Oh. Canada.

Today is Canada Day, which celebrates the day in 1867 that the British Government, by passing the British North American Act, said to the Canadians: "OK, you want your own country? Fine! Stop bugging us."

Of course, it really wasn't full independence, which is probably why the Canadians had to give the day a kind of a generic name. The British Crown retained quite a bit of control over Canada. For one thing, the British government retailed the sole power to amend the Canadian constitution until 1949. The Brits also retained control of the Canadian armed forces until 1931; the Commander-in-Chief of Canada's military is still Queen Elizabeth II.

So happy Sort of Nominal Loosening of Control by the Crown Day!