Rob Ford in the Canadian Media Essay

This essay will show you how Canada was at the turn of the century in 1896 to 1919. A lot of points show how Canada was at the turn of the century such as how Canada was at a time of social change, the immigrants in Canada come from all over the world, Chinese were treated horribly, a lot of racism factored into this. Also, Canada was in a time of economic uprise, this can be characterized by electricity, inventions, the growth of cities, and some other contributing factors. Free trade laws with the United States were also in a heavy debate at the time.

According to Webster dictionary, a celebrity is defined as a famous or celebrated person. Celebrities serves as role models, heroes, cultural commentators, charity spokespeople, and political candidates. An exploration of celebrity culture uncovers changing conceptions of legitimacy, authority, and credibility at play in our culture (The Hedgehog Review, 2005) .There is a celebrity culture that has engulfed Canada, and indeed North America for a while now because celebrity culture is alluring, even to those who are embarrassed to admit it. There has been increasing infiltration of celebrity culture into politics. The media might have deliberately and unwittingly contributed in perpetuating this celebrity culture.

Now that you are up to date with currents events I will briefly touch on some strong point of the Canadian democratic system. Citizens in Canada indirectly hold power in a free electoral system and are given better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than other systems of government. The freedom of speech, freedom of political expression, and the freedom of the media allow citizens to vote in favour of their own interest. Democracy in Canada is rooted on the grounds of equal rights; this gives people equality before the law, human rights, free and fair elections and so on. In comparison to the Third World, power is in the hands of the “Big Men”, the police and army are the ones who hold control not the people and where corruption is a norm, Canada may look like a utopia. Another strong point in the Canadian political system is everyone no matter race or sex has the right to vote as long as you are a Canadian citizen over the age of eighteen. Until the 60s/70s parties would make up electoral boundaries this was done to increase the number of votes in that location this is called gerrymander, this was unfair because certain parties had an advantage over others. However, now under the Electoral Boundaries Commissions this problem does not occur and no party has the upper hand over another. Interestingly the

The Government of Canada does a lot of things. Everything from providing us with transportation to making sure everyone has a say in parliament. This group is made up of citizens that we elect to run this country and provide the citizen with a pretty good quality of life. This is the opinion is held by most Canadians. Unfortunately, some still think that we do not live as good a life here as we could somewhere else. Yes, the Government provides and maintains a high quality of life for its citizens. Social Programs provide assistance financially and physically to people that are in need of it. As Canadians, we have an abundance of freedoms and rights to protect us and our government is run as a democracy, where everyone gets a say.

This essay will discuss Justin Trudeau’s interview in the Ottawa Citizen, titled “Q and A: Why Justin Trudeau says he’s the real alternative”, where he shares his plan to increase taxation on the rich in order to give the middle class a tax break. This plan is in response to the larger issue of income inequality in Canada. Analysing the income inequality from a liberal “justice as fairness” perspective, one can conclude that Justin Trudeau is taking the correct action, as taxation on the rich is in compliance with the two principles of justice as described by John Rawls.

Fig. 1. Brian Mulroney’s first year in office (1984), he led the first conservative majority government in 26 years.1

Having lived in Canada when I was 8 before the US-Canada magazine dispute occurred, I found myself thoroughly engrossed in Canadian culture. It seemed a perfect culture, built to protect domestic interests and despite the potential division between countries, created a safe environment where people were unafraid to leave doors unlocked, due to almost no crime. The peaceful and respectful nature of most Canadians isn’t just a fluke, the country was designed this way, and one of the primary influencers of this strategy is the media. Watching the news in Canada, the focus is positive, the message is positive, there is no forced fear of sense of doom as we see here in the US. Life is about being sustainable, not so much a struggle to the top of the food chain, but working together, instead of separating and segregating groups. That is except the region of French Quebec; however, Quebec is like a whole new country in itself.

Pierre Trudeau is the greatest Canadian of the twentieth century due to the fact that he declared Canada’s independence from Great Britain, he abolished the death penalty, and he created the Official Languages Act, making our nation entirely bilingual.

A great Prime Minister should always do what is right for Canada, no matter what obstacles he or she faces. Looking at the fifteen years he was in power, Pierre Elliot Trudeau did exactly that. For instance, he implemented the Official Languages Act and made bilingualism law. In another case, he put an end to the October Crisis by putting into effect the War Measures Act. Finally, Trudeau amended the Constitution which gave Canadians a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Pierre Elliot Trudeau was a successful Prime Minister who accomplished his goals despite facing enormous opposition.

Pierre Elliot Trudeau was arguably one of the most vivacious and charismatic Prime Ministers Canada has ever seen. He wore capes, dated celebrities and always wore a red rose boutonniere. He looked like a superhero, and often acted like one too. Some of the landmark occurrences in Canadian history all happened during the Trudeau era, such as patriating the constitution, creating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the 1980 Quebec Referendum. However, it is Trudeau’s 1969 “white paper” and the Calder legal challenge which many consider to be one of his most influential contributions to Canadian history.

Throughout history, First Nations rights and privileges has been a highly controversial subject in Canada, and remains a debatable topic in society, even in the present-day. Whether it has been the controversies surrounding the missing and murdered Indigenous women or the funding of First Nation’s education, concrete results have yet to be achieved. Consequently, the above forces have delayed the restorative process for the First Nations People. That said, the Canadian Government, whether it is the Conservatives or the Liberals, have attempted to take an active approach to aid the Aboriginal community in their healing process. While the Conservative government failed to address the concerns of the First Nations community such as launching a public inquiry for the missing and murdered Indigenous women and raising funds to increase the literacy rate within the Aboriginal community, the Liberal government has acted in accordance with the above requests from the First Nations community. Although the Liberal government has agreed to provide proper funding to further Indigenous education and to launch a public inquiry for missing and murdered Indigenous women, the federal government has failed to acknowledge that to achieve a sense of reconciliation, the First Nations community requires complete self-government.

Mackenzie king was probably the most controversial and ambitious Prime Minister Canada had ever seen. The road for him in procuring and retaining the position of prime minister was not an easy one. His political career was fraught with dangerous obstacles such as his arch nemesis Arthur Meighen, the great depression, and the matter of conscription. Only with his determination and grit was he able to maintain office (although not consecutively), for almost 22 years, becoming Canada’s longest serving prime minister. Although he was an excellent politician he was not this way as a person. He was not below conspiring against his so called friends or even dishonoring their reputation or position. He was very subtle in the ways he obtained and

Opposing the belief that a dominating leader is running Canada, Barker brings up several key realities of the Canadian government. He gives examples of several “… instances of other ministers taking action that reveal the limits prime-ministerial power,” (Barker 178). Barker conveys the fact that Canada is not bound by a dictatorial government, “…it seems that the prime minister cannot really control his individual ministers. At times, they will pursue agendas that are inconsistent with the prime minister’s actions,” (Barker 181). Both inside and outside government are a part of Canada and they can remind the prime minister that “…politics is a game of survival for all players,” (Barker 188). Barker refutes the misinterpretation of the Canadian government by acknowledging that a prime-ministerial government existing in Canada is an overstatement.

Canadian Political Culture, in a nation- state context, can be break down as beliefs and attitudes that Canadian have of political objects( Jackson, Politics in Canada.1994).

"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." This quote by A.J. Liebling illustrates the reality of where the media stands in today's society. Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in power throughout the media with regard to politics. The media's original purpose was to inform the public of the relevant events that occurred around the world. The job of the media is to search out the truth and relay that news to the people. The media has the power to inform the people but often times the stories given to the public are distorted for one reason or another. Using slant and sensationalism, the media has begun to shape our views in society and the process by which