Lieutenant-governor of Quebec

The lieutenant-governor of Quebec is the official representative of the queen of Canada to the Quebec. He assumes the responsibilities equivalent for the General governor of Canada at the federal level. Currently, honourable the Pierre Duchesne occupies this station.

Function

The lieutenant-governor is one of the components of the legislative sphere (with the National Assembly of Quebec) and of the executive sphere (with the the Council of Ministers) of Quebec.

At the legislative level, it is responsible to sanction the laws of the National Assembly of Quebec.

The lieutenant-governor has two particular capacities: the to be able of reserve and capacity of disavowal

The capacity of disavowal consists of the possibility for the lieutenant-governor of transmitting any provincial law adopotée by the National Assembly to the federal government which can under the terms of its capacities, to cancel the law in question. The federal government used the capacity of disavowal 112 times since 1867 and for the last time in 1943. The last repudiated Québécois law was it in 1910.

The capacity of reserve applies when that the lieutenant-governor refuses to sanction a law adopted by the National Assembly. That has as impact to transmit it to the federal government so that this one decides about it. The Canadian lieutenant-governors used this capacity 70 times, the last time, without success, in 1961. The last project reserved for Quebec was it in 1904.

The Supreme court of Canada recognized the survival of these capacities in 1938.

As recognized it the Prime Minister Pierre-Elliott Trudeau on July 21st, 1975, these capacities are " exception to the general principle which wants that the Parliaments federal and provincial are autonomous in their respective fields of competence legislative and endorse the full and entire responsibility measurements that they ratifient". The Supreme court recognized besides the nullity of these capacities in the Reference: resolution to modify the Constitution, 1 R. C.S. 753. Some consider that there exists a constitutional Convention besides for this purpose.

Today, the lieutenant-governor exerts the “administrative and protocolar” part of the executive power in Quebec, the “political” role being the prerogative of the Prime Minister, without however that the lieutenant-general is deprived of being able on the matter, his duty of reserve and impartiality not binding the hands to him.

Although named by the federal government of Canada, the lieutenant-governor is not a concerning civil servant his authority. He is the representative of the person of the monarch in title (currently the queen Elisabeth II) for the province, with the image of the general governor of the Canada at the federal level.

Extract of the Canadian constitution

There will be, for each province, an officer called lieutenant-governor, which will be named by the governor-general in council by instrument under the large seal of Canada

History

Dispute

The movement for the sovereignty of Quebec launched in 2007 a petition so that Quebec abolishes this station unilaterally.

Official site of the Movement for an Election on Sovereignty

See too

Internal bonds

List of the lieutenant-governors of Quebec

External bonds

Official site of the lieutenant-governor of Quebec

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