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The Commonwealth is a loose, voluntary association of Britain and most of its former colonies.

Conflict of interest may be defined as a situation in which politicians and public servants have an actual or potential interest (usually financial) that may influence or appear to influence the conduct of their official duties (see PATRONAGE; CORRUPTION).

The Parti national was a political party founded in 1871 by Québec Liberals including Honoré MERCIER and Louis Jetté. It unsuccessfully attempted to acquire the clerical support for liberalism that the PARTI ROUGE lacked. Mercier revived it in 1885 during the uproar over Louis RIEL's execution.

Lawyers practiced their profession in Québec well before the constitution of the Bar of Lower-Canada by a law passed on May 30, 1849 (the Upper-Canada Bar had obtained its charter in 1797).

Washington, Treaty of, negotiated in 1871, came into effect in 1873. Canadian PM Sir John A. MACDONALD was one of 5 commissioners chosen to represent British interests, but he held little power during the deliberations.

Medical ethics are concerned with moral questions raised by the practice of medicine and, more generally, by health care.

Redistribution describes both the allocation of seats in the House of Commons to the provinces and the procedure for drawing specific constituency boundaries within the provinces. This occurs every 10 years.

Applebaum-Hébert Report. Name commonly given to the report of the Federal Cultural Policy Review Committee appointed by the Liberal government in August 1980. This was the first review of Canadian cultural institutions and federal cultural policy after the Massey Commission report of 1951.

The Royal Commission on Transportation (MacPherson Commission) was appointed by the federal government (1959) to investigate transportation policy, particularly freight-rate inequities.

Estate, very generally, means all property owned by an individual. For example, the property (including land) owned by a deceased person is referred to as that person's estate. The estate can commence and be subject to legal proceedings, and can be liable to pay debts.

The opening of Parliament may refer either to the beginning of the first session of PARLIAMENT after a general election or to the beginning of a subsequent session.

White-Collar Crime consists of occupational crime and corporate crime. Occupational crime refers to offences committed against legitimate institutions (businesses or government) by those with "respectable" social status.

The People’s Party of Canada (PPC) was founded in September 2018 by Maxime Bernier a month after he left the Conservative Party.

Censorship is the exercise of prior governmental control over what can be printed, published, represented or broadcast. Soon after the invention of the printing press, the English CROWN resorted to various censorship controls.

Civil Law, the system of LAW that evolved from the Roman law compilations of the Emperor Justinian. Today it is found in countries of continental Europe as well as their former colonies and, in Canada, in Québec. In many jurisdictions it is in force in the form of a CIVIL CODE.

Colonial Office, a department established by the British government to administer its colonial possessions, including British North America.

The Eldridge decision focused on federal spending power and on equality rights guaranteed in section 15 of the Charter.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruling in the R. v. Sioui case on 24 May 1990 transformed understandings of treaty interpretations in Canada. Four Huron-Wendat brothers were charged and convicted of illegally camping, starting fires and cutting down trees in Jacques-Cartier Park in Québec. The Supreme Court found that the brothers were justified in arguing that a document signed by General James Murray and the Huron-Wendat chief in 1760 protected their right to use the land for ceremonial purposes and overturned the convictions.

 With the arrival of INDUSTRIALIZATION over the course of the nineteenth century, early attempts to aid the poor were linked with ideas of moral and social reform and were intertwined with religion.