Democratic Deficit in Canada

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The Canadian constitution is bereft of democratic legitimacy; an alluring term for political democratic deficit. Over the past years, the unsuccessful attempts to reform its laws have made passing new bills and regulations almost an unreachable goal for every newly elected prime minister. This inflexibility in adapting new laws made the fundamental principles of the Canadian constitution knew only few reforms. The lack of democratic accountability in the Canadian parliamentary democracy is demonstrated not only in its electoral system, but also in its national parliament and at the federal level of its politics. Many reforms must be addressed in order to make the Canadian democracy healthier. Trying to apply new reforms in the Canadian constitution has been no easy task. The mixture of the parliamentary/monarchy powers denies the citizens’ direct participation in the government’s decision-making process and does not allow the existence of a complete free democratic system. A true democracy simply cannot fully exist with a restricted monarch selecting type of government and any reforms must be applied to make Canadian constitutions’ laws be based on democratic principles. The deficiency of the Canadian electoral system decreases the level of democracy in the Canadian constitution. Canadian citizens are known for being active in political matters; whether it relates to them specifically or not. In fact, “on average, educated, well informed, and interested in politics – all factors associated with high voter turnout.” But if this is the case, why is there a democratic deficit in the Canadian electoral system? The answer is simple: Most elections today rely heavily on media when it comes to national context; which decreases the l... ... middle of paper ... ....ca/~jheath/democracy.pdf (accessed October 17, 2013). Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Tanguay, Brian . "Electoral Reform in Canada: Addressing the Democratic Deficit | Manitoba Law Journal." Robson Hall Faculty of Law. http://robsonhall.ca/mlj/content/electoral-reform-canada-addressing-democratic-deficit (accessed October 21, 2013). Heath, Joseph. "The democracy deficit in Canada." University of Toronto. homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~jheath/democracy.pdf (accessed October 17, 2013). http://www.ucl.ac.uk/spp/publications/unit-publications/24.pdf http://www.ppforum.ca/sites/default/files/edging_towards_diversity_final.pdf Ibid. Heath, Joseph. "The democracy deficit in Canada." University of Toronto. homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~jheath/democracy.pdf (accessed October 17, 2013) http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/627461/canada-suffering-from-huge-democratic-deficit-report-says

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