BRITISH NORTH AMERICA BILL [Lords] (Hansard, 26 July 1946)

§ The Solicitor-General (Major Sir Frank Soskice)
I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."
The object of the Bill is to give effect to an Address which has been presented to His Majesty by the Parliament of Canada praying that certain alterations in representation in the Canadian House of Commons shall become effective. To give effect to this request it is necessary to 390 repeal Section 51 of the British North America Act, 1867, and to substitute the provisions set out in the Bill. That Act is expressly excluded from the provisions of the Statute of Westminster, 1931, by Section 7 (1) of that Act. Accordingly, in order to effect the necessary change in the British North America Act, it is necessary to pass the present Bill through the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament.
The Bill comes to this House from another place. It deals, of course, with a matter which is primarily within the discretion and judgment of the Canadian Legislature. The Canadian Legislature has decided upon this change, and is desirous that legislation in the terms of its Address to His Majesty should be enacted as speedily as possible by the United Kingdom Parliament. I hope that the House will agree that it would be proper to accede to the desire of the Canadian Legislature, and I accordingly ask that this Bill may be accorded a Second Reading. I would add that, in view of the wish of the Canadian Legislature that the matter should be dealt with expeditiously, I hope that the House will be able to see its way to pass the Bill through its remaining stages this morning.

§ Mr. Eden (Warwick and Leamington)
I think that it is quite clear to the House that this Bill deals with a matter which is entirely within the discretion and judgment of the Canadian Legislature. In a sense, therefore, this is a purely formal Bill, and, in the circumstances, I hope that the House will join in agreeing with the Government to accede to the request of our Canadian friends.

§ Mr. Beverley Baxter (Wood Green)
While all of us agree that this is a request by the Canadian Government which will automatically be agreed to by this House, I want to point out one or two things, which, I think, we might bear in mind. When the Statute of Westminster was passed, it was laid down that after the passing of that Statute no Act carried in this House could have effect upon any Dominion. That is the very essence of the Statute of Westminster. As the Solicitor-General has said, the British North America Act is exempted from that, but nevertheless I put it to the House that the very fact that we in the Imperial 391 Parliament are today passing an alteration in that Act is an anachronism in itself. True, it is only formal and it is automatic what we do today, but it is something which does affect the constitution of the Dominion of Canada. Therefore I say it is an anachronism.
Each of the Dominions deals with its constitution in a different manner. For example, Australia cannot alter her constitution unless there is a majority of the States for it as well as a majority by plebiscite. In South Africa an alteration of the constitution must be carried in both Houses and also by a combined vote of both Houses with a two-thirds majority. Canada is the only Dominion where the constitution may be altered by a majority vote in its Parliament; in other words, by a party vote. We find ourselves here automatically required, and rightly so, to carry out the wishes of the Canadian Parliament, but political situations do not remain static. I can visualise the possibility developing in Canada—this is not a prophesy; it is merely a theory— where we might find a Government out of sympathy with the will of the people on some constitutional issue. It is quite possible for a Government with a big majority, as we know in this country, not to be expressing the will of the people, because, after an election, the will of the people might change, though it has not changed as rapidly in this country as we had hoped.
In such circumstances the people in Canada might make an appeal to this Parliament over the heads of their own Government, and if we automatically acquiesced in the suggestion of the Canadian Government we might mistakenly be thought by the people of Canada to be siding with one party or the other. I should like to make this serious suggestion to the Solicitor-General. It should be possible to pass a resolution in both Houses here and in Canada that in future any alteration or amendment to the British North America Act should be done solely by the Canadian Parliament, that the Canadian Parliament should itself make any alteration in the Canadian constitution, and that this House should forgo for ever any further passing of any Act or Measure affecting any of the Dominions.