125. No lands
or property belonging to Canada or any Province shall be liable to taxation.
126. Such portions of the duties and revenues over which the respective Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had before the Union power of appropriation as are by this Act reserved to the respective Governments or Legislatures of the Provinces, and all duties and revenues raised by them in accordance with the special powers conferred upon them by this Act, shall in each Province form one Consolidated Revenue Fund to be appropriated for the public service of the Province. IX. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS General 127. If any person being at the passing of this Act a Member of the Legislative Council of Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick, to whom a place in the Senate is offered, does not within thirty days thereafter, by writing under his hand, addressed to the Governor General of the Province of Canada, or to the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick (as the case may be), accept the ssiine, he shall be deemed to have declined the same; and any person who, being at the passing of this Act a member of the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, accepts a place in the Senate, shall thereby vacate his seat in such Legislative Council. 128. Every member of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada shall, bcfoce taking his scat therein, take and subscribe before the Governor General or some person authorized by him, and every member of a Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly of any Province shall, before taking his seat therein, take and subscribe before the Lieutenant Governor of the Province or some person authorized by him, the oath of allegiance contained in the fifth Schedule to this Act; and every member of the Senate of Canada and every member of the Legislative Council of Quebec shall also, before taking his seat therein, take and subscribe before the Governor General or some person authorized by him, the declaration of qualification contained in the same Schedule. 129. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, all laws in force in Canada, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick at the Union, and all Courts of civil and military jurisdiction, and all legal commissions, powers and authorities, and all officers, judicial, administrative and' ministerial, existing therein at the Union, shall continue in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick respectively, as if the Union had not been made; subject nevertheless (except with respect to such as arc enacted by or exist under Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain or of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) to be repealed, abolished or altered by the Parliament of Canada, or by the Legislature of the respective Province. according to the authority of the Parliament or of that Legislature under this Act. 130. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, all officers of the several Provinces having duties to discharge in relation 10 matters other than those coming within the classes of subjects by rhis Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces shall he officers of Canada, and shall continue to discharge the duties of their respective offices under the same liabilities, responsibilities and penalties as if the Union had not been made. 131. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, the Governor General in Council may from time to time appoint such officers as the Governor General in Council deems necessary or proper for the effectual execution of this Act. 132. The Parliament and Government of Canada shall have all powers necessary or proper for performing the obligations of Canada or of any Province thereof,.as part of the British Empire, towards foreign countries, arising under treaties between the Empire and such foreign countries. 133. Either the English or the French language
may be used by any person in the debates of the Houses of the Parliament
of Canada and of the Houses (if the Legislature of Quebec; and both those
languages shall be used in the respective records and journals of those
Houses; and either of those languages may be used by any person or in any
pleading or process in or issuing'from any Court of Canada established
under this Act, and in or from all or any of the Courts of Quebec.
Ontario and Quebec 134. Until the Legislature of Ontario or of Quebec otherwise provides, the Lieutenant Governors of Ontario and Quebec may each appoint under the Great Seal of the Province the following officers, to hold office during pleasure, that is to say:the Attorney General, the Secretary and Registrar of the Province, the Treasurer of the Province, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works, and in the case of Quebec the Solicitor General; and may, by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, from time to time prescribe the duties of those officers and of the several departments over which they shall preside or to which they shall belong, and of the officers and clerks thereof; and may also appoint other and additional officers to hold office during pleasure, and may from time to time prescribe the duties of those officers, and of the several departments over which they shall preside or to which they shall belong, and of the officers and clerks thereof. 135. Until the Legislature of Ontario or Quebec otherwise provides, all rights, powers, duties, functions, responsibilities or authorities at the passing of this Act vested in or imposed on the Attorney General, Solicitor General, Secretary and Registrar of the Province of Canada, Minister of Finance, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Commissioner of Public Works, and Minister of Agriculture and Receiver General, by any law, statute or ordinance of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, or Canada, and not repugnant to this Act, shall be vested in or imposed on any officer to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor for the discharge of the same or any of them; and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works shall perform the duties and functions of the office of Minister of Agriculture at the passing of this Act imposed by the law of the Province of Canada, as well as those of the Commissioner of Public Works. 136. Until altered by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Great Seals of Ontario and of Quebec respectively shall be the same, or of the same design, as those used in the.Provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada respectively before their Union as the Province of Canada. 137. The words 'and from thence to the end of the then next ensuing Session of the Legislature', or words to the same effect, used in any temporary Act of the Province of Canada not expired before the Union, shall be construed to extend and apply to the next Session of the Parliament of Canada, if the subject matter of the Act is within the powers of the same, as denned by this Act, or to the next Sessions of the Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec respectively, if the subject matter of the Act is within the powers of the same as denned by this Act. 138. From and after the Union.(not a 'confederation', but a union.under Britain in controlling her colonies in Canada {now all under one colony..the Dominion of Canada}), the use of the words 'Upper Canada' instead of 'Ontario' or 'Lower Canada' instead of 'Quebec', in any deed, writ. process, pleading, document, matter or thine, shall not invalidate the same. 139. Any Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Province of Canada issued before the Union to take effect at a time which is subsequent to the Union, whether relating to that Province, or to Upper Canada, or to Lower Canada, and the several matters and things therein proclaimed, shall be and continue of like force and effect as if the Union had not been made. 140. Any Proclamation which is authorized by any Act of the Legislature of the Province of Canada to be issued under the Great Seal of the Province of Canada, whether relating to that Province, or to Upper Canada, or to Lower Canada, and which is not issued before the Union, may be issued by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario or of Quebec, as its subject matter requires, under the Great Seal thereof; and from and after the issue of such Proclamation the same and the several matters and things therein proclaimed shall be and continue of the like force and effect in Ontario or Quebec as if the Union had not been made. 141. The Penitentiary of the Province of Canada shall, until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, be and continue the Penitentiary of Ontario and of Quebec. 142. The division and adjustment of the debts, credits, liabilities properties and assets of Upper Canada and Lower Canada shall be referred to the arbitrament of three arbitrators, one chosen by the Government of Ontario, one by the Government of Quebec and one by the Government of Canada; and the selection of the arbitrators shall not be made until the Parliament of Canada and the Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec have met; and the arbitrator chosen by the Government of Canada shall not be a resident either in Ontario or in Quebec. 143. The Governor General in Council may from time to time order that such and so many of the records, books, and documents of the Province of Canada as he thinks fit shall be appropriated and delivered either to Ontario or to Quebec, and the same shall henceforth be the property of that Province; and any copy thereof or extract therefrom, duly certified by the officer having charge of the original thereof, shall be admitted as evidence. 144. The Lieutenant Governor of Quebec may from time to time, by Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Province, to take effect from a day to be appointed therein, constitute townships in those pairs of the Province of Quebec in which townships are not then already constituted, and fix the metes and bounds thereof. X. INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY 145. Inasmuch as the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have joined in a declaration that the construction of the Intercolonial Railway is essential to the consolidation of the Union of British North America.(notice they talk of a union and not a confederation; no, they do not mean the same things here; Britain knew full well what she was doing, and she was not at this time, or anywhere soon after, going to allow Canada to form into a self governing, free {of Britain} nation at all; Britain wanted Canada to remain a self governing nation.under.Britain's Governor General..why?), and to the assent thereto of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and have consequently agreed that provision should be made for its immediate construction by the Government of Canada: Therefore, in order to give effect to that agreement, it shall be the duty of the Government and Parliament of Canada to provide for the commencement within six months after the Union, of a railway connecting the River St. Lawrence with the City of Halifax in Nova Scotia, and for the construction thereof without intermission, and the completion thereof with all practicable speed. XI. ADMISSION OF OTHER COLONIES 146. It shall he lawful for the Queen,.by and with.the advice of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, on Addresses from the Houses of the Parliament of Canada, and from the Houses of the respective Legislatures of the Colonies or Provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and British Columbia, to admit those Colonies or Provinces, or any of them, into the Union, and on Address from the Houses of the Parliament of Canada to admit Rupert's Land and the Northwestern Territory, or either of them, into the Union, on such terms and conditions in each case as are in the Addresses expressed and as the Queen thinks fit to approve, subject to the provisions of this Act; and the provisions of any Order in Council in that behalf shall have effect as if they had been enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 147. In case of the admission of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, or either of them, each shall be entitled to a representation in the Senate of Canada of four members, and (notwithstanding anything in this Act) in case of the admission of Newfoundland the normal number of Senators shall be seventy six and their maximum number shall be eighty two; but Prince Edward Island when admitted shall be deemed to be comprised in the third of the three divisions into which Canada is. in relation to the constitution of the Senate, divided by this Act, and accordingly, after the admission of Prince Edward Island, whether Newfoundland is admitted or not, the represencation of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the Senate shall, as vacancies occur, be reduced from twelve to ten members respectively, and the representation of each of those Provinces shall not be increased ac any time beyond ten, except under the provisions of this Act for the appointment of three or six additional Senators under the direction of the Queen. A Note on Amendments . Some added amendments to it were: An 1871 amendment clarified the powers of the Dominion to create and admit new provinces, an 1875 change clarified the powers of administering oaths and in 1915 the Senate was increased to 96, with the Prairies and British Columbia constituting a fourth region for the purposes of Senate representation. Newfoundland, if ever it decided to join Canada, was to be allowed 6 senators and other changes were made, but the number was never to exceed 104. From 1946 to 1950, long after the BNA Act was null and void, and because of concocted documents. making it look like it was still applicable, these additional amendments were added: In 1940, a small change in Section 91 (powers of the federal governnent) was made, adding "Unemployment Insurance" to the responsibilities of the federal Parliament. In 1946 the system of basing all Commons seats from the fixed lumber of 65 allotted to Quebec was changed; the new system fixes the number of seats, then divides them up by population. In 1949, the Parliament of Canada was given the power to amend the constitution.(by whom..themselves?).except insofar as the powers of the Provinces was concerned, these remaining exactly as they have been since 1867. As well, the federal government, even in 1949, was denied the power to change the rights and privileges of the Provinces, to change the provisions regarding schools, the duration of Parliament, or the use of English or French. Index of Canadian political history |