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War Measures Act
I found the War Measures Act by going to the University of British Columbia Law Library and asking the librarian for help. I asked if he could help me find the act, and he proceeded to lead me to the stacks where it was located. In this report, I will examine the contents of the act- specifically the balance of power between the Governor in Council and Parliament, as well as the historiographical context surrounding its creation.
The War Measures Act is based in World War One. World War One started surrounding the various alliances present in Europe at the time. Serbia, which was ruled by Austria-Hungary, was thrown into chaos by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and Russia, an ally of Serbia came to it’s defence. France was allied to Russia, thus the French came to Russia’s defence. Great Britain was also allied to Russia and France, in addition to promising to defend Belgium’s neutrality. “When Germany invaded Belgium, Britain declared war.” (1.) Now, Canada, which was still ruled politically by Great Britain, was automatically committed to the defense of Great Britain.
In preparation for the war, Parliament convened and unanimously passed the War Measures Act, which was a statute declaring that the Prime Minister’s Cabinet had the right to ‘suspend the civil liberties of anyone suspected of collaborating with the enemy and to regulate any area of society deemed essential for the conduct of the war.’ (2.) Once the act had gone through Parliament, it gave the federal cabinet an incredible amount of power. Upon close examination, however, Parliament did retain the ability to impose itself upon these powers, as will be explored.
The War Measures Act begins with a clause specifying the conditions of war. It opens with the phrase: ‘The issue of a proclamation by Her Majesty or under the authority of the Governor in Council shall be conclusive evidence that war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehend, exists…or…[continues] until by the issue of a further proclamation [it has ended]’. (3.)
It is interesting to note that it is not by declaration of the Canadian Parliament that war is declared to have begun or ended, but by the Queen or the Governor in Council. Once the act had gone through Parliament, it gave the federal cabinet an incredible amount of power. This is important because at the time the act was passed, the Governor in Council was the Queen’s representative in Canada. This political institution linked Great Britain with Canada, which is subsequently the political reason that Canada was committed to the defense of Great Britain and her allies. (4.)
It is in this brief section that wide discretionary powers were granted, and when one reviews the powers in conjunction with the last statement of the subsection, the extent to which the federal cabinet were given control becomes clear. It is not clearly stated what the [next page]