Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982 - Essay Example

Thus, it becomes all the more important for the main Bill of Rights of a country, which for Canada equal to the Constitution Acts of 1867 with amendments made to it in 1982, to represent the correct division of power between the Federal and Provincial governments. The constitution Geographically, Canada is divided into three territories and 10 provinces. It supports two distinct main ethnic groups, the Quebecois who are well versed in French and the rest who communicate in English. The division of power would involve consideration to both the minority French-Canadians and the majority of the English speakers.

Thus, some legislative authority must be granted to provinces while most of it is retained by the Federation, as is customary for a government system of this kind. It is for this reason that s. 91 to 95 of the 1867 constitution award legislative powers for both federal and provincial jurisdictions. S. 91 deals with the legislative authority of the Federal government whereas s. 92 pertains to the same at the provincial level. Moreover, all the residuary powers that have not been assigned to the provinces may also be dealt by the Parliament, which is allowed to “make laws for the peace, order, and good government of Canada, in relation to all matters not coming within the classes of subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of the provinces” (Constitution Act 1867, s. 91). Provincial responsibility also deals with sources of energy which are non-renewable (s. 92A) and education (s. 93) while s.

94 relates to the dealings with property and civil rights (new at the time the Constitution Act 1867 was enacted). Thus, while the English speaking majority is correctly represented in the Parliament, the Federal government enjoys enough power constitutionally in order to uphold the rights of the minorities. Division of power is scribed clearly in certain cases to the provincial government, such as in the cases of handling prisons, property and education but in other cases such as that of immigration policies and agriculture, power is shared between the federal and provincial jurisdictions (s. 95). This ensures two things, the first being the adherence to the British system of Parliament, which enables correct representation of all the minorities in the State and saves them from unjust policies that a majority might impose upon them.

The concurrent presence of the federal and provincial governments, on the other hand, allow for cultural diversity to exist in the various provinces without being majority centric. Due to the presence of the latter, the French Canadians are awarded the same level of liberties as their English speaking majority consequently ensuring that their individual rights are protected, at least in theory. However, the existence of these two systems, where the country is represented by a Prime Minister who is in charge of a Federation, creates vagueness in division of power.

In matters of administration of justice, for example, the constitution allows the Parliament to enact legislation dealing with “criminal law, except the constitution of courts of criminal