35-440: Edgar John " Ben " Benson PC FCA (May 28, 1923 – September 2, 2011) was a Canadian politician , businessman, diplomat , and university professor. He held four cabinet posts, most notably that of Minister of Finance under Pierre Trudeau , where he was instrumental in reforming Canada's income tax law. He was described as "Pierre Trudeau's unflappable finance minister, the pipe-smoking financial wizard who raised
70-604: A Privy Council meeting presided over by the governor general occurred on 15 August 1873, in which Governor General the Earl of Dufferin outlined "the terms on which he would agree to a prorogation of Parliament" during the Pacific Scandal . When he served as viceroy, John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne , put an end to the practice of the governor general presiding over Privy Council meetings, other than for ceremonial occasions. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King had
105-710: A contemporary newspaper account, the conference, on 27 March, at Rideau Hall , consisted of 12 individuals, including Chief Justice Bora Laskin , who presided over the meeting; Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau ; several cabinet ministers; Stanley Knowles of the New Democratic Party ; and Alvin Hamilton of the Progressive Conservative Party . All gathered were informed of the Prince's engagement, nodded their approval, and then toasted
140-584: A member of His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada. I will in all things to be treated, debated and resolved in Privy Council, faithfully, honestly and truly declare my mind and my opinion. I shall keep secret all matters committed and revealed to me in this capacity, or that shall be secretly treated of in Council. Generally, in all things I shall do as a faithful and true servant ought to do for His Majesty. Provincial premiers are not commonly appointed to
175-477: A privy councillor of long standing, be given the style the Right Honourable upon his retirement from Parliament. According to Eugene Forsey , Privy Council meetings—primarily meetings of the full Cabinet or the prime minister and senior ministers, held with the governor general presiding—were not infrequent occurrences in the first 15 years following Canadian Confederation in 1867. One example of
210-698: Is distinct but also entwined within the Privy Council, as the president of the King's Privy Council for Canada customarily serves as one of its members and Cabinet ministers receive assistance in the performance of their duties from the Privy Council Office , headed by the clerk of the Privy Council . While the Cabinet specifically deals with the regular, day-to-day functions of the King-in-Council, occasions of wider national importance—such as
245-683: Is formally referred to as His Majesty's Government , is defined by the Canadian constitution as the sovereign acting on the advice of the Privy Council; what is known as the Governor-in-Council , referring to the governor general of Canada as the King's stand-in. The group of people is described as "a Council to aid and advise in the Government of Canada, to be styled the Queen's Privy Council for Canada", though, by convention ,
280-404: The 1971 Canadian federal budget . Marc Lalonde , a colleague and future Finance Minister, later said, "He was in finance at a critical time, he revolutionized the system. He launched a revolution. It was a revolution, a necessary step and a demanding task. What he did was economically justified. The basic tax structure that he put in place is still alive. No one has really touched it since." He
315-573: The 1972 election . Benson served as President of the Canadian Transport Commission from 1972 to 1982, and as Canadian Ambassador to Ireland from 1982 to 1985. He died on September 2, 2011, at the age of 88. Benson was conferred honorary degrees as a Doctor of Laws from: King%27s Privy Council for Canada The King's Privy Council for Canada ( French : Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada ), sometimes called His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply
350-557: The Privy Council ( PC ), is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Practically, the tenets of responsible government require the sovereign or his viceroy , the governor general of Canada , to almost always follow only that advice tendered by the Cabinet : a committee within the Privy Council composed usually of elected members of Parliament . Those summoned to
385-527: The Security Intelligence Review Committee be made privy councillors, if they are not already. To date, only Prime Minister Paul Martin advised that parliamentary secretaries be admitted to the Privy Council. Appointees to the King's Privy Council must recite the requisite oath: I, [name], do solemnly and sincerely swear (declare) that I shall be a true and faithful servant to His Majesty King Charles III , as
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#1732783018823420-535: The Canadian Cabinet, and other eminent Canadians. These appointments ended under Lester Pearson , though the traditional style remained in use, limited to only prime ministers and chief justices. In 1992, several eminent privy councillors, most of whom were long-retired from active politics, were granted the style by the Governor General and, in 2002, Jean Chrétien recommended that Herb Gray ,
455-521: The Canadian Federal Government Presented 12 March 1970 Parliament 28th Party Liberal Finance minister Edgar Benson Total revenue 15.387 billion Total expenditures 16.403 billion Deficit $ 1.016 billion ‹ 1969 1971 › The Canadian federal budget for fiscal year 1970–71 was presented by Minister of Finance Edgar Benson in
490-739: The Canadian Privy Council so as to illustrate the separation between Canada's Crown and that of the UK. The Council has assembled in the presence of the sovereign on two occasions: The first was at 10:00 a.m. on the Thanksgiving Monday of 1957, at the monarch's residence in Ottawa , Rideau Hall . There, Queen Elizabeth II chaired a meeting of 22 of her privy councilors, including her consort , by then titled as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whom Elizabeth had just appointed to
525-521: The Crown. In addition, the chief justices of Canada and former governors general are appointed. From time to time, the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition and heads of other opposition parties will be appointed to the Privy Council, either as an honour or to facilitate the distribution of sensitive information under the Security of Information Act and, similarly, it is required by law that those on
560-468: The KPC are appointed for life by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister of Canada , meaning that the group is composed predominantly of former Cabinet ministers, with some others having been inducted as an honorary gesture. Those in the council are accorded the use of an honorific style and post-nominal letters, as well as various signifiers of precedence. The Government of Canada , which
595-533: The Privy Council at that same meeting. The Queen also approved an order-in-council. Two years later, the Privy Council again met before the Queen, this time in Halifax, Nova Scotia , to confirm the appointment of Georges Vanier as governor general. There was originally some speculation that the coming together of the sovereign and her Council was not constitutionally sound. However, the Prime Minister at
630-534: The Privy Council convene in 1947 to consent to the marriage of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II ) to Philip Mountbatten , per the Royal Marriages Act 1772 . The Princess' father, King George VI , had offered an invitation for Mackenzie King to attend when the Privy Council of the United Kingdom met for the same purpose. But, the Prime Minister declined and held the meeting of
665-494: The Privy Council, but have been made members on special occasions, such as the centennial of Confederation in 1967 and the patriation of the constitution of Canada in 1982. On Canada Day in 1992, which also marked the 125th anniversary of Canadian Confederation , Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn appointed 18 prominent Canadians to the Privy Council, including the former Premier of Ontario David Peterson , retired hockey star Maurice Richard , and businessman Conrad Black (who
700-468: The Privy Council. The first non-Canadian sworn of the council was Billy Hughes , Prime Minister of Australia , who was inducted on 18 February 1916, at the request of Robert Borden —to honour a visiting head of government, but also so that Hughes could attend Cabinet meetings on wartime policy. Similarly, Winston Churchill , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , was inducted during a visit to Canada on 29 December 1941. Privy councillors are entitled to
735-578: The capacity of Assistant Professor of Commerce. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1962 general election as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston, Ontario . Initially appointed in 1962 as Parliamentary Secretary to then Minister of Finance Walter Gordon , he entered the Cabinet of Prime Minister Lester Pearson in 1964 as Minister of National Revenue , and served concurrently from 1966 to 1968 as
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#1732783018823770-464: The conventional "treaty" laid out in the preamble to the 1931 Statute of Westminster . Following the announcement of the Prince of Wales' engagement to Camilla Parker-Bowles , however, the Department of Justice announced its conclusion that the Privy Council was not required to meet to give its approval to the marriage, as the union would not result in offspring that would impact the succession to
805-460: The day. The quorum for Privy Council meetings is four. The Constitution Act, 1867 , outlines that persons are to be summoned and appointed for life to the King's Privy Council by the governor general, though convention dictates that this be done on the advice of the sitting prime minister. As its function is to provide the vehicle for advising the Crown, the members of the Privy Council are predominantly all living current and former ministers of
840-570: The first President of the Treasury Board . He was an early supporter of Pierre Trudeau in the 1968 Liberal leadership campaign to replace the retiring Pearson, and, together with Jean Marchand , was co-chairman of Trudeau's leadership bid. He was later appointed Minister of Finance , serving from 1968 to 1972. Benson's balanced budget for 1969-70 would be the last until Paul Martin 's budget of 1997-98 . Later in 1969, he introduced his white paper on Canadian tax reform, which paved
875-720: The ire of corporate Canada in the 1970s by bringing in a capital gains tax ." After serving overseas in the Second World War as a sergeant in the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery , Benson attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario , where he obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree. He became a chartered accountant and partner in the accounting firm of England, Leonard, Macpherson and Company, and co-owner of CKLC . Prior to his entry into politics, he also taught Business Administration at Queen's, in
910-509: The monarch's family have been appointed to the Privy Council: Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII ), appointed by his father, King George V , on 2 August 1927; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , appointed by his wife, Queen Elizabeth II , on 14 October 1957; and Prince Charles (now King Charles III ), appointed by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on 18 May 2014. On occasion, non-Canadians have been appointed to
945-419: The proclamation of a new Canadian sovereign following a demise of the Crown or conferring on royal marriages—will be attended to by more senior officials in the Privy Council, such as the prime minister, the chief justice of Canada , and other senior statesmen; though all privy councillors are invited to such meetings in theory, in practice, the composition of the gathering is determined by the prime minister of
980-534: The royal couple with champagne . David Brown, an official in the Privy Council Office, told The Globe and Mail that, had the Privy Council rejected the Prince of Wales' engagement, none of his children would have been considered legitimate heirs to the Canadian throne , thus setting up a potential break in the unified link to the crown of each of the Commonwealth realms , in contradiction to
1015-787: The style the Honourable (French: L'honorable ) or, for the prime minister, chief justice, or certain other eminent individuals, the Right Honourable (French: Le très honorable ) and the post-nominal letters PC (in French: CP ). Prior to 1967, the style the Right Honourable was only employed in Canada by those appointed to the Imperial Privy Council in London , such persons usually being prime ministers, Supreme Court chief justices, certain senior members of
1050-537: The task of giving the sovereign and governor general advice (in the construct of constitutional monarchy and responsible government , this is typically binding ) on how to exercise the royal prerogative via orders-in-council rests with the Cabinet—a committee of the Privy Council made up of other ministers of the Crown who are drawn from, and responsible to, the House of Commons in the Parliament . This body
1085-425: The throne. To mark the occasion of her Ruby Jubilee , Queen Elizabeth II, on Canada Day , 1992, presided over the swearing in of new members of her Privy Council. The most recent formal meeting of the Privy Council was on 10 September 2022, for the proclamation of the accession of King Charles III . 1970 Canadian federal budget 1970 ( 1970 ) Budget of
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1120-410: The time, John Diefenbaker , found no legal impropriety in the idea and desired to create a physical illustration of Elizabeth's position of Queen of Canada being separate to that of Queen of the United Kingdom. A formal meeting of the Privy Council was held in 1981 to give formal consent to the marriage of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III ), to Lady Diana Spencer . According to
1155-406: The way for: The proposals were subjected to intensive debate that lasted more than a year. Those concerning the capital gains tax were severely criticized by the business community, particularly Israel Asper , who condemned the measure. The reforms were only passed after significant amendment, and even then only through the use of closure . They came into effect on January 1, 1972, as prescribed by
1190-592: Was also instrumental in rolling out a national medical care plan and supplementary old age pensions and played a key role in federal-provincial relations. Benson wore a pair of new shoes on budget day in 1968 , although he said, "He didn't buy them just for the budget." The following year he did not wear new shoes when delivering the budget, saying jokingly that he couldn't afford them, and in 1970 proudly displayed his worn soles on budget day. He later served as Minister of National Defence from January to August 1972, when he retired from politics, choosing not to run in
1225-461: Was later expelled from the Privy Council by the Governor General on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper ). The use of Privy Council appointments as purely an honour was not employed again until 6 February 2006, when Harper advised the Governor General to appoint former member of Parliament John Reynolds , along with the new Cabinet . Harper, on 15 October 2007, also advised Governor General Michaëlle Jean to appoint Jim Abbott . Members of
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