Origins
With the formation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867 there was a growing movement to create a final court of appeal for the new country. John A. Macdonald, along with Télésphore Fournier, Alexander Mackenzie, and Edward Blake, championed the creation of a Supreme Court. However, those strongly loyal to the English tradition opposed it and managed to get bills withdrawn in both 1869 and 1870. Additionally, there was resistance from Quebec until the Guibord case demonstrated to them that Privy Council rulings could not always be sensitive to their religious culture. It was not until April 8, 1875, that the bill was finally passed.
Initially, there were only six judges on the Supreme Court. This eventually resulted in several even split decisions, and it was eventually increased to seven in 1927. In 1949, with the abolition of appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the complement of judges was increased again to nine.
The court was inaugurated on November 18, 1875. Initially they sat in the Railway Committee Room inside the Parliament buildings. They moved around among several vacant rooms until 1882 when they were relocated to a newly renovated building at the entrance of Parliament that had been used as a carriage house. It was only in 1949 that they were relocated to the courthouse where they preside today.
The court's first sitting was on January 17, but since there were no cases to be heard they adjourned until spring. That April the court was given a reference question from the Canadian Senate (in Re "The Brothers of the Christian Schools in Canada"). The Senate wanted to know if a bill entitled "An Act to incorporate the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Canada" was constitutional and within the authority of the federal government. Only Ritchie, Strong, and Fournier JJ. were in attendance, each only giving a short judgement. It was not until June that the Court heard its first case with Kelly v. Sullivan.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Supreme Court Of Canada
Famous quotes containing the word origins:
“Grown onto every inch of plate, except
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—W. T. Lhamon, U.S. educator, critic. “Material Differences,” Deliberate Speed: The Origins of a Cultural Style in the American 1950s, Smithsonian (1990)