Because Canada's federal and provincial governments failed in 1927 to come to an agreement on ways and means to amend the British North America (BNA) Act --an Act of the Imperial Parliament of the United Kingdom that was and has remained, in effect, Canada's constitution -the 1931 Statute of Westminster, which bestowed political independence on Canada in that it gave to Canadian governments the power to make and to amend laws in all areas, including international affairs, withheld that right with respect to the BNA Act itself.
The only government that could formally amend the Canadian constitution remained that of the United Kingdom, although, as a matter of convention, that right was never exercised unless explicitly requested by Canada. After fifty-five years of repeated attempts, that situation was brought to an end in April, 1982, when the Canada Act was officially proclaimed. An agreement had, however, been reached in November of the preceding year which had largely settled the issues incorporated in that proclamation.
The events of the two years immediately preceding the Consti-