What is the status of the centralist powers of DISALLOWANCE (s.56 & s. 90), RESERVATION (s.57) and the DECLARATORY POWER (s.92(10) (c))?

•	Disallowance last used in 1943

•	Reservation last used in 1961 ("Bastedo Affair" in Saskatchewan)

•	Declaratory Power last used in 1961

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY:

"The modern development of ideas of judicial review and democratic responsibility have left no room for the exercise of the federal power of disallowance"---Peter Hogg, p. 120, 123.

A profound crisis of political legitimacy could be provoked by any national government or court that tried to enforce these obsolete powers"--- Andrew Heard, Canadian Constitutional Conventions, p. 101.

BUT: (See hand-out re: the 1997 Ontario Bill 103)

There are 3 questions we should ask whenever possible use of these powers is being discussed:

(1) From the Patriation Reference, what can we say that the Supreme Court of Canada would say about a court challenge to the use of these powers, especially the first two?

(2) The Secession Reference, for example, speaks of the importance of the federalism principle, but are there other principles, equally or more important, that could be invoked by a federal government seeking to use one of these powers?

(3) Are there alternative legal or political mechanisms open to a government seeking to use such powers?