LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Constitution of Canada: British Parliament
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On June 22, 2006 Senator Lowell Murray ( PC- Ontario) and Senator Jack Austin ( Liberal- British Columbia) introduced an amendment to the Constitution of Canada to alter the makeup of the Senate. This amendment would enlarge the Senate to one hundred and seventeen members, giving a greater number to the western provinces of British Columbia (12), Alberta (10), Saskatchewan (seven), and Manitoba (seven) each up from six. The amendment would ... increase the number of divisions to five by separating British Columbia into its own division, and increase the number of additional Senators the Queen can appoint to five or ten, from four or eight. The amendment has yet to be debated, but Austin, in a letter to BC Premier Gordon Campbell claims to have the support of a majority of the members of the Liberal-dominated Senate.
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In 1975, Prime Minister Trudeau launched the constitutional discussions again on the basis of the amending procedure provided for in the Victoria Charter, but he did not succeed in obtaining the assent of all the parties concerned. In 1976, the Prime Minister sent a new message to his provincial counterparts but received lukewarm responses. First, the Premier of Alberta indicated partial opposition, demanding unanimity on the expanded role and powers of the provinces. Subsequently, the Premier of British Columbia stated that he agreed with the Victoria Charter process, while the Premier of Alberta indicated that he preferred a return to the more rigid Fulton-Favreau formula.
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted its constitution in 1780, before the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. It is probably the oldest still-functioning nominal constitution, that is, where the document specifically declares itself to be a constitution. The United States Constitution, ratified 1789, was influenced by the British constitutional system and the political system of the United Provinces, plus the writings of Polybius, Locke, Montesquieu, and others. The document became a benchmark for republican and codified constitutions written thereafter and is commonly believed to be the oldest modern, national, codified constitution in the world.
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In the fall of 2002, following the first Ontario decision that excluding same-sex couples from marriage is unconstitutional, the feds decided to ask Canadians what they thought about marriage for same-sex couples. Parliament’s Justice Committee held 27 public hearings across the country and heard from 467 witnesses. 59% of witnesses said they support equal marriage. Many of those who did not were concerned that clergy not be forced to marry same-sex couples.
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III - Third, the new Constitution Act sets out the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that neither Parliament nor any provincial legislature acting alone can change. Any such changes come under the second formula (or, where they apply only to one or more, but not all, provinces, the third formula).
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Constitutional provisions added otherwise than by the insertion of additional provisions in the Constitution Act, 1867 (e.g. provisions of the Constitution Act. 1871 authorizing Parliament to legislate for any territory not included in a province) are not incorporated in the text, but the additional provisions are quoted in an appropriate footnote.
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