Author Topic: Barbados nixes Queen as Head of State  (Read 580 times)

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Offline waldo

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Re: Barbados nixes Queen as Head of State
« on: January 21, 2022, 11:43:37 am »
Is a GG of Canada really a constitutional protection in the slightest way? IMO, the British monarch is fine---in Britain itself. But in the Commonwealth Realms outside of the UK, she's entirely symbolic, since the real head of state is the GG and he or she is in fact picked by prime ministerial fiat, not by royal primogeniture. She's on the money and the stamps, in Commonwealth realms, but (again, IMO) it doesn't go much further than that. What was intended as a "constitutional fire extinguisher" is in fact completely powerless to stop the excesses and abuses of the in situ government since they lack the popular support and moral authority necessary for such rare interventions, being little more than yet another prime ministerial appointee.

re: Constitution Act, 1867 => grants extensive powers to the Governor General (GG), including the power to appoint senators and superior court judges, as well as the ability to grant and withhold royal assent to bills to allow proposed law to become actual law. However, in reality, the GG's role in exercising these powers is largely symbolic given unwritten rules of the Constitution; i.e., so-called constitutional conventions (informal rules) binding behaviour 'in a certain way that is not normally court enforceable.

more pointedly: see GG Reserve Powers... whether used (or not), they do exist!

Quote
While the role of the Governor General is significantly restricted by conventions, it is not entirely symbolic. On rare occasions, a Governor General can exercise personal discretion, meaning that he or she can act independently of prime ministerial advice. This ability to exercise personal discretion revolves around the Governor General’s “reserve powers.” Two established reserve powers are the Governor General’s authority to refuse a prime minister’s request to dissolve Parliament and the right to appoint and dismiss a prime minister.

The Governor General’s reserve powers are necessary for ensuring that the conventions of responsible government are observed. For example, the Governor General’s power to dismiss the prime minister may be necessary in the event that a prime minister violates constitutional convention by refusing to resign after an opposition party obtains a clear majority in a general election. Equally important is the Governor General’s power to appoint a prime minister, which ensures that the Crown always has a prime minister to advise exercises of the Crown’s power and to take responsibility for acts of the Crown before the House of Commons.

of course driven by the recent brouhaha over {former} GG Julie Payette: