Is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms Antidemocratic and Un-Canadian? The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms exists in our country as a bill of rights in Canada’s Constitution. Indeed, the Charter plays a vital role in Canadian law. Robert Martin argues two things, the first being that the Charter is antidemocratic, and the second is that the Charter is un-Canadian. Conversely, Philip L. Bryden argues against Martin, concluding that the charter is indeed democratic and Canadian.
Canada’s socio-demographic profile increasingly requires a justice system that is blind to such subjectivity. Personal morality opens the door to personal bias and allows us to stray from the core values of the rule of law, leading to inconsistent
Class 3 – The Division of Powers and the Provincial Rights Movement I.Division of Powers John A. Macdonald wanted a unitary state or legislative union, but had to accommodate the demands for autonomy coming from Quebec and the Maritime provinces. So he agreed to a “federal union” of the most centralized form. – He wanted a unity state; he didn’t want a federal system but just a unity system. In seeking to create a strong central government and relatively weak provinces, the Fathers of Confederation were NOT conforming to the modern definition of a federation: “two levels of government characterized by a division of powers such that neither is subordinate to the other.” The subordination of the provinces to the federal government can be seen in three principal parts of the BNA Act: (a) The division of powers (b) The division of financial powers (c) The powers of reservation and disallowance These are
“The Charter of Rights and Freedoms says you can be equal and different at the same time. That’s the purpose of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: to protect your freedoms and to protect who you are – your place in this great nation. It says we can be different from one another, and that we are all first-class citizens too.” –Denis Coderre. As a Canadian Citizen, I feel very lucky that there is something like the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to affirm and enhance my identity. The Charter allows me to have freedoms, and rights to protect me from things like discrimination, and abrupt searches without reason backed by evidence, etc.
Disadvantages: - According to critics, “the monarchical system brings with it a set of undemocratic values – elitism, privilege, etc.” Advantages: - The Crown has a role to play when unexpected crisis develop. It is a source of legitimate power that can be used “only when normal controls cannot operate and a crisis gets out of hand” So, if the Crown possesses no real power in most instances, where does executive power lie in the Canadian political system? Prime Minister and Cabinet: De facto power: - In a de facto sense it is the Prime Minister and his or her Cabinet that are the most powerful executive agents in the Canadian government Cabinet: - It is in the Cabinet that policy is decided upon - The Prime Minister alone decides the Membership of the Cabinet, but there are some constraints provided by convention (long-standing practices rather than legal requirements): - 1. “All Cabinet ministers must have a seat in Parliament:” - Elected Members of Parliament from the House of Commons - Or Senators - Those without a seat may be in Cabinet temporarily. However, by convention they must gain a seat in Parliament
Bonus Assignment A) To what extent was the imposition of liberal principles successful in Aboriginal communities in Canada? In Canada, the impositions of liberal principles in Aboriginal communities were not successful because Aboriginals have their own set of principles which differ from liberal principles. Liberal principles include private property, while Aboriginals believe that the land is there to be shared and enjoyed by all as concluded in the Laws of Nature. They (the Aboriginals) believe that the land belongs to the Creator. Aboriginals believe that people should work together in order to strive for group strength (Laws of Mutual Support).
In George Woodcock’s A Social History of Canada he has one view and that is to carry out the story through his evidence and portrayal that it was through the neglect of the government and the psychological problems of Louis Riel that . He said “The Old West did not die quietly.”(1) This means that both sides of the rebellion put up a good fight and not just in the battle they fought for many years over the land of their ancestors that was taken from them. “By the early 1880’s not only the Métis but also the English-speaking mixed bloods and even the white settlers were becoming disturbed by the fact that the dominion surveyors were moving through the prairies, laying out the land in square townships
In the 21st century Canada is often characterised as being "diverse, and multicultural". [6] However, Canada until the 1940s saw itself in terms of Englishand French cultural, linguistic and political identities, and to some extent Aboriginal. [7] Immigrants speaking other languages, such as Canadians of German ethnicity and Ukrainian Canadians, were suspect, especially during the First World War when thousands were put in camps because they were citizens of enemy nations. [8] While black ex-slave refugees from the United States had been tolerated, racial minorities of African or Asian origin were generally believed "beyond the pale" (lacking a sense of morality). [9] Jewish Canadians were also suspect, especially in Quebec where antisemitism
Though to this day the American and Canadian cultures retain their differences in socioeconomic stratification, race relations, and deviant subculture, the variation in incarceration rate should be seen through a historical perspective: during Canada’s early period of growth, a much greater amount of policing was required to maintain societal protection. The immigration policy that made Canada a multicultural country also caused many problems during the initial stages of settlement (Lenton, 164). Competition and fighting between minority groups disrupted the previous homogeneity of Canadian society. The Canadian government responded by increasing the overall presence of law enforcement. Increased police presence ultimately correlated with a decrease in the total amount of crime, and by extension the incarceration rate (Bonta, 164).
The Military service act was passed so the Canadian government could provide more troops to support its Allied countries. This decision can be argued as negative for a few different causes. First, Prime Minster Borden was elected on a policy that he would not imply conscription but when the Canadian military began to run low on soldiers he implied a conscription policy forcing able bodied Canadians from 20-45 to join the military. Another reason is that, this decision caused a conflict between French and English Canadians because Quebec did not feel compelled to help a country they weren’t tied to. Thirdly, after the policy was passed riots broke out in Montreal and Quebec City.