Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Quebec Law Professors File Appeal Against Monarchy Law Passed By Harper

The Canadian Press, 10 Apr, 2016 01:24 PM
    MONTREAL — The rules governing the ascension to the British throne are once again being challenged in Quebec.
     
    The province's top court will hear the case of two law professors after Superior Court rejected their challenge of a federal law aimed at changing the rules regarding the British monarchy.
     
    Quebec government lawyers will also present arguments at the appeals court level to defend the province's position that Ottawa should not be acting without consulting it.
     
    The conflict dates back to 2011, when leaders of Commonwealth countries agreed to modify the rules so that a woman, if she is the oldest sibling, could become Queen.
     
    That would put an end to the practice of giving men priority as heirs to the British throne.
     
    The changes were meant to be adopted in each of the Commonwealth nations. The former Conservative government did so in 2013 with a new law.
     
     
    Universite Laval law professors Patrick Taillon and Genevieve Motard went to court, claiming the law was unconstitutional.
     
    They argued there is no unwritten rule in Canada that makes the British Queen automatically the Queen of Canada, as the federal government asserted.
     
    Furthermore, they said any changes to the rules of the monarchy succession necessitate changes to the Canadian Constitution, which would require the consent of the provinces.
     
    A Quebec judge sided with the federal government in February.
     
    "No amendment to the Constitution is required," Superior Court Justice Claude Bouchard wrote.
     
    Taillon said he has decided to appeal the decision because the law "calls into question Canadian independence."
     
     
    "It also challenges rights acquired with the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution in 1982."
     
    The British parliament no longer has the power to make laws for Canada and Taillon believes the Superior Court judgment contradicts that.
     
    Taillon says Canada would have two choices if the law is ever struck down.
     
    First of all, it could choose to not open the Constitution, thus not honouring its commitment to the Commonwealth and leaving open the possibility Canada could have a monarch other than the one who reigns in Britain.
     
     
    Or Canada could choose to seek the consent of the provinces, which risks triggering a series of constitutional disputes that could last years and be politically destabilizing for the country.
     
    "But that might be the occasion to force things through," Taillon said.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    WestJet Denies Sex-Assault Claims From Former B.C. Flight Attendant Mandalena Lewis

    WestJet Denies Sex-Assault Claims From Former B.C. Flight Attendant Mandalena Lewis
    WestJet is rejecting allegations that it failed to take appropriate action after a former flight attendant reported being sexually assaulted by a pilot in 2010 while on an overnight stopover in Hawaii.

    WestJet Denies Sex-Assault Claims From Former B.C. Flight Attendant Mandalena Lewis

    Priority Is To Find Chase: RCMP Search For Missing Boy, 2, In Rural Manitoba

    Priority Is To Find Chase: RCMP Search For Missing Boy, 2, In Rural Manitoba
    Mounties say their only priority right now is to find Chase Martens.

    Priority Is To Find Chase: RCMP Search For Missing Boy, 2, In Rural Manitoba

    Melee Erupts At P.E.I. Rink After Linesman Taunts, Attacks Hockey Player: Coach

    Melee Erupts At P.E.I. Rink After Linesman Taunts, Attacks Hockey Player: Coach
    Mark Whidden, head coach of the Midget C Chebucto Chill, says he and three of his teenaged players have since been suspended indefinitely, pending completion of the Mounties' probe

    Melee Erupts At P.E.I. Rink After Linesman Taunts, Attacks Hockey Player: Coach

    Justin Trudeau, Ministers Fan Out Across Country To Promote Liberals' Maiden Budget

    Justin Trudeau, Ministers Fan Out Across Country To Promote Liberals' Maiden Budget
    Kicking off a promotional blitz Wednesday to sell the big-spending budget, the prime minister insisted it delivers on the promise to revive the stagnant economy.

    Justin Trudeau, Ministers Fan Out Across Country To Promote Liberals' Maiden Budget

    Seven Canadians Among Latest To Receive Carnegie Medals For Heroism

    Seven Canadians Among Latest To Receive Carnegie Medals For Heroism
    John W. Gallie, 28, of Toronto and Craig Alexander Morash, 43, of Goodwood, N.S., are recognized for rescuing several people from a burning home in Glace Bay, N.S., in May 2014.

    Seven Canadians Among Latest To Receive Carnegie Medals For Heroism

    Body Of Missing First Nations Teenage Girl Found In Lake Of The Woods

    Body Of Missing First Nations Teenage Girl Found In Lake Of The Woods
    Ontario Provincial Police said the remains of Delaine Copenace, 16, were discovered Tuesday morning in Lake of the Woods at the edge of Kenora.

    Body Of Missing First Nations Teenage Girl Found In Lake Of The Woods