Royal Proclamation of 2003
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's expulsion of French-speaking Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
peasant farmers from Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
beginning in 1755.
Historical background
The proclamation's origin dates back to a 1763 petitionPetition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
submitted to King George III of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
by Acadian exiles in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Because the King never responded to the petition, Warren A. Perrin, a Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and cultural activist from Erath
Erath, Louisiana
Erath is a town in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,187 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.Erath is home of the Acadian Museum....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, resurrected the petition and threatened to sue
Filing (legal)
In law, filing is the act of submitting a document to the clerk of a court for the court's immediate consideration, for storage in the court's files, or both. Courts will not consider motions unless an appropriate memorandum or brief is filed before the appropriate deadline...
England if it refused to acknowledge the illegality of the Grand Derangement.
After thirteen years of discussions, Perrin (now head of CODOFIL, the Council for Development of French in Louisiana) and his supporters in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
persuaded Queen Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Canada, to issue a royal proclamation acknowledging the historical fact of the Great Upheaval and consequent suffering experienced by the Acadian people. The document itself was signed by Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....
.
Text of the proclamation
Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Canada and her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the CommonwealthCommonwealthCommonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
, Defender of the Faith.
To All To Whom these Presents shall come or whom the same may in any way concern,
Greeting:
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
A Proclamation
Whereas the Acadian people, through the vitality of their community, have made a remarkable contribution to Canadian society for almost 400 years;
Whereas on July 28, 1755, the Crown, in the course of administering the affairs of the British colony of Nova Scotia, made the decision to deport the Acadian people;
Whereas the deportation of the Acadian people, commonly known as the Great Upheaval, continued until 1763 and had tragic consequences, including the deaths of many thousands of Acadians - from disease, in shipwrecks, in their places of refuge and in prison camps in Nova Scotia and England as well as in the British colonies in America;
Whereas We acknowledge these historical facts and the trials and suffering experienced by the Acadian people during the Great Upheaval;
Whereas We hope that the Acadian people can turn the page on this dark chapter of their history;
Whereas Canada is no longer a British colony but a sovereign state, by and under the Constitution of CanadaConstitution of CanadaThe Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada...
;
Whereas when Canada became a sovereign state, with regard to Canada, the Crown in right of Canada and of the provinces succeeded to the powers and prerogatives of the Crown in right of the United Kingdom;
Whereas We, in Our role as Queen of Canada, exercise the executive power by and under the Constitution of Canada;
Whereas this Our present Proclamation does not, under any circumstances, constitute a recognition of legal or financial responsibility by the Crown in right of Canada and of the provinces and is not, under any circumstances, a recognition of, and does not have any effect upon, any right or obligation of any person or group of persons;
And Whereas, by Order in Council P.C. 2003-1967 of December 6, 2003, the Governor in Council has directed that a proclamation do issue designating July 28 of every year as "A Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval", commencing on July 28, 2005;
Now Know You that We, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council for CanadaQueen's Privy Council for CanadaThe Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, do by this Our Proclamation, effective on September 5, 2004, designate July 28 of every year as "A Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval", commencing on July 28, 2005.
Of All Which Our Loving Subjects and all others whom these Presents may concern are hereby required to take notice and to govern themselves accordingly.
In Testimony Whereof, We have caused this Our Proclamation to be published and the Great Seal of CanadaGreat Seal of CanadaThe Great Seal of Canada is a seal used for official purposes of state in Canada such as the certification of Acts of Parliament that have been granted Royal Assent....
to be hereunto affixed. Witness: Our Right Trusty and Well-beloved Adrienne ClarksonAdrienne ClarksonAdrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....
, ChancellorChancellorChancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
and Principal Companion of Our Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, Chancellor and CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of Our Order of Military MeritOrder of Military Merit (Canada)The Order of Military Merit is a military honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada...
, Chancellor and Commander of Our Order of Merit of the Police ForcesOrder of Merit of the Police ForcesThe Order of Merit of the Police Forces is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the only such fellowship reserved only for members of Canada's various police forces...
, Governor GeneralGovernor General of CanadaThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.
At Our Government HouseRideau HallRideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 9,500 m2 , and 24 outbuildings around the...
, in Our City of OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, this tenth day of December in the year of Our Lord two thousand and three and in the fifty-second year of Our Reign.
By Command,
Jean-Claude Villiard
Deputy Registrar GeneralRegistrar General of CanadaThe Registrar General of Canada is responsible for registering all letters patent, commissions, instruments, proclamations, and any other documents that may, from time to time, be issued under the Great Seal of Canada or the Privy Seal of Canada...
of Canada
Sources
- Canada Gazette Part II, Vol. 137, No. 27, SI/2003-188
- Shane K. Bernard, The Cajuns: Americanization of a People (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003).
- Warren A. Perrin, Acadian Redemption: From Beausoleil Broussard to the Queen's Royal Proclamation (Erath, La.: Acadian Heritage and Cultural Foundation, 2004).