Canada 's Biggest Concern

He does not give equal weight to external factors that have lead to a development of a strong executive, such a strong political leadership. The 2008 political crisis, involving Stephen Harper and the then Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, wherein, Harper asked Jean to prorogue parliament, shows credence to the fact that the executive is strong because it can manipulate the use of the Crown. Harper was able to assess the viability of his minority government, in a period of economic turmoil, and use the Crown to his benefit. The political strategy of the executive is just as important as the structures enabling its

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 the 19th century, after tremendous progress in surgical processes, abortions were then conducted by surgeons on a wide scale, while medical abortions are used concurrently. However, as abortion technology prospers, legal restrictions came with it. In 1803, a English statute abolished the previously-legal first trimester abortions. The act “condemned the willful, malicious, and unlawful use of any medical substance when used with the intent to induce abortion” (Stern, 1968). In 1821, Connecticut enabled the first statute in the United States regulating abortions. Within 10 years, states like Illinois, Ohio, New York, Alabama, and others enabled abortion restriction statutes, and by 1968, 50 of the 51 jurisdictions in the United States have prohibited abortion except in the case women’s life is endangered (Ibid., at 3). In 1965, Britain, however, legalized abortion for “medical conditions of the mother, for socio-economic reasons, for eugenic considerations, and for pregnancies which resulted from rape or incestuous intercourse”, which is still law today (Ibid, at 4). In Canada, abortion has been legalized since 1969 through Bill C-150 if “a committee of three physicians determined that the pregnancy was a threat to the woman's life or health” (Norman, 2012). In 1988, Canadian Supreme Court struck down bill C-150’s provision requiring committee approval to receive an abortion in its decision R v Morgentaler, legalizing abortion across Canada for any reasons (Ibid.).

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.

The district court ruled in McCorvey’s favor on the merits, but didn’t grand an injunction against the enforcement of the laws barring abortion. The courts decision was based upon the Ninth Amendment.

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.

Many people would like to believe that the president is the most powerful person in the world. However, the structure of America has put restraints on the president that a Prime Minister would not have. There are many differences between the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada. These differences include regulations, term of office, powers, and cultures. Throughout this paper you will learn that just being the leader of their country is about as similar as these two people get.