| Rebellion Losses Bill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliament of the Province of Canada | |
| |
| Citation | SProvC 1849, c. 58 |
| Enacted by | Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada |
| Enacted by | Legislative Council of the Province of Canada |
| Royal assent | April 25, 1849 |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber: Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada | |
| Introduced by | Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine |
| First reading | February 27, 1849 |
| Second reading | March 2, 1849 |
| Third reading | March 9, 1849 |
| Second chamber: Legislative Council of the Province of Canada | |
| Third reading | March 15, 1849 (Legislative Council) |
| Related legislation | |
| An Act to authorise the appointment of Commissioners to investigate the claims of certain Inhabitants of this Province, for losses sustained during the late unnatural Rebellion, SUC 1838, c. 13 An Act to make provision for the payment of certain losses, sustained by sundry individuals therein named, SUC 1839, c. 68. | |
| Status: Spent | |
The Rebellion Losses Bill (full name: An Act to provide for the Indemnification of Parties in Lower Canada whose Property was destroyed during the Rebellion in the years 1837 and 1838) was a controversial law enacted by the legislature of the Province of Canada in 1849.[1] Its passage and subsequent royal assent, this being a affirmation of responsible government in the colony, by the Governor General, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin makes the bill a landmark piece of legislation in Canadian political history.
The bill was enacted to compensate Lower Canadians who lost property during the Rebellions of 1837 with measures similar to those providing compensation in Upper Canada. Two factors made this measure controversial. Even though participants in the Rebellion could not be compensated with taxpayer's money, sympathy for the Rebellion was more widespread in Lower Canada so that compensation in Lower Canada was seen as "giving money to the rebels". Secondly, the damage done by the army far exceeded the damage done by the rebels, so that enacting provisions to compensate for damages done by the army was considered an act of disloyalty to the Crown.
The enactment of the bill angered some of Montreal's Tory citizens and provoked weeks of violent disturbances known as the Montreal Riots. These culminated in the burning of the Parliament building on April 25, 1849, which at the time was in Montreal.