(49) Both decisions endorsed a "large and liberal" reading of the BNA Act, but both were also anchored fundamentally to the recent enactment of the
Statute of Westminster, 1931, (50) which had, in some respects, expanded the power of Parliament.
Three statutes have been enacted (obtainable via Google) with this as a prime objective -- the
Statute of Westminster (1284), The Acts of Union (1536/43) and WE Forster's Education Act (1870) -- each one having more draconian, oppressive anti-Welsh-language measures than its predecessor.
Three statutes have been enacted (obtainable via Google) with this as a prime objective - the
Statute of Westminster (1284), The Acts of Union (1536/43) and WE Forster's Education Act (1870) - each one having more draconian, oppressive anti-Welsh-language measures than its predecessor.
As the Privy Council held 'parliament could as a matter of abstract law' repeal the
statute of Westminster recognising the independence of the dominions.
not gain legislative independence until the
Statute of Westminster in
The
Statute of Westminster, 1931, which recognized the legal sovereignty of six Dominion Parliaments, including Canada, seemed to confirm that interpretation.
Prior to the enactment of the
Statute of Westminster in 1931, Canada had legislative autonomy in domestic matters.
In future, according to Arthur Balfour, Britain and her dominions were "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of the domestic or internal affairs." In 1931 this formula became law through the
Statute of Westminster.
Although, by the 1931
Statute of Westminster, the autonomy of Canada and the other self-governing Dominions was recognized, the authority to amend the BNA Act, 1867 remained in London.
This distinction between the Crown in right of the United Kingdom and the Crown in right of Canada crystallized with the evolution of Canada towards the status of an independent state, which began with the Balfour Report in 1926 and the
Statute of Westminster, 1931, and culminated with the Canada Act 1982.
The armed forces leadership was by then even older, many out of touch with developments, and still much under control by the British, despite the
Statute of Westminster of 1931.
The Royal Prerogative was vested to the Government of Canada in the
Statute of Westminster in 1931, which effectively made Canada and other countries in the Dominion sovereign, independent nations.