1867 is part of the Constitution of Canada and thus part of the supreme law of Canada. [1] It was the product of extensive negotiations by the governments of the British North American provinces in the 1860s. [2] [3] The Act sets out the basic constitutional structure of Canada, including creating the federal government and defining the powers of the federal government and the provinces. Originally enacted in 1867 by the British Parliament under the name the British North America Act, 1867, [4] in 1982 the Act was brought under full Canadian control through the Patriation of the Constitution, and was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867 . [5] Since Patriation the Act can only be amended in Canada, under the amending formula set out in the Constitution Act, 1982 . [6]

Text of section 69

Section 69 reads:

Legislature for Ontario
69. There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting of the Lieutenant Governor and of One House, styled the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. [7]

Section 69 is found in Part V of the Constitution Act, 1867, dealing with provincial constitutions. It has not been amended since the Act was enacted in 1867.

Purpose and interpretation

The province of Ontario did not exist prior to 1867. From 1841 to Confederation in 1867, what are now the provinces of Ontario and Quebec formed the single Province of Canada. Section 6 of the Act split the Province of Canada into the two new and separate provinces. The Constitution Act, 1867 therefore had to create the government institutions for the two new provinces. [8] : 119 

Section 69 of the Act created the Legislature of Ontario as a unicameral legislature, consisting of the elected Legislative Assembly and the appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the representative of the Crown. The Assembly originally had 82 seats, the same as the new federal House of Commons. The Legislative Assembly also used the same electoral map as the House of Commons, set out in the First Schedule of the Act.

The unicameral legislature was the first in British North America. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald explained that it was sufficient to have a unicameral legislature for what he considered to be a "subordinate Legislature", in the nature of a municipal body. [8] : 119  However, the courts have held that the provincial legislatures do not act as delegates of the federal Parliament. Instead, the provinces exercise plenary legislative powers. [8] : 120  [9] The purpose of the federation was not to subordinate the provinces to the federal government. Rather, with respect to matters assigned to the provinces, "each province retain[s] its independence and autonomy." [10]

The legislative powers of the Legislature are set out in section 92 of the Act and the subsequent sections dealing with specific legislative powers.

Section 6 of the Act split the Province of Canada into the two new provinces, Ontario and Quebec.

Section 70 of the Act provided that the Legislative Assembly would be composed of 82 members, using the electoral divisions set out in the First Schedule to the Act. The Assembly currently is composed of 124 members, as set out in the Representation Act, 2015. [11] [12]

Section 81 of the Act provided that the Legislature was to be summoned no later than six months from the date the Constitution Act, 1867 came into force.

Section 82 of the Act provides that the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario has the power to summon the Legislative Assembly from time to time.

Section 83 of the Act prohibits individuals who hold provincial offices from sitting in the Legislative Assembly, other than the members of the Executive Council of Ontario.

Sections 92 to 95 of the Act sets out the legislative authority of the provincial legislatures.

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Section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to education. It gives the provinces a broad legislative jurisdiction over education. Section 93 also contains guarantees of publicly funded denominational and separate schools for Catholic or Protestant minorities in some provinces.

Section 93A of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 93A of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada, extinguishing the right to publicly funded denominational and separate schools in the province of Quebec. It was enacted as a bilateral constitutional amendment in 1997.

Section 94 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

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Section 94A of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 94A of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to old age pensions and supplemental benefits. It was originally added to the Constitution Act, 1867 in 1951, dealing with old age pensions. It was expanded by a further constitutional amendment in 1964 to include supplemental benefits, such as disability benefits and benefits for young survivors of pensioners.

Section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to federal and provincial legislative jurisdiction over agriculture and immigration.

Section 97 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

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Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada giving the federal Parliament the power to create the Supreme Court of Canada and the federal courts. Although Parliament created the Supreme Court by an ordinary federal statute in 1875, the Court is partially entrenched by the amending formula set out in the Constitution Act, 1982. The composition of the Court can only be changed by a unanimous constitutional amendment, passed by the two houses of Parliament, and all of the provincial legislative assemblies.

Section 3 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 3 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the union of the original three provinces into Canada.

Section 37 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 37 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the composition of the House of Commons, the lower house of the federal Parliament of Canada.

Section 53 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 53 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to taxation and appropriation statutes.

Section 58 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 58 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada creating the office of provincial lieutenant governors, and providing for appointment by the Governor General of Canada.

Section 102 of the Constitution Act, 1867 Provision of the Constitution of Canada

Section 102 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the financial administration of the Government of Canada.

References

  1. ↑ Constitution Act, 1982, s. 52(1).
  2. ↑ Donald Creighton, The Road to Confederation (Toronto: Macmillan Publishing, 1864; revised ed., Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012.)
  3. ↑ Christopher Moore, 1867 — How the Fathers Made a Deal (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1997).
  4. ↑ British North America Act, 1867, 30 & 31 Victoria, c. 3 (UK).
  5. ↑ Constitution Act, 1982, s. 52, s. 53, and Schedule, Item 1.
  6. ↑ Constitution Act, 1982, Part V.
  7. ↑ Constitution Act, 1867, s. 69.
  8. 1 2 3 W.H. McConnell, Commentary on the British North America Act (Toronto: MacMillan of Canada, 1977).
  9. ↑ Hodge v The Queen, [1883] UKPC 59, 9 App Cas 117, at 132.
  10. ↑ Liquidators of Maritime Bank v Receiver General of New Brunswick, [1892] UKPC 34, [1892] AC 437, at 441.
  11. ↑ Legislative Assembly of Ontario: Members (MPPs).
  12. ↑ Representation Act, 2015 , SO 2015, c. 31, Sched. 1, s. 2.
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