A Glimpse Inside the Archives of the Senate of Canada of Senate the of Archives the Inside Glimpse A PARLIAMENTARY TREASURES PARLIAMENTARY PARLIAMENTARY TREASURES | TRÉSORS PARLEMENTAIRES TRÉSORS PARLEMENTAIRES Regard sur les Archives du Sénat du Canada PARLIAMENTARY TREASURES A Glimpse Inside the Archives of the Senate of Canada Cataloguing in Publication: Y9-19/2014 ISBN: 978-1-100-54780-0 © Senate of Canada 2014 All rights reserved. All copyrights in the illustrations are held by the Senate of Canada unless otherwise indicated. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, Senate of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 0A4. PARLIAMENTARY TREASURES A Glimpse Inside the Archives of the Senate of Canada TABLE OF CONTENTS Letters of Welcome 1 From the Speaker of the Senate 3 From the Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments Introduction History of Canada 14 The Birth of Confederation 18 The Birth of New Regions 21 The First Years 24 The World Wars and the Great Depression 28 The Modern World Transportation 37 Transport by Land: The Era of Railways 39 Transport by Water: From Canoes to Ships 41 Transport by Air: The Age of Aircraft Canadian Society 46 Official Languages 47 Acadians 47 Women 50 Aboriginal Peoples 51 Human Rights 52 Marriage and Divorce 53 Multiculturalism 56 The Arts 58 Science and Technology 61 Sport The Legislative Process 65 Overview of the Legislative Process 67 Amendments 71 Royal Assent Life and Personalities on Parliament Hill 75 Traditions and Protocol 78 Sovereigns 83 Governors General 85 Speakers of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Commons 89 Members of Parliament 91 Clerks of the Senate and Clerks of the Parliaments, and Clerks of the House of Commons From the Speaker of the Senate Dear Readers, On behalf of all Senators, I compliment the Senate Administration, under the leadership of Dr. Gary W. O’Brien, Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments, for this book documenting the work of the Parliament of Canada. They have recorded a parliamentary legacy in a document worthy of the pride of all Senators. This publication is timely in light of the planned renovations of the Centre Block. The Senate Archives, like all Senate services, will leave the building for at least 10 years. A record of the current archives is thus appropriate. The approaching celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Confederation also make this document timely. Our Constitution provides that the Canadian state is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law. The Parliament of Canada makes laws for the “Peace, Order, and good Government of Canada.” The high quality of liberty in Canada is The Signing Table for the Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982. 1 Letters of Welcome Speech from the Throne, October 16, 2013. Our Constitution provides that the Canadian state is founded upon principles that recognize the “ supremacy of God and the rule of law. testimony to the success of our system of governance; Canada’s peace and prosperity testify to Parliament’s good judgment for almost a century and a half. Senators are proud to have contributed to that record. ” For a fuller description of my thoughts on the cornerstone place of the Senate in the public life of Canada, I invite you to consult my speech of June 18, 2013, in the Debates of the Senate. This collection reveals many milestones of Canada’s parliamentary history. Enjoy! The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella Speaker of the Senate Letters of Welcome 2 From the Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments Dear Readers, Canada’s parliamentary treasures belong to all Canadians, and I am delighted to share this selection of riches with you. The genesis of this book was the 2010 publication in the United Kingdom of Victoria Tower Treasures from the Parliamentary Archives. In its foreword we learn that it was over five hundred years ago—in 1497, to be precise—that the Clerk of the Parliaments of England first decided not to transfer the bills of “Original Acts” that had received Royal Assent in the most recent session of Parliament to the executive government, but to retain them in Parliament. As a Westminster-style democracy, this is the practice we inherited centuries later. The value of a book that would reveal the existence in Canada of a similar little-known treasure trove of public life was immediately apparent, and I requested that Senate staff produce a similar volume. This book is not as ambitious as its role model, but all similarities in concept and design are deliberate, intended and hereby acknowledged. Thank you, Westminster! In Canada, in 1872, Parliament passed a law designating the Clerk of the Senate as the “Clerk of the Parliaments.” The law gave the Clerk of the Parliaments a mandate to serve as custodian of the original Acts of the Legislatures of the pre-Confederation Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, the pre-Confederation Province of Canada and the Parliament of Canada from Confederation on. These Acts of the Parliament of Canada—Canada’s federal statutes—are the work product of our institution. To have the custody of them is an honour. The desk of the Clerk of the Senate believed to have been rescued from the fire at Parliament on February 3, 1916. Both it and a copy built in 2001 are used for formal signing occasions. 3 Letters of Welcome From the Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments “CLERICUS PARLIAMENTORUM CANADA”: Seal of the Clerk of the Parliaments, used to certify true copies of Acts of Parliament. The parliamentary treasures kept in the Senate Archives and described in this book are more than just dry documents and pieces of paper. They are a rich chronology of Canada’s history and the constitutional, legal and social evolution of our country. I could not carry out my functions without help, and I am indeed proud of and grateful to the entire Senate Administration. In my specific role as Clerk of the Parliaments, I am assisted by the Senate Archivist, who is responsible for the maintenance of our collection. I am also assisted by the Senate Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, who prepares copies of the original Acts for my certification. In Canada, in 1872, Parliament passed a law designating the Clerk of the Senate as the “ ‘Clerk of the Parliaments.’ Among the many individuals who helped with this project, I wish to acknowledge and thank France Bélisle, Senate Archivist, Caroline Gagnon, Senate Communications graphic designer, and Mark Audcent, former Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, for their invaluable contribution to the Parliamentary Treasures Book. I would” also like to thank the following individuals for their instrumental assistance: Hélène Bouchard, Heather Lank, Michel Patrice, Blair Armitage, Till Heyde, D’Arcy McPherson, Kate McCarthy, Shaun Bugyra, Marie-France Bonnet, Isabelle Tétreault, Colette Verjans, Maryse Durivage, Francine Pressault, Debbie Murphy, Roger Laframboise, Lucie Lavoie, Melanie Mortensen, Marc Moyneur, Bill Addy and the Senate Printing Services team, as well as Marion Ménard from the Library of Parliament. Enjoy your trip through the legislative history of one of the world’s oldest democracies! Gary W. O’Brien Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments Letters of Welcome 4 Introduction The British Parliament, by adopting the British North America Act, 1840, commonly known as the Act of Union, joined Lower Canada (now Quebec) and Upper Canada (now Ontario) to form the Province of Canada. The Parliament for the United Province of Canada moved between Kingston, Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City. Moving the capital meant that library collections and furniture had to be packed and shipped, but so too did documents. To transport the original Acts, metal boxes, richly painted and bearing the inscription of the reign in which they were passed, served as storage containers. When Montreal was the designated capital, a fire broke out in the Parliament Building on the evening of April 25, 1849. The Province’s archives and the original Acts passed since 1791 were lost. However, three acts escaped the flames, chapters 197, 198 and 199 of 1849, which still bear the indelible traces of smoke. Notably, chapter 199 was passed by the Legislative Assembly on the day of the fire. Hand-painted metal box used for storage and transportation of the original Acts when the capital of the Province of Canada moved every few years between Kingston, Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City. 5 Letters of Welcome Fire at the Parliament Building in Montreal, April 25, 1849. Credit: McCord Museum / M11588 Fire at Parliament in Ottawa, February 3, 1916. Credit: Library and Archives Canada / PA-052822 After much debate in the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly on the government’s permanent seat, Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital of the Province of Canada in 1858. The following year, construction began on the departmental buildings (currently the East Block and the West Block) and the Parliament Building. On June 8, 1866, the two chambers and the offices needed to house the legislature were sufficiently complete for the session to open in the new building. The following year, after Confederation, the building was used as the seat of the Parliament of the new Dominion of Canada. In February 1916, a fire began in the Reading Room, reducing most of Parliament to ashes and destroying almost 70 years of written institutional history, from 1849 to 1916.