Succession law makes it to Canada

Submitted by LJ Holden on 2 February, 2013 - 22:51

Legislation to change the succession has been introduced in Canada. As predicted, the Bill is ordinary legislation rather than an amendment to Canada's Constitution. Interestingly, it seems the way they've skirted around Canada's constitution is to simply "assent" to the Bill being passed in the United Kingdom. So much for the "Canadian" Crown, eh?

The question now is whether anyone will challenge Canada's federal government in Court on this. There's certainly precedent (from a 2003 case) suggesting that changing the succession does in fact affect the "office of the Queen" (the critical phrase from Canada's constitution). This is pretty doubtful - no-one really wants to be seen as the person who derails the changes, especially with a Royal baby on the way.

The irony is the changes could've accidentally opened the door for republican changes to Canada's constitution in the future. By creating a route around the succession, Canada's government has also created a potential mechanism for future succession changes.

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