1.
Red Ensign
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The Red Ensign or Red Duster is the civil ensign of the United Kingdom. It is one of the British ensigns, and it is used either plain and it is the flag flown by British Merchant ships since 1707. Prior to 1707 an English red ensign and a Scottish red ensign were flown by the English and Scottish navies respectively. The precise date of the first appearance of these earlier red ensigns is not known, in 1674, a Royal Proclamation of Charles II confirmed that the Red Ensign was the appropriate flag to be worn by English merchant ships. The wording of the 1674 proclamation indicates that the flag was customarily being used by English merchantmen before that date, at this time, the ensign displayed the English Cross of St George in the canton. It is probable that the cross-saltire was adopted by the Scots as an ensign at a very early period. The earliest Scottish records were lost at sea in the ship that was sent to them to that country, whence they had been carried off, with the Stone of Destiny. Prior to 1707 the Scottish Red Ensign was flown by ships of the Royal Scots Navy and this resulted in a new red ensign which placed the first Union Flag in the first quarter. The new design of the Red Ensign was proclaimed by Queen Anne and this was the flag flown by ships of the thirteen American colonies before the American Revolution and was a precursor to the colonies Grand Union Flag. In 1801, with another Act of Union, Ireland joined with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the St Patricks Cross was added to the Union Flag and, accordingly, to the first quarters of the British ensigns. In 1854, the Merchant Shipping Act included a provision that the Red Ensign was the appropriate flag for a British merchantman. This provision was repeated in successive British shipping legislation, the white ensign and the blue ensign were also used by the Royal Navy. Many in the Admiralty felt that the Royal Navys use of three separate ensigns was outdated and confusing, many also felt that steam merchantmen should be clearly distinguishable from warships. In July 1864, an order-in-council provided that the White Ensign was the ensign of the Royal Naval Service, the Blue Ensign was designated as the proper national colours for ships commanded by an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve, and as national colours for ships in government service. The Red Ensign was assigned to British merchantmen, most British colonies needed to use the blue ensign due to the fact that most had government vessels, some colonies, such as South Australia, had warships. As a result, the Blue Ensign was used throughout the Empire and thus became the model for the used by a number of colonies. At the same time, the red ensign was used by merchantmen of those colonies which obtained an Admiralty warrant. Not all colonies obtained an Admiralty warrant, however, the ones that did tended to be larger and those areas that did not have an Admiralty warrant used the plain Red Ensign, although unofficial local versions of the Red Ensign were used
2.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
3.
Union Jack
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The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. Further, it is used as a flag in some of the smaller British overseas territories. The Union Jack also appears in the canton of the flags of several nations, the claim that the term Union Jack properly refers only to naval usage has been disputed, following historical investigations by the Flag Institute in 2013. The origins of the flag of Great Britain date back to 1606. King James also began to refer to a Kingdom of Great Britaine, the present design of the Union Flag dates from a Royal proclamation following the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Notably, the country of Wales is not represented separately in the Union Jack, being only indirectly represented through the cross of St George. The terms Union Jack and Union Flag are both historically correct for describing the de facto flag of the United Kingdom. Whether the term Union Jack applies only when used as a flag on a ship is a modern matter of debate. According to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Until the early 17th century England and Scotland were two independent kingdoms. This changed dramatically in 1603 on the death of Elizabeth I of England, because the Queen died unmarried and childless, the English crown passed to the next available heir, her cousin James VI, King of Scotland. England and Scotland now shared the same monarch under what was known as a union of the crowns, in 1606, James VI gave orders for a British flag to be created which bore the combined crosses of St. George and of St. Andrew. The result was the Union Jack, Jack being a shortening of Jacobus, the institute also notes, it is often stated that the Union Flag should only be described as the Union Jack when flown in the bows of a warship, but this is a relatively recent idea. In 1908, a government minister stated, in response to a parliamentary question, notwithstanding Their Lordships circular of 1902, by 1913 the Admiralty described the Union Flag and added in a foot note that A Jack is a Flag to be flown only on the Jack Staff. However, the authoritative A Complete Guide to Heraldry published in 1909 by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies uses the term Union Jack, the term Union Flag is used in King Charles Is 1634 proclamation. Andrew and St. Patrick Quarterly per Saltire, counterchanged Argent and Gules, when the first flag representing Britain was introduced on the proclamation of King James I in 1606, it became known simply as the British flag or the flag of Britain. The royal proclamation gave no name to the new flag. The word jack was in use before 1600 to describe the maritime bow flag, by 1627 a small Union Jack was commonly flown in this position. Reinforcing the distinction the Kings proclamation of the day concerning the arms
4.
Royal Canadian Legion
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The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization founded in 1925. Membership is now open to the general public. In Canada, several veterans organizations emerged during World War I, the Great War Veterans Association, founded in 1917 by Lillian Bilsky Freiman, was the first national organization for veterans, and by 1919 it was the largest veterans organization in Canada. Following World War I,15 different organizations existed to aid returning veterans in Canada, field Marshal Earl Haig, founder of the British Empire Service League, visited Canada in 1925 and urged the organizations to merge. In the same year, the Dominion Veterans Alliance was created to unite these organizations, in November 1925, the Canadian Legion was founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League. The Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League was incorporated by an act of parliament the following year. The Legion grew steadily through the 1930s and then expanded rapidly following World War II, in 1960, Elizabeth II granted The Legion royal patronage and it became The Royal Canadian Legion. On 10 November 1975 Canada Post issued The Royal Canadian Legion, the 8¢ stamps are perforated 13 and were printed by British American Bank Note Company. The National Headquarters of The Royal Canadian Legion in Ottawa, Ontario features a Wall of Remembrance, the Wall of Remembrance is adorned by an 11-ft long stainless steel sword by André Gauthier. The Royal Canadian Legion commissioned a work of art on the theme of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by André Gauthier. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 593 erected a memorial in Ottawa dedicated to those who died in the First and Second World Wars, a number of military museums are co-located and affiliated with Royal Canadian Legions. Most small towns and villages in Canada have at least one Legion Hall, often the Legion Hall is a major community centre, combining the functions of a pub, pool hall, dance hall, bingo hall, banquet hall, and so on. Legion Halls are numbered, for example Branch 99 Royal Canadian Legion and this is not a nationwide numbering system as you might expect, however, each provincial Command has its own numerical sequence. Branch 99, therefore, can refer to any of several Legion Halls, as follows, Belleville, Ontario, Cowansville, Quebec, Lipton/Dysart, Saskatchewan, Coronation, Alberta, or Emo, the Royal Canadian Legion Maple Leaf Post-84 is located in Royal Oak, Michigan. The Legion is responsible for Canadas remembrance poppy campaign which distributes plastic lapel poppies to be worn in the lead up to Remembrance Day, the poppy is worn on the left lapel, or as close to the heart as possible. The current lapel poppy has been manufactured since 1922—originally under the sponsorship of the Department of Soldiers Civil Re-establishment, until 1996, the poppy material was manufactured at sheltered workshops operated by Veterans Affairs Canada. Poppies are distributed through retail outlets, workplaces, Legion branches, malls, funds raised are used to support ex-service members in need and to fund medical appliances and research, home services, care facilities and numerous other purposes benefiting veterans. Members of the Legion perform graveside memorial ceremonies for veterans at cemeteries throughout Canada, the Legion also performs ceremonies annually at the gravesites of Canadian and British servicemen interred in the United States, generally on a Sunday in May
5.
Flag of Canada
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It is the first ever specified by law for use as the countrys national flag. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected. The flag made its first official appearance on February 15,1965, also, the Royal Union Flag remains an official flag in Canada. There is no law dictating how the flag is to be treated. The flag is horizontally symmetric and therefore the obverse and reverse sides appear identical, the width of the Maple Leaf flag is twice the height. The white field is a Canadian pale, each bordering red field is exactly half its size, in heraldic terminology, the flags blazon as outlined on the original royal proclamation is gules on a Canadian pale argent a maple leaf of the first. The maple leaf has been used as a Canadian emblem since the 18th century and it was first used as a national symbol in 1868 when it appeared on the coat of arms of both Ontario and Quebec. In 1867, Alexander Muir composed the patriotic song The Maple Leaf Forever, the maple leaf was later added to the Canadian coat of arms in 1921. From 1876 until 1901, the leaf appeared on all Canadian coins, the use of the maple leaf by the Royal Canadian Regiment as a regimental symbol extended back to 1860. During the First World War and Second World War, badges of the Canadian Forces were often based on a leaf design. The maple leaf would eventually adorn the tombstones of Canadian military graves and these colours became entrenched as the national colours of Canada upon the proclamation of the Royal Standard of Canada in 1962. The Department of Canadian Heritage has listed the various shades for printing ink that should be used when reproducing the Canadian flag. 62539/0 Rieger Inks, No.25564 Sinclair and Valentine, No, the colours 0/100/100/0 in the CMYK process, PMS032, or PMS485 in the Pantone colour specifier can be used when reproducing the flag. For the Federal Identity Program, the red tone of the flag has an RGB value of 255–0–0. In 1984, the National Flag of Canada Manufacturing Standards Act was passed to unify the manufacturing standards for used in both indoor and outdoor conditions. The first flag known to have flown in Canada was the St Georges Cross carried by John Cabot when he reached Newfoundland in 1497, in 1534, Jacques Cartier planted a cross in Gaspé bearing the French royal coat of arms with the fleurs-de-lis. His ship flew a red flag with a cross, the French naval flag at the time. New France continued to fly the evolving French military flags of that period, as the de jure national flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Flag was used similarly in Canada since the 1621 British settlement in Nova Scotia
6.
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
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The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, often shortened to Ontario PC Party or PC, is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. It governed the province for 80 of the 149 years since Confederation and it is the Official Opposition in the current Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The first Conservative Party in Upper Canada was made up of United Empire Loyalists, once responsible government was granted in response to the 1837 Rebellions, the Tories emerged as moderate reformers who opposed the radical policies of the Reformers and then the Clear Grits. The modern Conservative Party originated in the Liberal-Conservative coalition founded by Sir John A. Macdonald and it is a variant of this coalition that formed the first government in Ontario with John Sandfield Macdonald as Premier. Sandfield Macdonald was actually a Liberal and sat concurrently as a Liberal Party of Canada MP in the Canadian House of Commons, after losing power in 1871, this Conservative coalition began to dissolve. The party became opposed to funding for schools, opposed to language rights for French-Canadians. Paradoxically, an element of the party gained a reputation for being pro-labour as a result of links between the Orange Order and the labour movement. After 33 years in Opposition, the Tories returned to power under James P. Whitney, the Whitney government initiated massive public works projects such as the creation of Ontario Hydro. It also enacted legislation against the French-Canadian population in Ontario. The Tories were in power for all but five years from 1905 to 1934, after the death of Whitney in 1914, however, they lacked vision and became complacent. The Tories lost power to the United Farmers of Ontario in the 1919 election but were able to regain office in 1923 election due to the UFOs disintegration and they were defeated by Mitch Hepburns Liberals in 1934 due to their inability to cope with the Great Depression. Late in the 1930s and early in the 1940s, the Conservatives re-organized and developed new policies, the Conservatives took advantage of Liberal infighting to win a minority government in the 1943 provincial election, reducing the Liberals to third-party status. Drew called another election in 1945, only two years into his mandate, to get a majority government, the party would dominate Ontario politics for the next four decades. In 1961, John Robarts became the 17th premier of Ontario and he was one of the most popular premiers in years. Under Robarts lead, the party epitomized power and he hosted the 1967 Confederation of Tomorrow conference in Toronto in an unsuccessful attempt to achieve an agreement for a new Constitution of Canada. Robarts opposed Canadian medicare when it was proposed, but later endorsed it fully, and he led the party towards a civil libertarian movement. As a strong believer in the promotion of official languages, he opened the door to French education in Ontario schools. In 1971, Bill Davis became party leader and the 18th premier, anti-Catholicism became an issue again in the 1971 election, when the Tories campaigned strenuously against a Liberal proposal to extend funding for Catholic separate schools until Grade 13
7.
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
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The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is one of two components of the Legislature of Ontario, the other being the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The Legislative Assembly is the second largest Canadian provincial deliberative assembly by number of members after the National Assembly of Quebec, the Assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queens Park in the provincial capital of Toronto. The premier is Ontarios head of government, while the Lieutenant Governor, as representative of the Queen, the largest party not forming the government is known as the Official Opposition, its leader being recognized as Leader of the Opposition by the Speaker. The Ontario Legislature is sometimes referred to as the Ontario Provincial Parliament, Members of the assembly refer to themselves as Members of the Provincial Parliament as opposed to Members of the Legislative Assembly as in many other provinces. Ontario is the province to do so, in accordance with a resolution passed in the Assembly on April 7,1938. However, the Legislative Assembly Act refers only to members of the Assembly, the current assembly was elected on June 12,2014 as part of the 41st Parliament of Ontario. The first session of the 41st Parliament opened on July 2,2014, on Friday May 2,2014, the 40th Parliament of Ontario was dissolved by Lieutenant Governor David C. Onley on the advice of Premier Kathleen Wynne after the NDP, the election was held on June 12,2014, as a result of which Kathleen Wynnes Liberal Party formed a majority government. Queens Park is a metonym for the Legislative Assembly, in accordance with the traditions of the Westminster System, most laws originate with the cabinet, and are passed by the legislature after stages of debate and decision-making. Ordinary Members of the Legislature may introduce privately, play an role in scrutinizing bills in debate and committee. Members are expected to be loyal to both their parliamentary party and to the interests of their constituents, in the Ontario legislature this confrontation provides much of the material for Oral Questions and Members Statements. Legislative scrutiny of the executive is also at the heart of much of the carried out by the Legislatures Standing Committees. Finally, it is the task of the legislature to provide the personnel of the executive, as already noted, under responsible government, ministers of the Crown are expected to be Members of the Assembly. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the first and the legislature in Canada to have a Coat of Arms separate from the provincial coat of arms. Green and gold are the colours in the shield of arms of the province. The Mace is the symbol of the authority of the Speaker. Shown on the left is the current Mace, on the right is the original Mace from the time of the first parliament in 1792. The crossed Maces are joined by the shield of arms of Ontario, the crown on the wreath represents national and provincial loyalties, its rim is studded with the provincial gemstone, the amethyst
8.
Saint George's Cross
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Saint Georges Cross, also called Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background. Sometimes associated with Saint George, the saint, often depicted as a crusader from the late Middle Ages, the cross has appeared on many flags, emblems, standards. Its first documented use was as the ensign of the Republic of Genoa, the cross is also found, for various reasons, on the provincial flags of Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel and Barcelona. In Northern Ireland the cross appears on the flag of the loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force, Saint George became widely venerated as a warrior saint during the Third Crusade. There was a legend that he had miraculously assisted Godfrey of Bouillon, however, there was no association of the red cross with St George before the end of the crusades. The red-on-white combination was chosen by Genoa and Aragon, among others, Saint George was depicted as a crusader knight during this time, but the red cross had no particular association with him. A crusader-era fresco in the crypt of Trani cathedral shows Saint George wearing a cross on a red surcoat. It continued to be used as the Reichssturmfahne of the Holy Roman Empire, eventually giving rise to the flag of Savoy and the present-day flags of Switzerland and Denmark). The association with the Saint of the red-on-white cross probably arises in Genoa, a vexillum beati Georgii is mentioned in the Genovese annals for the year 1198, referring to a red flag with a depiction of St George and the dragon. An illumination of this flag is shown in the annals for the year 1227, the Genoese flag with the red cross was used alongside this Georges flag, from at least 1218, and was known as the insignia cruxata comunis Janue. The flag showing the saint himself was the principal war flag. The cross ceased to be a symbol associated with the taking of the cross. With the development of heraldry, there was great demand for variations of the cross symbol. Juliana Berners reports that there were Crossis innumerabull born dayli, the term St Georges cross was at first associated with any plain Greek cross touching the edges of the field. Thomas Fuller in 1647 spoke of the plain or St Georges cross as the mother of all the others. Edward III of England chose Saint George as the saint of his Order of the Garter in 1348. There was a tradition claiming that Richard the Lionheart himself adopted both the flag and the patron saint from Genoa at some point during his crusade. This idea can be traced to the Victorian era, Perrin refers to it as a common belief, the English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege
9.
Royal assent
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Royal assent is the method by which a countrys constitutional monarch formally approves an act of that nations parliament, thus making it a law or letting it be promulgated as law. Royal assent is sometimes associated with elaborate ceremonies, however, royal assent is usually granted less ceremonially by letters patent. In other nations, such as Australia, the Governor-General merely signs the bill, in Canada, the Governor-General may give assent either in person at a ceremony held in the Senate or by a written declaration notifying parliament of his or her agreement to the bill. Before the Royal Assent by Commission Act of 1541 became law, the last time royal assent was given by the sovereign in person was during the rule of Queen Victoria at a prorogation on the 12th of August 1854. The Act was repealed and replaced by the Royal Assent Act of 1967, Royal assent is the final step required for a parliamentary bill to become law. -the sovereign may delay the bills assent through the use of his or her powers in near-revolutionary situations. -the sovereign may refuse royal assent on the advice of his or her ministers, under modern constitutional conventions, the sovereign acts on the advice of his or her ministers. Since these ministers most often maintain the support of parliament and are the ones who obtain the passage of bills, it is highly improbable that they would advise the sovereign to withhold assent. Hence, in practice, royal assent is always granted. The Monarch does not have the power to withhold a Bill from assenting, the last bill that was refused assent by the sovereign was the Scottish Militia Bill during Queen Annes reign in 1708. The so-called Model Parliament included bishops, abbots, earls, barons, in 1265, the Earl of Leicester irregularly called a full parliament without royal authorization. The body eventually came to be divided into two branches, bishops, abbots, earls, and barons formed the House of Lords, while the shire, the King would seek the advice and consent of both houses before making any law. The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 provide a second potential preamble if the House of Lords were to be excluded from the process, the power of parliament to pass bills was often thwarted by monarchs. Charles I dissolved parliament in 1629, after it passed motions critical of, during the eleven years of personal rule that followed, Charles performed legally dubious actions, such as raising taxes without parliaments approval. After the English Civil War, it was accepted that parliament should be summoned to meet regularly, the last Stuart monarch, Anne, similarly withheld on 11 March 1707, on the advice of her ministers, her assent from a bill for the settling of Militia in Scotland. No monarch has since withheld royal assent on a passed by the British parliament. During the rule of the succeeding Hanoverian dynasty, power was gradually exercised more by parliament, the first Hanoverian monarch, George I, relied on his ministers to a greater extent than did previous monarchs. However, George IV reluctantly granted his assent upon the advice of his ministers, thus, as the concept of ministerial responsibility has evolved, the power to withhold royal assent has fallen into disuse, both in the United Kingdom and in the other Commonwealth realms
10.
Upper Canada
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The new province remained, for the next fifty years of growth and settlement, the colonial government of the territory. Upper Canada existed from 26 December 1791 to 10 February 1841, the upper prefix in the name reflects its geographic position being closer to the headwaters of the Saint Lawrence River than that of Lower Canada to the northeast. The control the French had over Canada was handed over to Great Britain in 1763 when the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years War in America. The territories of modern southern Ontario and southern Quebec were initially maintained as the single Province of Quebec, from 1763 to 1791, the Province of Quebec maintained its French language, cultural behavioural expectations, practices and laws. This region quickly became culturally distinct, while the act addressed some religious issues, it did not appease those used to English law. Upper Canada became an entity on December 26,1791 with the Parliament of Great Britains passage of the Constitutional Act of 1791. The act divided the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada, the first lieutenant-governor was John Graves Simcoe. On February 1,1796, the capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark to York, which was judged to be less vulnerable to attack by the Americans. Upper Canadas constitution was said to be the image and transcript of the British constitution. The Executive Council of Upper Canada had a function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly. They held a position, however, and did not serve in administrative offices as cabinet ministers do. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were members of the Legislative Council. The Legislative branch of the government consisted of the parliament comprising legislative council, forces in the War of 1812, rebuilt, then burned again by accident. The site was abandoned for another, to the west. The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada, although modelled after the British House of Lords, Upper Canada had no aristocracy. Members of the Legislative council, appointed for life, formed the core of the group, the Family Compact. The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada functioned as the house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lieutenant Governor, Executive Council, local government in the Province of Upper Canada was based on districts
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