In 1982 Mr Trudeau "patriated" the constitution from Britain to Canada, attaching an amending formula and a "Canadian charter of rights and freedoms" to the old British North America Act.
The second objective was accomplished with the Constitution Act of 1982, which incorporated a Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a general amending formula based on seven provinces comprising over 50 per cent of the Canadian population.
His terms in office were marked by the establishment of diplomatic relations with China (1970) and improved relations with France, the defeat of the French separatist movement, constitutional independence from the British Parliament, and the formation of a new Canadian constitution with the principal additions of a bill of rights and an amending formula.
MacLellan believed the amending formula needed would be the one requiring the support of seven provincial governments representing at least half of Canada's population.
The Statute of Westminster 1931 granted full autonomy and the Constitution Act, 1982, ended all legislative ties to the UK, as well as adding a constitutional amending formula and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Most written constitutions contain amending formulae which can be triggered by, and require the participation of, the government bodies whose powers they limit.
A big test involves the minimum wage, due to rise next year by 7.5% above inflation, unless the government amends the formula used to calculate it.
Earlier this year, citing figures from Hedge Fund Research, a firm that tracks the industry, The Economist said, "Investors have succeeded in amending the formula to something more like '1.4 and 17,' at least for newcomers to the business".
They have succeeded in amending the formula to something more like "1.4 and 17", at least for newcomers to the business (see chart).The primary reason for the erosion is the lousy returns that "alternative assets" have brought.
When Watchdog first highlighted this potentially harmful ingredient in June this year, Johnson & Johnson did not amend the formula because it claimed the number of reported instances of reaction was small.
Hartshorne, who greatly admired Heschel, amends this formula in an attempt to distill the essence of process theism, "God is the most and best moved mover" (Hartshorne 1997, 6, 39; Viney 2006).
