Canada's Hicameral System

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Recommended: Social effects from the residential schools

Canada is awesome. As a matter of fact, everything is awesome. We have an amazing country to live in. From the Vancouver Island to the Alberta highland, cross the prairies, the lakes, to Ontario’s towers. From the sound of Mount Royals chimes, out to the Maritimes, lots of stuff to get excited about, this land of ours. Across this land of ours is our wonderful, democratic, bicameral government. To make sure our government makes smart choices, every law has to be agreed on by the House of Commons, The Senate and either the Governor General or Queen. Our Country is one of the nicest and most apologetic countries you will ever find. From the most intense basketball game to the death of a family member, we are always saying sorry. One of Canada’s …show more content…

The bicameral system is carried out in the name of the queen, by and with the advice and consent of the House of Commons and the Senate. In Canada the Queen is the “Head of State”. Because the queen resides in England she is represented in Canada by the Governor General. The House of Commons is the first house that the bill goes to. It is known as the lower house and is made up of elected representatives known as MP’s. The leader if the party with the most votes becomes the Prime Minister. The party with the second most votes becomes the official opposition. If a bill passes through the House of Commons it goes to the Senate. The Senate is the upper house and was designed to give “sober second thought”. For a bill to become law, it must go through the House of Commons and the Senate and then get royal assent from the Governor General. If the Governor General agrees, the act comes into force. The bicameral system is the reason laws take so long to be made but are well thought …show more content…

One of the most important apologies that have happened in Canada was apologizing for the residential schools that the government created. These schools were meant to remove and isolate children from their homes, families, traditions and culture. The government realized the negative and damaging impact the schools had on the Aboriginals. Therefore, on behalf of the government and all Canadians, Stephen Harper wrote an apology. In September 2007, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement agreement began. The Truth and Reconciliation commission presents a new and unique opportunity to educate all Canadians on the Indian Residential Schools system. It’s a positive step to the respect to move forward to create a stronger Canada. Along with apologizing for Residential schools, some other important apologies were to the blacks in Canada and to the Americans for burning down the White House. Canada is also known for saying sorry about everything, even the things we don’t actually do. Our apologetic attitude is a great characteristic of Canada and something all Canadians should be proud

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    “To kill the Indian in the child,” was the prime objective of residential schools (“About the Commission”). With the establishment of residential schools in the 1880s, attending these educational facilities used to be an option (Miller, “Residential Schools”). However, it was not until the government’s time consuming attempts of annihilating the Aboriginal Canadians that, in 1920, residential schools became the new solution to the “Indian problem.” (PMC) From 1920 to 1996, around one hundred fifty thousand Aboriginal Canadians were forcibly removed from their homes to attend residential schools (CBC News). Aboriginal children were isolated from their parents and their communities to rid them of any cultural influence (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Parents who refrained from sending their children to these educational facilities faced the consequence of being arrested (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Upon the Aboriginal children’s arrival into the residential schools, they were stripped of their culture in the government’s attempt to assimilate these children into the predominately white religion, Christianity, and to transition them into the moderating society (Miller, “Residential Schools”). With the closing of residential schools in 1996, these educational facilities left Aboriginal Canadians with lasting negative intergenerational impacts (Miller, “Residential Schools”). The Aboriginals lost their identity, are affected economically, and suffer socially from their experiences.

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