CANADA 



1118 



CANADA 



amended bill must be sent back to the house 

 in which it originated. Each house must agree 

 to any amendments proposed by the other 

 house; if this becomes impossible, the bill is 

 dropped for that session. 



Committees of Parliament. The bills intro- 

 duced into Parliament at each session may 

 total several hundreds or even thousands. It 

 is impossible for the houses as a whole to give 

 proper consideration to more than a few of 

 these, but it is possible to designate small 

 groups of members to consider all the bills on 

 certain subjects. Such groups, or standing com- 

 mittees, are named by the Speaker in each 

 house. It is their duty to consider in detail 

 the provisions of any act which may be re- 

 ferred to them. For example, a bill may be 

 introduced to make certain changes in the 



In one sense, however, the courts of the prov- 

 inces are Dominion courts, for the judges are 

 appointed and paid by the Dominion govern- 

 ment, acting through the Governor-General in 

 Council; the procedure and jurisdiction of 

 these courts is fixed by the provinces. 



Supreme Court. This is the highest court in 

 Canada, and has appellate jurisdiction on all 

 civil and criminal cases. In unusual cases, 

 where the question at issue is extremely grave 

 or is of importance not merely to Canada but 

 to other parts of the British Empire, appeals 

 from the decision of the Supreme Court are 

 allowed to the Privy Council in London; but 

 the court is made, as far as possible, the final 

 authority on legal controversies arising in the 

 Dominion. Besides the cases which have arisen 

 in the lower courts and have been appealed, 



FIRST PARLIAMENT BUILDING, TORONTO (1796-1813) 



banking laws. By vote of the house the bill 

 will be referred to the standing committee on 

 banking. After the committee has considered 

 the proposed law, it reports to the whole house 

 with the suggestion that the bill be passed, 

 be amended in certain respects, or be rejected. 

 The committee's recommendation is usually, 

 though not necessarily, accepted. In addition 

 to the standing committees, special committees 

 may be appointed from time to time to con- 

 sider bills which do not fall within the sphere 

 of any standing committee. 



The Courts. The British North America Act 

 did not provide Dominion courts, but it author- 

 ized Parliament to provide for the "constitu- 

 tion, maintenance and organization of a gen- 

 eral court of appeal for Canada, and for the 

 establishment of any additional courts for the 

 better administration of the laws of Canada." 

 The creation of a Supreme Court was delayed 

 until 1876, and since that time two other Fed- 

 eral courts, the Exchequer Court and the Ad- 

 miralty Cou,rt, have been established. These 

 three are the only regular Dominion courts. 



the Supreme Court may be consulted by the 

 Governor-General in Council on important 

 questions relating to provincial or Dominion 

 legislation, education or "any other matter of a 

 constitutional nature on which it is necessary 

 to obtain a judicial opinion." Besides the Chief 

 Justice there are five puisne judges, all ap- 

 pointed for life. Puisne is an old form of the 

 word puny, and is pronounced in the same 

 way; it designates these judges as associate, or 

 lower, judges. The Chief Justice receives an 

 annual salary of $10,000; the puisne judges each 

 receive $9,000. 



Exchequer Court. The functions of this 

 court were originally exercised by the Supreme 

 Court, but in 1887 a separate court was estab- 

 lished. It has original jurisdiction in all claims 

 or actions against the Crown, and all cases 

 affecting the property or other interests of the 

 Crown. It also has jurisdiction in cases regard- 

 ing copyrights, trade-marks and patent cases, 

 and in time of war it is a prize court. The 

 court has a single judge, appointed for life at 

 a yearly salary of $8,000. 



