Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/07/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi, Eric, Since we didn't "win" our nationhood in a war of independance, Canada's becoming independant was actually a gradual process (not many Canadians know this either). July 1, 1867 was when the British North America Act (BNA Act) was passed in London, basically setting up the Canadian Parliament, and granting most of our rights as a nationhood. It's the day we were no longer a colony. We weren't fully independant, however, as court cases could be appealled from the Supreme Court of Canada to England's Privy Council, and Britain had the right to pass laws regarding foreign affairs on our behalf (which I don't think they ever did, but they still had the power to). Some constitutional scholars consider the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 as the day that Canada became a fully independant country, as that extinguished appeals to the Privy Council, and said that England could pass no laws regarding Canada's affairs, foreign or domestic. What happened in 1982 is that we got our own written constitution. The BNA Act was "brought to Canada" so to speak, and we also passed a new, fully Canadian constitution called (appropriately enough) the Constitution Act 1982, which has in it a wonderful and comprehensive Charter of Rights and Freedoms. So, as of 1982, we were no longer dependant on a law of a foreign land to grant us rights of nationhood. Aren't you glad you asked? <vbg> cheers, frank Eric Welch wrote: > Ted, 1982? What was it that happened in '67? (That was engraved on the > Winchester Model 30/30 rifle I used to own. > > Oh wait, that was the Canadian Centennial, right? > > Doh! > > Eric Welch > Carlsbad, CA > http://www.jphotog.com > > "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." > > -Albert Einstein > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- "What a senseless waste of human life" - -The Customer in Monty Python's Cheese Shop sketch - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html