Letters Patent, 1947

rdf:langString Letters Patent, 1947

rdf:langString The Letters Patent, 1947 (more formally, the Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada) are letters patent signed by George VI as King of Canada which reconstituted the office of Governor General of Canada under the terms of the Constitution Act, 1867. The letters were signed on 8 September 1947 and have been in effect since 1 October 1947, replacing the previous letters patent issued in 1931, to expand the role and powers of the governor general in exercising the royal prerogative and allow her or him to carry out an increased number of the Sovereign's duties in "exceptional circumstances". The letters patent allow the governor general to use most of the "powers and authorities" lawfully belonging to the Sovereign. While the Crown theoretically has the power to revoke and alter the letters' patent at will, it remains unclear to what extent that power remains after the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982, which requires all changes to the office of the king and the governor general to be done through a constitutional amendment approved by Parliament and all provincial legislatures