Canada 's Biggest Concern

In Canada, the Prime Minister has too much power, some PM take advantages of this power while others do not. The Prime Minister is the head of the party with a plurality of seats in the House of Commons. Some of the things that the PM is responsible for are: summons and dissolves, decides of the cabinet make up, advising the governor general, etc. All of these responsibilities allocated to the PM give him the absolute power. First, the PM has the ability to choose when to end the session of the parliament or simply dissolve it. The PM could use this power for his advantages. For example, Stephen Harper asked Michaëlle Jean to suspend the Parliament because he knew that a coalition was formed against him and could even lead to new elections.

To prove that the Charter protects some rights but not all, a court case that involved Dr Henry Morgentaler and the Supreme Court of Canada was successful after trials. Before this case, women were only allowed to have an abortion after proper certification of approval from a hospital's Therapeutic Abortion Committee. Three doctors including Morgentaler set up an abortion clinic that allowed women to have an abortion without a certification of approval. He was later charged with illegal abortion under section 251 of the Criminal Code. Morgentaler argued that women had full right on deciding whether or not they wanted an abortion. This law was struck down as unconstitutional as it violated a woman’s right according to section 7 on the Charter.

F.L. Morton examines the political impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by comparing pre-Charter practices to post-Charter developments in five different areas: judicial behaviour, public policy, interest group behaviour, federalism, and executive behaviour. Morton presents the Charter through its continuity and change, beginning with the move away from Britain’s “unwritten constitution” and distinguishing the doctrine as constitutional supremacy that still depends on public opinion. He argues that due to the Charter’s constitutionality, Canadian courts are able to have a more active and influential role in interpreting and enforcing the listed rights which is a negative development in Canadian democracy.

David E. Smith’s book, The Invisible Crown: The First Principle of Canadian Government, contends that studies pertaining to the Crown should be revived because the Crown is the least understood institution in Canada. He claims the crown to be a structuring principle of government. While arguing the Crown’s centrality in Canadian politics, he posits that the Crown and its prerogatives empower the political executive and make it efficient, to the extent that it can produce an effect (x-xi).

The Supreme Court of Canada uses the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to limit the scope of legislation and administrative power by implementing section one of the charter; which results in an open dialogue between the government and the courts on various legislation deemed unconstitutional. In this essay I will discuss the extent in which section one of the Canadian Charter allows the Supreme Court of Canada to dictate legislation, how they go about narrowing legislation and administrative power through the Oaks test, and the history of the Supreme Court from 1982 – present day will be analyzed resulting in an understanding of the legitimacy the courts play with such a role.

Canada’s parliamentary system is designed to preclude the formation of absolute power. Critics and followers of Canadian politics argue that the Prime Minister of Canada stands alone from the rest of the government. The powers vested in the prime minister, along with the persistent media attention given to the position, reinforce the Prime Minister of Canada’s superior role both in the House of Commons and in the public. The result has led to concerns regarding the power of the prime minister. Hugh Mellon argues that the prime minister of Canada is indeed too powerful. Mellon refers to the prime minister’s control over Canada a prime-ministerial government, where the prime minister encounters few constraints on the usage of his powers.

In Canada’s system of governance, the outcome of an election is vested in the franchise, however heavily influenced by political structure and voting institutions. This essay will evaluate Harper’s failed strategic manipulation of Canada’s political and electoral institutions. First, the effects of the concentration of power vested in the executive under the parliamentary system will be assessed. Next Canada’s first-past-the-post voting institution will be analyzed using the 2011 and 2015 election in that in the former it allowed for Harper to win, however when using it as precedent it contributed to the Conservative failure. Finally, the 2015 election will be evaluated under a proportional representation system. Despite Conservative

In the wake of recent events myself and the Canadian Government would like to release a statement on the current state of our country’s race relations. Last month with the recent riots in Baltimore that took place on the 28th of april following Freddie Gray 's funeral. Freddie Gray was a member of a sadly impoverished community of African-Americans in Baltimore who like many others in such a situation had trouble with the police. These riots were preceded by peaceful protests that shed light on the current state of America’s police system but sadly they were overshadowed by riots and violence.

Stephen Harper’s nine-year reign as Canada’s Prime Minister presents Mr. Harper as the most controlling and iron fisted leader in Canadian history. Whether it is local, provincial, or federal politics, a government’s abuse of power often leads to a fall from grace. Stephen Harper’s abuse of power lies within the heart of the Conservative Party’s entitlement and lack of transparency. Harper’s

The reserve powers they are constitutionally able to wield and the grasp they have on their party gives them little formidable opposition. The prime minister having too much power is a genuine concern and to help ease the conscious of the public and political figures in the Canadian government, checks should be instituted to prevent these powers from being abused (Kuzniak, 2010). Leadership reviews are one possible method to help limit party leader and prime ministerial power. Not one method of governing an entire country like Canada will be perfect, responsible government is no exception, so making it work as best as possible is the most practical solution. Clark, Klein, and Horwath, are three party leaders in which a leadership review has proven to be effective in ensuring that the most suitable party leader is in power and that the party leader will always remain accountable to the party (Morrow, 2014; Chase, 2013; Harrison, 2013). Although cases involving ruling prime ministers were not examined, these cases can be easily paralleled because the party leader that commands the majority of confidence within the House will become prime minister. There are several other instances in which a leadership review has proven effective in political parties, though these examples detail its capability quite clearly. The necessary approval from the party ensures that the party leader will never stray too far away

Canada’s head of the state may be the Queen, and the governor general as the Queen’s representative; however, it is actually the Prime Minister that governs Canada. The Prime Minister is known as the nation’s head of government, his office is said to be one of the most powerful leadership positions in any Western Democracy, meaning a great deal of Canadian political life centres around his deeds and decisions. With multiple articles and historic achievements, Joseph Jacques-Jean Chretien’s time as Prime Minister, will in fact be remembered as a success in office as he left an outstanding memorable mark on Canada’s economy. Jean Chretien made a difference in the Canadian economy during three major political events: The Maple Miracle, The 1969

In this essay, I will demonstrate that the Prime Minister is powerful and can cause many potential dangers by analyzing different elements inside and outside of our government over the period of different Prime Ministers throughout the Canadian political history.

The government in Canada is often confused and lost to many who do not understand the way in which all parts of the government take a part to run Canada. With so many people, it is easy to not know who or what a Governor General is. What the Senate is, or if the Queen is still part of the Canadian government. When breaking the government down, there are about five major parts to the Canadian government: The Queen, Governor General, Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and finally the Senate. With Canada having been a union with Britain in the early days, many people believe the Queen has a lot of power in the decisions made in Canada.

After opening an abortion clinic illegally, Morgentaler went through twenty years of legal battles including an eighteen month jail sentence. In 1982 Canada enacted the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, bringing new hope to abortion rights activist, Henry Morgentaler.

In 2011, three legal and constitutional scholars, Peter Aucoin, Mark D. Jarvis and Lori Turnbull set out to write a book detailing what they believed to be obvious and egregious errors in the way in which the current form of responsible government as it was practiced in the Canadian federal government, fell short of operating within basic democratic parameters. Canada has a system that is based one the Westminster system, in which its the Constitution act of 1867 is influenced by British principles and conventions. “Democratizing the Constitution reforming responsible government” is a book that makes an analysis for the reform of responsible government in Canada. The authors believe that from the unclear rules, pertaining to the role and power of the prime minster foresees for a failing responsible government. In this essay the functions of the government , conventions of the constitution, the a proposal for reform will be addressed.