Statute of Westminster.LONDON, ENGLAND 11 December 1931 Today, Canada becomes an independent nation--almost. The British Parliament Noun 1. British Parliament - the British legislative body British House of Commons, House of Commons - the lower house of the British parliament British House of Lords, House of Lords - the upper house of the British parliament has passed the Statute of GLOUCESTER, STATUTE OF. An English statute, passed 6 Edw. I., A. D., 1278; so called, because it was passed at Gloucester. There were other statutes made at Gloucester, which do not bear this name. See stat. 2 Rich. II. MARLEBRIDGE, STATUTE OF. Westminster, making all its Dominions free and sovereign nations; all that is, except Canada. The last colonial ties have been severed to Australia, New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. , and South Africa. Canada, however, has asked the British government to retain the power to amend its Constitution. In 1926, Britain's Foreign Minister, Lord Balfour, presented a report to the Imperial Conference in London. The Dominions, he said, should be equal in status and in no way subordinate to Great Britain. Naturally, the Dominions then had to reach internal agreements on their constitutions. That has been a problem for Canada. Three times since 1926 Dominion-provincial meetings on constitutional reform in Canada have broken up in disagreement. The issue that is causing so much trouble is finding a means of amending the Constitution, which is the British North America Act British North America Act, law passed by the British Parliament in 1867 that provided for the unification of the Canadian provinces into the dominion of Canada. Until 1982 the act also functioned as the constitution of Canada. of 1867. So, until an agreement between Ottawa and the provinces is reached, Canada will remain the only independent country in the world whose constitution is an act of another nation's parliament. Even our highest court is not the highest court. Decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system.[1] can still be appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council THE LONG WAY ROUND If Canada's government wants to deal with the government of the united States it must follow a rather circuitous cir·cu·i·tous adj. Being or taking a roundabout, lengthy course: took a circuitous route to avoid the accident site. process. First, a message goes from our government to the Governor-General in Ottawa. He then sends it to his boss in London, England, the Colonial Secretary. The Colonial Secretary forwards the communication to Britain's Foreign Office. The Foreign Office passes the message along to the British Ambassador to the United States in washington. The British Ambassador then handles the issue as if it is a British concern not a Canadian one. Even though Canada is now an independent nation, its citizens are still "British Subjects." During the 1930s, angry farmers, hard hit by the Depression and drought, talked about separating from Canada. |
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