This article originally appeared in the Financial Post. Below is an excerpt from the article.
By Jack Mintz, May 31, 2024
The recent recognition by Ireland, Norway and Spain of a Palestinian state raises the question: what exactly is a “state”?
That question is important here at home, as well. After all, Canadian provinces have “sovereignty” over certain rights and obligations, but are not treated as states. The reason is that constitutional responsibility over international affairs falls to the national government.
The Parti Québécois, which is currently leading in the polls in Quebec, promises a third referendum on separation if it wins the next provincial election. Should that referendum succeed, Canadians will have the unpleasant task of debating the conditions under which a province can secede from Canada and become an internationally recognized state.
The characteristics of a state as an “international person” were originally described in an often-quoted provision of the 1933 Montevideo Convention: “The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.”
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