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Essay on Democracy deficit in canada
Canadian senate reform
Canada's democracy essay
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SENATE: IT SHOULD STAY Introduction Canada has an upper chamber of the federal legislature called as “Senate”. This paper analyzes the factors those reflect towards the thought to keep Senate. Part 1 of the paper explores the creation of the senate through Constitution shedding some light on its lifeline. Senate lies at the heart of the agreements that gave birth to the Canadian federation. Part 2 of the paper analyzes and examines the key factors to support the support my statement to keep Senate. To provide a better understanding at some points, I will relate to out of country references. The last part will be covering the conclusion....... I Senate is one of Canada’s foundational political intuitions which lie at the heart of the agreements that gave birth to the Canadian federation. …show more content…
They wanted to preserve the British structure of a lower legislative chamber composed of elected representatives , an upper legislative chamber made up of elites appointed by the Crown, and the Crown as head of state.+++ Canada has developed as one of the major developed countries in the world. People globally put themselves into different types of immigration processes everyday to be a part of the country. My last statement may not prove anything but can make one think of the obvious fact that undoubtedly, Canada is one of the best places to live in the world. I emigrated from India with my family with the same kind of thoughts in mind- safety in terms of better law and order, better economy and lifestyle. These thoughts have been achieved by Canada nevertheless from its strong
The Founding Fathers and Canada’s Founders both faced many obstacles and concerns when working towards creating the best possible form of government for their respectable nations. The Federalist Papers seek to counter the Articles of Confederation whereas Canada’s Founding Debates is a discussion between supporters and opponents of Confederation. Between the Founding Fathers and Canada’s Founders in the Founding Papers chapter Federal Union, there are many common concerns about the future of the country. When there is a change in how a country is structured, it brings concern over group rights and interest being ignored for the common good, and it is very
Democracy is more than merely a system of government. It is a culture – one that promises equal rights and opportunity to all members of society. Democracy can also be viewed as balancing the self-interests of one with the common good of the entire nation. In order to ensure our democratic rights are maintained and this lofty balance remains in tact, measures have been taken to protect the system we pride ourselves upon. There are two sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that were implemented to do just this. Firstly, Section 1, also known as the “reasonable limits clause,” ensures that a citizen cannot legally infringe on another’s democratic rights as given by the Charter. Additionally, Section 33, commonly referred to as the “notwithstanding clause,” gives the government the power to protect our democracy in case a law were to pass that does not violate our Charter rights, but would be undesirable. Professor Kent Roach has written extensively about these sections in his defence of judicial review, and concluded that these sections are conducive to dialogue between the judiciary and the legislature. Furthermore, he established that they encourage democracy. I believe that Professor Roach is correct on both accounts, and in this essay I will outline how sections 1 and 33 do in fact make the Canadian Charter more democratic. After giving a brief summary of judicial review according to Roach, I will delve into the reasonable limits clause and how it is necessary that we place limitations on Charter rights. Following this, I will explain the view Professor Roach and I share on the notwithstanding clause and how it is a vital component of the Charter. To conclude this essay, I will discuss the price at which democr...
The Senate is an unnecessary part of our government and should be abolished. A senator's job is to provide a final check on legislations passed in the House of Commons; they can also introduce bills, but is very uncommon. However, the Senate is corrupted and cost taxpayers money for work that they rarely do. Did you know that the average senator only went to work 72 times last year? Some people argue that we should reform the Senate instead of abolishing it, but it would increase taxes and why should we reform something that has little purpose in the first place? To add onto that, due to the fact that the Senate is appointed, there's little representation for the western provinces in Canada.
First, some background on the subject. Canada is divided into 308 ridings, and each riding elects one person to represent all the citizens in that riding. The party that wins the most ridings forms the government, and if that party has gained more than half the seats, as is usually the case, they form a majority and have the ability to pass any bill in the House of Commons that they wish, regardless of the opinions that other representatives have. This SMP system has remained unchanged in Canada since Confederation in 1867. On the other hand there is proportional representation, which is broken down into two main forms: Mixed Member Proportionality (MMP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV). MMP was first put into use ...
In 2012, the Canadian Senate became embroiled in a scandal that is still ongoing, and still having an effect on Canadian political life today. At times in the 20th century, there have been calls for the reform, or even the abolition of the Senate completely. The current scandal has resulted a renewal of the frequent calls for reform that have frequently accompanied the many questionable actions of Senators. The structure of the Senate, and its outdated rules of appointment and procedure are also frequently the target of reformers in Canada. It is the contention of this paper that the Canadian Senate be reformed to represent the democracy that is Canada in the 21st Century, as this body is outdated and representative of entrenched party interests, as well as of a system that dates back to the days of aristocratic and upper-class privilege.
The Prime Minister of Canada is given much power and much responsibility. This could potentially create a dangerous situation if the government held a majority and was able to pass any legislation, luckily this is not the case. This paper will argue that there are many limitations, which the power of the prime minister is subject too. Three of the main limitations, which the Prime Minister is affected by, are; first, federalism, second the governor general and third, the charter of rights and freedoms. I will support this argument by analyzing two different types of federalism and how they impact the power of the Prime Minister. Next I will look at three of the Governor Generals Powers and further analyze one of them. Last I will look at the impact of the charter from the larger participation the public can have in government, and how it increased the power of the courts.
Stilborn, Jack. Senate Reform: Issues and Recent Developments. Ottawa: Parliamentary Information and Research Service, 2008.
The Canadian Senate is a distinct legislative body that differs from other administrations of government. Its role of careful analysis as well as deliberation within the government is fundamental to democracy as it ensures progression of government initiatives. However, controversy of the functionality of the Senate lingers regarding its position as a “sober second thought” representing the general Canadian population in government action (Mintz, Close, & Croci, 2013; Canadian Bar Association, 2012; Brooks & Menard, 2013). Concern has also ensued on whether or not specific reform ideas and other bills considering such reform are constitutional (Canadian Bar Association, 2012; Brooks & Menard, 2013). It is clear that scrutiny of the Senate is
The Canadian Senate is continuously called into question as reform becomes increasingly popular among members of society who question its validity. Originally created to provide a “sober second thought” on the House of Commons, the Senate is meant to introduce and vote on legislation (excluding money bills) and provide protections for provincial rights. Senators are chosen by the Prime Minister, but appointed by the governor general, usually along party lines; “almost all senators have declared loyalties to a political party and highly political career backgrounds.” The current qualifications for senators are as follows: “They may be male or female, over 30 years of age, own at least $4000 in property, and be residents of the respective provinces
Since the ministry of Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Canadians and political scientists have questioned whether the Prime Minister of Canada has held to much power, this has been considered a fundamental problem in Canada’s parliamentary system. This essay will examine the role of the prime minister, the effects of party discipline, the centralization of power to the prime minister, and assert that power has been concentrated into the hands of the prime minister, further weakening the role of parliament as a source of democratic input.
Citizens’ opposition to the Senate has reached a new height. It is clear that the Senate is no longer acceptable. The Parliament of Canada consists of Monarch, Senate and the House of Commons, every department is indispensable, or it will involve changes in policy. “The Senate in Canada has a long and diverse reform, it should back to 1874. At that time, the members of the House of Common did not allow each province to select its own Senators.”(Markarenko, J. (n.d.). Senate Reform in Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/senate-reform-canada) The existence of the Senate is still valuable, but the system of the Senate need to be reformed more reasonable because of the effective of the Senators, the prestige and capital of the Senator and the election method of the Senators.
She reiterates that decentralization and province building are the two mechanisms responsible for the federalization process in Canada between 1990 and 2010. She further claims that there are two types of explanations involving the federalization movement; province-centered and federal centered explanations. However, both have their weaknesses as the province-centered accounts do not focus enough on the driving factors of federal interests and the federal-centered accounts fail to incorporate the provinces when addressing national activity. The author then proceeds to more clearly define the term mechanisms, as it is an acting force that brings about federalization within the immigration realm of the Canadian government. Paquet uses Derek Beach and Rasmus Brun Pedersen’s definition which defines mechanisms as a “theorized system that produces outcomes through the interaction of a series of parts that transmit casual forces from X to
A reformed senate should reflect Canadian’s diversity, moreover better representing minority groups such as aboriginals and women (3). As it is now, most of the Canadian Senate is comprised of older, white men, however as Parliament is the body that represents Canada, it should be held at a higher standard (3). A proper proportional representation system would provide greater opportunities for smaller parties, minorities and women to win senate seats, which is very crucial in reflecting Canada.
“The founders of Confederation gave the Senate the important role of protecting regional, provincial and minority interest” (Parliament of Canada, 2015). Basically, every region had the same number of seats in order to ensure them an equal voice in the Senate. As new territories and provinces entered Confederation, seats were added. Today, there are 105 seats that represent the Senate. The Maritimes Division has 24 seats, the Ontario Division has 24 seats, the Quebec Division has 24 seats, the Western Division has 24 seats, and additional representation; such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Yukon Territory and Nunavut has a total of 9 seats (Pouliot, 2015). Moreover, the Constitution also allowed the Senate to temporarily
Canada is a great place to live, because it is very diverse. country. The sand is a sand. It is multicultural, it’s considered a Melting Pot. Many people from many nations come together to make this country special and unique to us.