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Advantages of federalism in canada
Federalism in canada
Advantages of federalism in canada
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Memorandum to Cabinet – Senate Reform
Issue: After several informal reforms, has the time come for the final push to Senate Reform?
Recommendations: It is recommended that
- No further advances to be made with Senate reform or abolishing the Senate.
- Avoid opening up the constitutional can of worms that is Senate reform.
- Not to pursue a radical wholesale change to our representation system.
- Avoid such large changes that could result in unforeseen circumstances.
Rationale:
- Section 42 of the Constitution. Federal unilateralism would not allow a Prime Minister to pursue any constitutional amendment without getting the provinces abroad.
- It is difficult to get the consent of seven provinces that make up 50% of Canada’s population according
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- Change could result in opposite effect. Current informal change issues. Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments created an unpredictable Senate causing trouble for current Prime Minister.
- The government is facing opposition not only from Conservatives but also from independent Senators who exercise “sober second thought”. The impacts of informal will have to be examined to prevent Canada’s Senate from being in gridlock like the US Congress.
- What would a reformed Senate look like? These are issues that we currently do not have an answer for when asking for reform. Such as the number of Senators for each province (Western alienation), what powers would a reformed Senate have?
- Examine why the previous cabinet under Harper decided not to go through with Senate reform. As well as the effect of this withdrawal from Senate reform on the government.
Proposed Approach and options:
According to the professor, sections of the memorandum to cabinet can be optional. In this case, the proposed approach is irrelevant as I am not suggesting changes or use of policy
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Other considerations to take into account:
- Examine why the Senate was created the way it is and the purpose of its current design, “not an accident of history” according to the Supreme Court. Consider regional representation, sober second thought, checks and balances, and protection from populism.
- The Supreme Court of Canada reference question and the constitutional requirements for reform possible by parliament alone as well as reforms that require approval from the provinces.
- Look into the Auditor General reports regarding the Senate. Identify if there are serious issues in spending of the Senate and individual senators. Look at spending reports from the Senate and how much the Senate costs taxpayers every year.
- Consider what provinces have done (such as Alberta’s elected Senators).
- International perspective in terms of seeing the challenges faced by other countries that reformed or abolished their Senate (Australia, New Zealand, and Germany).
- Indigenous considerations. How would Canada’s indigenous population fit within the reformed Senate as well as how will they be
The Meech Lake accord was a set of constitutional amendments that were designed to persuade Quebec Province to accept the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 (Brooks 152). This accord derives its name from the Meech Lake, where these negotiations were held by Mulroney Brian, the Canadian Prime Minister, and the ten premiers of the ten Canadian Provinces (Brooks 211). By the time the Canadian constitution was being implemented, Quebec was the only province that had not consented to it. Somehow, the partition of the constitution in 1982 was carried out without Quebec’s agreement, but it was still bound by the same law. Attempts were made to persuade this province to sign the constitution, which it agreed to do but only after its five demands are fulfilled by the Canadian government. Unfortunately, these demands were not met and this accord failed in 1990, when two provincial premiers failed to approve it. This paper answers the question whether Quebec asked for too much during the Meech Lake Accord negotiations.
However, there are inherent problems with this type of senate reform, where it asks both federal government and certain provinces to lessen their power so that all provinces have an equal platform to broadcast their issues and regional interests. The idea that these two conflicting governments are involved in the national legislation process would form problems, and even this idea of change would change the normal practices of parliament. This idea a triple E Senate calls for constitutional changes, which are difficult to do, and why so far the Prime Minister has only made informal changes since they would need a 7/10 provincial approval with at least 50 percent of the Canadian population on top of the approval of both parts of parliament. It calls for a complete overhaul of the current senate, to become better suitable for regional representation of the Canadian population (gibbins
Burke, Marie. "Seven aboriginal senators: 40 years (looking back on the Senate's Aboriginal representatives)." Windspeaker Dec. 1998: 9. Canada in Context. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Larry Sabato author of “A More Perfect Constitution” implies the United States Constitution could use some revision. Written over two hundred years ago, I do not think this concept is astonishing. I believe the founding father were aware of potential flaws, allowing for amendments or changes. Sabato book proposes some changes and the “calling for a twenty-first-century constitutional convention.” This book review will look at four of Sabato suggestions; reforming the Senate, balancing the budget, a six-year presidential term, and the Electoral College. These four recommendations were of greatest interest and intrigue. Although I do agree with all his ideas, I do feel there is more to improvement in our constitution and commend his efforts is awakening the American people to a need for reform.
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...
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).
This came to be known as the Sober Second Thought and allowed in-depth study and review on national issues by Senate Committees. (Supreme Court 2014, pg. 720) The Senate Committees are non partisan groups, which draw upon the knowledge of its members to provide careful studies on national issues. These Committees are made up of between five to fifteen senators ranging from prior positions of federal and provincial ministers, lawyers and business people, ethnic representatives, and former members of provincial assemblies. (Government of Canada, Senate Work) The three basic tasks that they must cover is to accept or change legislations, to study policy matters and offer improvements, and to asses the governments budget proposals. Popular studies that have been done were on unemployment, foreign affairs, the aging population, Aboriginal affairs, and matters concerning science and technology. Many of the studies lead to important changes in government legislation as they are able to make aware political, economic, and social concerns that aren’t always always expressed within the House of Commons. One example of Committee work was the 1982 studies by the Committee on Foreign Affairs on Canada- U.S. relations. (Government of Canada, How is the Senate’s Work Relevant to our Everyday Lives) In that study the senators presented a bilateral free trade
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
... A successful strategy in the accommodation of national minorities within a liberal democracy could be founded upon mutual trust, recognition and sound financial arrangements. However, a certain degree of tension between central and regional institutions may remain as a constant threat in this complex relationship since they entertain opposing aims. The federal governments determination to protect its territorial integrity, and its will to foster a single national identity among its citizens clashes with Quebec’s wish to be recognized as a separate nation and decide upon its political destiny and to foster its distinct identity (Guibernau pg.72). Moreover, if the ROC and the federal government can come to an agreement on terms that satisfy the majority and an identity that encompasses the heart of a country; Canada will continue to exist with or without Quebec.
There are Canadian citizens who thought that the Canadian government we have is perfect, citizens who believed that every aspect of the government was truly democratic, and citizens who believe that government could do no wrong. Truly this group of believers has been living a lie. In our Canadian system of government, large aspects within are far from democratic and need to be changed. Liberal-minded people will cry out for a change in order for government to serve the people better, and on the other hand the more conservative thinkers will argue that no change is needed because our government is efficient and considerate. However, our voting system, our Senate, and the power vested to the Prime Minister are far from democratic, do not meet the actual needs of the people and definitely need to be addressed.
Frist, federalism is the division of power between the provinces and the federal government (Cutler 2010, 3). As well, Federal systems tend to be made up of multiple parts, which do not necessarily work together (Brock 2008, 3). There has been an increase on the study of federalism in recent years, which has created a more in-depth look at how federalism impacts the government. (Farfard Rocher 2009, 294). There are two aspects of federalism and both of them put limitations on the influence of the prime minister. The first is called political asymmetry; this encompasses the various attitudes of the different provinces such as the culture, economic, social and political conditions and how it shapes the relationship between the provincial and federal governments (Brock 2008, 4). This can create a problem for the federal government because it means that they may ha...
Regionalism is a political ideology based on a collective sense of place or attachment, and is discussed in terms of Canadian society, culture, economy and politics (Westfall, 3). Canada is known internationally as a nation incorporating several multiregional interests and identities into its unification of culture. Its diverse population is comprised of numerous ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations and traditions; and all resides under one federal government. Ever since the founding of Canada, it has developed into regional cleavages and identities, based on various geographical topologies, lifestyles and economic interests (Westfall, 6). It is these characteristics which make it problematic for the federal government to represent all demands of its people on a national level. Regionalism is thus an issue within regards to political proficiency in the Federal government.
May, E. (2009). Losing Confidence: Power, politics, and the crisis in Canadian democracy. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart.
With the opposing sides at almost equal size, it is important to come to a final decision. Before possible violence breaks out within the province. Bibliography Doran, Charles F. “Will Canada Unravel?” in Foreign Affairs. Sept-Oct 1996 v75 n5 pg97.
...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.