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In Canadian constitutional law, disallowance and reservation are constitutional powers to reject any bill passed by Parliament or any legislature in Canada on the authority of the "Imperial Parliament". They were also used by the federal government to veto provincial laws. These powers are granted under sections 55 through 57 and 90 of the Constitution Act, 1867.
Early in Confederation these powers were exercised relatively frequently, but soon fell into disuse. Currently they are regarded as obsolete and without force even though they were never formally eliminatedP.W. Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada (4th Edition, 1997), at p.120.. An attempt was made in 1971 to remove it from the Constitution with the Victoria Charter, but this failed.
Reservation
The power of reservation is held by the colonial governor, such as the governor general or lieutenant governor, who has the authority to refer a bill to the colonial government to make a final assessment of the validity of the law.
The use of section 90 lasted particularly long time and proved contentious. It allowed for lieutenant governors to refer provincial legislation to the federal government for approval. Though not frequently used, it was last applied in 1961.
Disallowance
The power of disallowance is held by the Imperial Parliament whereby they reserve the right to nullify any bill passed by the federal or provincial government.
Of the two powers disallowance was the most frequently used. Prime Minister Macdonald exercised his power of disallowance against provincial legislation on a regular basis. By 1911 the practice of disallowing provincial bills became very infrequent; however, it was used in the 1930s by Ernest Lapointe to strike down various Alberta laws.
Reference
- La Forest, "Disallowance and Reservation of Provincial Legislation" (Ottawa: Department of Justice, 1955).
Notes
See also
"Disallowance and reservation"