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Canadian citizen charter of rights and freedoms
Canadian citizen charter of rights and freedoms
Canadian charter of rights and freedoms essays
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Citizens from numerous countries immigrate to Canada seeking security, rights and freedoms. It is no question that Canada has come a long way to improve their country for the benefit of its citizens. The constitution that allows for this is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, established in 1982. To begin with, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms replaced the Canadian Bill of Rights, which was established in 1960. The complication with the Canadian Bill of Rights was that it was only a federal statute, whereas the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a constitutional document. Canada practices the system of parliamentary while the United States uses a presidential system. Each system has a different procedure when it comes to the three different branches of government; executive, judicial, and legislative. Each of these aspects and changes lead to impacting Canada in a positive way.
There are numerous institutional structures countries practice. The most common are presidential and parliamentary. In a presidential system, the president is the only on person that makes up executive. In addition, the President and congress are independent from each other and gain their authority by the means of being elected by their citizens for a fixed period of time. On the other hand, in a parliamentary system, the executive consists of the Prime Minister and the cabinet. As well as in a parliamentary system, authority is shared between the political executive and Parliament. Also, when being elected in a presidential system, votes are strictly towards electing a President. However, in a parliamentary system, the party elects the leaders of the parliamentary system. The structure of a parliamentary system is more logical ...
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...refore, in light of cause and effect, it is clearly demonstrated that through all these components Canada has been impacted in a positive way. By Canada using a parliamentary system with branches of government, it allows for roles and responsibilities to be shared amongst others, which allows for the benefit of seeing different aspects of things in multiple opinions of various people. In addition, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows for citizens to have rights and freedoms granting them the feeling of security and equality knowing that their rights and freedoms are guaranteed. As well as the notwithstanding clause which allows laws to be enacted when one’s certain Charter rights are infringed. Overall, with all these changes and systems Canada has developed to be a country popular for its freedom and equality, which has been the cause of its impacts.
Apart from the other laws in Canada’s constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is an important law that affects every Canadian’s rights and freedoms. It was created in 1981 by former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to provide legal protection for the most important rights and freedoms. These rights include fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, and legal rights. Most but not all articles included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are protected in the constitution. However, if a Canadian feels that their rights are violated, they can challenge laws and unfair actions using the justice system. In my opinion, I believe the Canadian Charter of Human Rights somewhat protects Canadians’ rights and freedoms to some extent depending on the situation.
some of the positive ways in which the war changed Canada but the most negative way in which
Moreover, although no powers or rights have been explicitly ‘reserved’ to the people, supporters of the charter nevertheless appear to give Canadians hope that the possibility may exist. COMPARISON OF BILL OF RIGHTS AND THE CANADIAN CHARTER... ... middle of paper ... ...
To draw a conclusion it is inevitable to highlight the significance change not only to Canada´s self-understanding, but also in the world´s appearance that the Statute of Westminster caused. It was the last of the Imperial Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain applicable to all dominions and therefore it marks the end of the great, superordinate British Empire which was one of the major forces throughout many centuries in history. Even though the Commonwealth technically remains, new autonomous countries were finally able to be more than just an extension of the the mother-country. Thus, many of them became remarkable powers with an own identity and own intentions on the world stage themselves, such as the country we live in, Canada.
This great country known as Canada, is governed smoothly because of the agreements and rules that have been in place since the beginning of confederation. The Canadian Constitution is one example of these rules. The Canadian Constitution is not just one single documentation, it is a collaboration of documents that make up one enormous document (Dyck 261). The six basic principles of the constitution are: responsible government, federalism, judicial review, the rule of law, constitutional monarchy and democracy; which all helped to shape the Constitution and therefore Canada (Dyck 266).
The post-war time was a period where major changes were occurring. After being involved in two international conflicts, Canada was ready to reestablish their economy. During this time, Canada had started working on ways to become stronger and reputable. It is evident that Canada had matured through the post-war era. Canada’s economic progress left a positive impact on the growth of the country as consumerism became popular, and economic ties with America became stronger. Moreover, the removal of racial and ethical barriers contributed to Canadian social affairs such as the huge wave of immigration and the baby boom. The Canadian government also had become more aware and involved in issues impacting Canadian citizens. Canada as a whole started identifying itself as an independent nation and participating in events that brought a positive reputation amongst them. These economical, social, and legal changes helped Canada mature into the country it is today.
...I truly think that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has paved a path for creating a free and democratic Canada and I believe it will create Canada as the greatest democratic nation.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was signed into law by Queen Elizabeth II April 17, 1982. Often referred to as the Charter, it affirms the rights and freedoms of Canadians in the Constitution of Canada. The Charter encompasses fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, language rights and equality rights. The primary function of the Charter is to act as a regulatory check between Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments and the Canadian people. Being a successor of the Canadian Bill of Rights that was a federal statute, amendable by Parliament, the Charter is a more detailed and explicit constitutional document that has empowered the judiciary to render regulations and statutes at both the federal and provincial levels of government unconstitutional. Although the rights and freedoms of Canadians are guaranteed, Sections one and seven of the Charter permit the federal and provincial governments to limit the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Canadians. Section one of the Charter designated ‘Rights and freedoms in Canada’ states “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” This section is frequently referred to and better known as the reasonable limits clause. The second rights and freedoms limiting section of the Charter, known as the ‘notwithstanding clause’ is Section thirty-three entitled ‘Exception where express declaration’ declares
This essay has argued that there are many limitations that the Prime Minister is subjected too. The three most important are federalism in Canadian society, the role of the Governor General, and the charter of rights and freedoms. I used two different views of federalism and illustrated how both of them put boundaries on the Prime Minister’s power. Next I explain the powers of the governor general, and explained the ability to dissolve parliament in greater detail. Last I analyzed how the charter of rights of freedoms has limited the Prime Minister’s power with respect to policy-making, interests groups and the courts. The Prime Minister does not have absolute power in Canadian society, there are many infringements on the power that they have to respect.
Canada is a society built on the promise of democracy; democracy being defined as “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.” In order to operate at full potential, the people of Canada must voice their opinions and participate fully in the political system. This is why it’s shocking to see that people are becoming less engaged in politics and the voter turnout has steadily been declining over the last 20 years. This lack of participation by Canadians is creating a government that is influenced by fewer people, which is detrimental to the democratic system Canada is built on.
Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was enacted under the Pierre Trudeau government on April 17, 1982. According to Phillip Bryden, “With the entrenchment of the Charter into the Canadian Constitution, Canadians were not only given an explicit definition of their rights, but the courts were empowered to rule on the constitutionality of government legislation” (101). Prior to 1982, Canada’s central constitutional document was the British North America Act of 1867. According to Kallen, “The BNA Act (the Constitution Act, 1867) makes no explicit reference to human rights” (240). The adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms significantly transformed the operation of Canada’s political system. Presently, Canadians define their needs and complaints in human rights terms. Bryden states, “More and more, interest groups and minorities are turning to the courts, rather than the usual political processes, to make their grievances heard” (101). Since it’s inception in 1982 the Charter has become a very debatable issue. A strong support for the Charter remains, but there also has been much criticism toward the Charter. Academic critics of the Charter such as Robert Martin believe that the Charter is doing more harm than good, and is essentially antidemocratic and UN-Canadian. I believe that Parliament’s involvement in implementing the Charter is antidemocratic, although, the Charter itself represents a democratic document. Parliament’s involvement in implementing the Charter is antidemocratic because the power of the executive is enhanced at the expense of Parliament, and the power of the judiciary is enhanced at the expense of elected officials, although, the notwithstanding clause continues to provide Parliament with a check on...
Canada experienced the revolution of changing politics and new ideologies, it was a necessary wave
From the first Great War, to the Great Depression, and after the Second World War, you could say that Canada had been transformed significantly. Since the day the British North American Act was enacted in 1867, Canada was a small and developing country. The Second World War had been one of its biggest challenges yet and the countries future prospects tremendous benefits especially in the fields of political development, social development, and economical development. It was a great struggle to get where she is today and WW2 was a major contributing factor to why Canada is such a strong and unified nation
Currently, Canada remains the world’s second largest country, full of vast and rich resources from all corners of the nation. None of the accomplishments and achievements that Canada has made to date would have been possible without Confederation. Without intense pressure from the Americans, and without the common goal that a few men shared of unifying a country, Canada would not be the strong, free, independent and united nation that it is today.