I have been following the events surrounding the upcoming provincial elections in Quebec quite closely and was very excited to finally get my name on to the electoral rolls today. Well aware of the fact that Anglophones who had moved to Quebec from other parts of the country, especially students, were having a hard time getting registered, I decided to do my homework.
I carefully read the voter manual mailed out by the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec, and a document they released, specifically addressing the question of whether one was domiciled in Quebec. I further examined Book One, Title Three, Chapter II of the Civil Code of Quebec, which establishes who is considered domicile in Quebec.
After reading through all the information available from official sources, I gathered up a folder full of evidence, which established that I had the right to vote in Quebec.
1) My certificate of birth, which establishes my Canadian citizenship as well as the fact that I am of age.
2) My Quebec driver’s license, which proves my address and establishes my principal residence.
3) Bank statements, which demonstrates my bank is in Quebec.
4) Mail received from various businesses and organizations, which demonstrates that my principal residence is indeed in Quebec.
5) Direct correspondence from both my MP and my MNA, which demonstrates that I have been an active member of the community in which I live.
6) Political Party Membership, demonstrating that I am a member of the Riding Association in which I reside (Montreal).
In spite of the fact that the General Election Voter’s Manual, mailed out by Le Directeur General Des Elections Du Quebec, states that “To register you must provide two identity papers,” I took a handful of rel...
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...hstanding, her inhibitions do not give her or the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec the right to deny Canadian citizens there Democratic Rights under Section 3 of the Constitution, especially when the person in question meets the requirements as demonstrated by Quebec’s own Civil Code.
Montreal is my home and my home is Montreal. If my roots in Ontario and the fact that I am an Anglophone are sufficient reasons to deny me the right to vote in the upcoming elections, the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec seems guilty of blatant voter discrimination and repression. There should be an official review of the revision process and there should be an official inquiry into whether the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec was by any way influenced by the government of the day.
Quite contrary to the Officer’s motto, democracy in Quebec is very much lost.
Unfortunately, this agreement was never reached at when two provinces, Newfoundland and Manitoba, failed to ratify it within the three year period that ended on June 1990 (Parkinson 1). These five conditions included the guaranteeing of Quebec a special status as a distinct society, increasing its provin...
Although, Quebec’s population share many similar characteristics amongst one another it is not essential to decide “the people” (Heard, 2013). To be considered a state you must represent all the people in it. Quebec prefers independences for the reason of a commonality
The years following the Second World War were bleak in regards to Canada's future as a country, with the public and politicians alike set against each other, but soon a Québec man by the name of René Lévesque entered journalism, and then politics, voicing his views for all to hear, with great success and vigour. Though obstacles presented themselves often in his life, he changed the views of Québec, Canada and the world as a whole. René Lévesque was a passionate and charismatic politician who greatly contributed to post-war Québec and even today through his beliefs in separatism, founding the Parti Québecois and passing Bill 101.
The Quebec referendum that was held in 1995 was a second round of vote that was meant to give the residents of the Quebec province in Canada the chance to determine whether they wanted to secede from Canada and thus establish Quebec as a sovereign state. Quebec has had a long history of wanting to secede from Canada, considering that it is the Canadian providence that is predominantly inhabited by the French-speaking people, whose political relationship with the rest of the Canadian provinces, mostly inhabited by the English-speaking people has been characterized by conflicting ideologies . Thus, the 1995 referendum was not the first political attempt to have Quebec gain its own independence. The discussion holds that the Quebec 1995 referendum would have had both positive and negative implications. Therefore, this discussion seeks to analyze the political consequences that would have f...
Many Francophones believed that they were being discriminated and treated unfairly due to the British North American Act which failed to recognize the unique nature of the province in its list of provisions. Trudeau, with the aid of several colleagues, fought the imminent wave of social chaos in Quebec with anti-clerical and communist visions he obtained while in his adolescent years. However, as the nationalist movement gained momentum against the Provincial government, Trudeau came to the startling realization that Provincial autonomy would not solidify Quebec's future in the country (he believed that separatism would soon follow) and unless Duplessis could successfully negotiate (on the issue of a constitution) with the rest of Canada, the prospect of self-sovereignty for Quebec would transpire. His first essay (Quebec and the Constitutional Problem) explores
"Social Movements in Canada." Web log post. Social Movements in Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .
Stevenson, Garth. "Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations." Canadian Politics in the 21st Century. Ed. Michael S. Whittington and Glen Williams. Scarborough, Ont.: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2000. 85-1
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One may be surprised to learn that the turnout rate of individuals voting in Canada's federal elections has never reached 80% (Elections Canada). In fact, it has been decreasing since the middle of the twentieth century, as shown by an increase in voter apathy. An electoral system is designed to provide those who live in democratic governments with the opportunity to vote – in an election – for the candidate whose platform coincides with their political beliefs. This can be achieved through a direct democracy, where citizens are directly involved in the decision-making process, or through an indirect democracy, where citizens elect a delegate to act on their behalf. In a direct democracy, all citizens would be present during governmental meetings and have the opportunity to give verbal input. As one may expect, this would be extremely difficult to coordinate with Canada's population of 34.88 billion (Statistics Canada). Canada uses an indirect democracy, which allows for two basic forms of electoral systems in which representatives are elected. In the simple plurality electoral system, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes is elected, regardless of a majority or not. It is commonly known as the “first-past-the-post” system, which alludes to a horse race; the winner passes the post with the highest number of votes, and only need to garner more votes than their opponents. The successful candidate wins all the seats in their riding or constituency while the candidates who places second or third will receive no seats, regardless of how many votes they lose by. Proportional representation is the second form of electoral system used in Canada; the percentage of the votes received by a party is proportionate to the numb...
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Quebec has considered and has gone as far to hold referendums over Separatism (Surette,2014). Separatism is when the province of Quebec separates from the rest of Canada to form its own country. Which would have immense effects on Quebec but also the rest of Canada (Martin, 2014). This report will focus on the root causes and origins of Quebec Separatism, the current state of Quebec Separatism and finally how we as a society can act towards Quebec Separatism. Root Causes and Origin
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...ereignty. As mentioned Quebec does not have complete sovereignty and it shares its powers with the federal government (Johnson). Strong words like Johnson's found in the mass media are very significant to issues such as this. As elected representatives the government will not act against the wishes of the majority of citizens. Therefore if the Canadian citizens claim that Native Sovereignty in Canada can not coexist with Canadian sovereignty than it will not.
Throughout history, the actions of governments have always been debated; however, occasionally there are certain events which spark much controversy, both at the time of the event and by historians today. One of these controversial acts was the invocation of the War Measures Act in 1970, an act which suspended the civil liberties of Canadian citizens. In October 1970, in what became known as the October Crisis, the Front de libération du Québec, (commonly known as the FLQ) which was a French Canadian organization advocating independence from Canada, kidnapped two politicians. This initiated a series of events, one of which was the invocation of the War Measures Act by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Many historians argue that Trudeau was justified in invoking the War Measures Act because the October Crisis ended shortly after the Act was invoked. However, this argument is invalid as justification; primarily because the War Measures Act was an extreme overreaction by Trudeau, as the threat of the FLQ was largely small-scale, and the demise of the FLQ was impending with the rise of the Bloc Quebecois. Furthermore, the Act may have inspired Quebecers who favoured separatism, as they saw the government desperately employ the most extreme measure to stop the FLQ. Finally, the War Measures Act suspended the civil rights of citizens within a democracy, violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.