Canada Still Climbing The Ladder For Democracy Analysis

1601 Words7 Pages
Ryan Price 20/12/2011 Canada Still Climbing the Ladder for Democracy On 1867, July 1st Canada was officially formed and became the great country it is today. Its type of government is a Constitutional Monarchy which is a form of government in that a monarch acts as head of state but their powers are limited by the constitution (“The British”). The constitution stated “executive government and authority of and over Canada is hereby declared to continue and be vested by the queen” (Don 20). Canada stayed under the British North American Act until 1931. Canada’s government has three branches, which consist of the Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch, and the Legislative Branch. Many people would like to believe Canada is a “democracy”,…show more content…
The government experimented on over 100 Canadians (Don 7). This was not fair and safe experimenting, it was torture. They conducted brainwashing experiments from 1943 to 1964. “Code named MKULTRA and was designed to provide the government with mind-control techniques that could be used in the cold war to combat the spread of communism. The Canadians brains were zapped with 150 volts up to eight times in one session or hooked up to earphones and forced to listen to taped messages day and night for weeks or months,” (Don 7). A victim’s American attorney quotes “if I were Canadian, I’d be ashamed of my government.” It isn’t until 1992 that the 9 surviving victims are paid $100,000, but that will never make up for what they went through. These people had no say or rights and they truly were abused. In addition, conscription has been a major issue. “At first they weren’t even taking blacks as volunteers, but then when they needed more men they forced them too. You had no choice, you had to go,” (Rick 16). The government was forcing and controlling its citizens. They were powerless. The government has also showed power abuse through prejudice. Some citizens were separated, stripped of their rights, and treated un-fairly. In the 1940’s during European immigration, Canada refused to accept Jewish immigrants fleeing from the Nazis (Canada’s). They were already being dealt with horribly in Germany, yet we do…show more content…
It has improved from the past, but still today has not fixed some issues including power control and compromising with some of the aboriginals. Nevertheless, no country in the world today is a total democracy. “In a true democracy the majority must not use its power as a steam roller, riding ruthlessly over the interests and feelings of the minority. Whatever democracy is, it is not a government by brute force but by persuasion,” (Rick 28). Canada is a fast developing country and has now accepted many immigrants, gave all citizens rights, and has not had any severe cases of abuse of power in a short amount of time. Canada has improved its reach for democracy and is learning from the past. However, the power distribution in parliament has unfortunately not changed that much and the Prime Minister holds a lot of power. Will this rollercoaster for democracy ever end? Only time will

More about Canada Still Climbing The Ladder For Democracy Analysis

Open Document