Heritage Minister James Moore will unveil Canada's legislation to amend the royal line of succession today, as part of a rare and unprecedented process for ensuring the crown is passed on according to the same rules in 16 countries.
The substance of the legislation is already known. Before Dec. 2, the Harper government provided its written agreement to pass changes consistent with those underway in the United Kingdom and the other 14 constitutional monarchies where Queen Elizabeth is the head of state.
Three changes to the ancient laws that govern the royal line of succession received unanimous agreement at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Perth, Australia, in October. 2011:
- Males will no longer inherit the throne ahead of older, female siblings.
- The monarch or a direct heir to the throne will no longer be banned from marrying a Roman Catholic.
- Descendants of George II will no longer need to obtain the monarch's permission to marry or else have their marriage declared void.
The third change is thought to affect several hundred people. It will be replaced with a new requirement for the monarch's consent for the marriages of only the first six people in line to the throne.
All the countries need to amend the same centuries-old acts in the same way to avoid confusion. If they did not, different rules in different countries could see different monarchs across the Commonwealth some day, following the presumed reigns of Prince Charles and Prince William (currently first and second in line to the throne to succeed Queen Elizabeth.)
Synchronized reforms
The potential that Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge could have a first-born girl as early as this July adds a spirit of urgency to the attempt to modernize the rules, but in fact all the countries have agreed that the changes would apply retroactively to the October 2011 agreement. All the countries will have a common coming into force date for the legislation.
Canada's legislation will fall in line with a bill that passed third reading in the British House of Commons on Monday.
It was fast-tracked by British Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government following its introduction in December, but may experience a delay as it moves to the upper house at Westminster.
Last week, the constitution committee in the British House of Lords issued a report expressing its dissatisfaction with the fast-tracking, saying the potential "unintended consequences" of the bill warranted more fulsome debate than it received during its quick journey through the House of Commons.
In Canada, the bill set for introduction Thursday could pass without difficulty, thanks to the Conservative majority in both the House of Commons and the Senate. The official Opposition also has expressed early support for the reforms.
Poised for legal debate?
While the substance of the bill may see broad support, the process being used by the Harper government to make the reforms is being questioned in some legal circles.
Each country implementing the changes must act in accordance with its own constitution. In some countries – and the Harper government indicated early on that this includes Canada – legislation is necessary to amend the rules for the Canadian Crown, which has been separate from the British Crown since the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931.
The preamble to that statute says that "any alteration in the law touching the succession to the throne ... shall hereafter require the assent as well of the parliaments of all the dominions [including the Dominion of Canada] as of the parliament of the United Kingdom."
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But some scholars also point out that Canada's sovereignty was further enhanced by the patriation of the Constitution in 1982, which outlined detailed amending formulas for Canada's Constitution and repealed some parts of the Statute of Westminster.
The 1982 Constitution Act says that an amendment in relation to the office of "the Queen, the Governor General and the Lieutenant Governor of a province" can be made only where authorized by "resolutions of the Senate and House of Commons and of the legislative assembly of each province."
To date, the Harper government does not appear to have engaged the provinces in any kind of consultation or parallel legislative process to approve of these reforms.
Some argue that the three changes in this bill amount to an amendment in relation to the office of the Queen. But the Harper government says it has a legal opinion from its justice department that this bill is not a constitutional amendment.
Canadian provinces have their own relationship with the Crown through the office of the lieutenant governor, who represents the Queen in each province and ultimately gives royal assent to the provincial legislation passed within the jurisdiction of each province.
In Australia, a dispute between the federal government and the state of Queensland is slowing down efforts to approve the same three changes in a streamlined fashion. Queensland's premier said his state government does not object to the substance of the changes, but wants the process to respect the separate powers of the two jurisdictions.
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