How To Abolish The Senate In Canada Essay

The founding father's purpose for the Senate was to maintain the balance of power between the Federal and State governments.

The Canadian political system is based entirely on democracy. As a democracy it has the duty “to protect itself against the forces of dissolution as soon as they [appear]” (Pierre Trudeau 133). Few people would disagree with the government’s decision to invoke the act. Surely because of the apprehension, almost everybody in the nation was feeling during the violent insurrection in Quebec. Resulting from “seven years of terrorist assaults in Montreal and Ottawa” (130) in which “resulted in six deaths” (Eric Kierans 181). As a country previously experiencing peace and prosperity to experiencing the “gravest disaster in national history” (Action: The October Crisis of 1970) Prime Minister Trudeau has to make a decision due to the unrest of the populace. The decision to invoke the War Measures Act would be the correct one since it has a ‘just’ cause behind invoking it, enacting the act “was almost

In Canada, voter turnout has become a major issue; as there is a large amount of the population that does not vote in elections. Back in 2008, a total of 58% of the countries` population voted in the election. This is a startling low number, which since has begun to increase only slightly in recent years. In a democratic society, voting is essential for it to function with its full potential. Doing so enacts one of your basic responsibilities as a citizen, as well as shows that you are staying involved in your community and government. The serious lack of voter turnout contradicts this responsibility. There are individuals who speculate that it would be beneficial to make voting mandatory, with repercussions for those who do not vote.

There are many different opinions about the Senate. Some poeple want to abolish, reform, or keep it as is. The Senate costs us $60 million. However, if the Senate is reformed and the members are elected, it will cost $120 million every year. The Senate acts as the "sober second thought". Their main role is to provide a final check on the legislation passed in the House of Commons. Some people believe this isn't necissary and that we should not spend so much money on it. Additionally, some people feel that we are alreadt overgoverened in this country. We have municipal governments, urban hamlets, towns and villages, rural municipalities, countries, school boards, hospital boards, provincial governments, the federal House of Commons, and the Senate. Some people think that

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms first came into effect on April 17, 1982. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is one part of the Canadian Constitution, created in 1867. The Constitution is a set of laws containing the basic rules about how a country operates. The Charter sets out those rights and freedoms that Canadians believe are necessary in a free and democratic society. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is an effective tool to ensure and maintain a just society as it protects the innocence of people, protects and ensures past laws and states fundamental freedoms, all of which work to create a thriving society.

The Indian Act is a part of Canadian legislation that is intended to elucidate how the federal government handles its responsibilities to the Aboriginal population of Canada. The Indian Act was created to civilize, protect and assimilate the Aboriginal people; however, in the past the Canadian government perceived Aboriginal people as wards, and thought that the Native communities and governments were unqualified of running their affairs (Coates, 2008). In the past the Indian Act was also utilized as an instrument to limit rights of the Aboriginal population. It banned Aboriginal people from practicing their cultural practices, denied them the right to vote, controlled who was permitted to travel from reserve settings, and decided where

Introduction: Canada senate is a part of legislation institution in Canada, which represents the interests of upper class people. Different from America, it is not produced by election but directly-nominated by the premier and appointed by governor. Senate, governor, and the House of Commons are like three legs of a tripod which constitute the congress and legislation system in Canada. Senate undertakes the responsibility of proposing expostulation to governor and cabinet, which acts the role of supervision and restriction. Senate played critical role when Canada established federal government in 1867, the diversity of senators warrants the smooth convey of popular will to governors and legislators coming from different ethnic group and social status. Above all, the senators nominated by senate are the venerable politicians, nobles, and the people possessing good prestige and social status. So Senate is a good completion and supplement to the House of Commons from both the political background and diversity, which can reach a balance and stability for legislation system. With the social progress and continues development of legislation system, the rhetoric and proud of appointment and dismissal, the power of supervision and voting are replaced by the “Only relatives are employed”, ”political return” system. The shortcoming of system and its devoid of keeping pace to time finally hamper the development of itself, however. Under this circumstances, “Duffy” is the essential victim under the increasingly corrupt

The Senate will always be criticized if we have it or if we don’t have it. This quote from the pamphlet “Canada’s Senate A Strong and Principled Voice” from the Senate of Canada website truly defines the importance of the Senate in Canada: “The Senate is much more than a chamber of sober second thought. It is a voice for regions and minorities, and a source of ideas, inspiration, and legislation in its own right.”In conclusion, the Senate plays a major role in Canadian’s everyday lives and by abolishing it lives of Canadians could change for the

The House of Representatives under the umbrella of the Constitution has the power to do certain things that the Senate cannot. The House is responsible for initiating spending bills; also, the house has the sole authority to impeach officials for misconduct or illegal dealings. The House also has the exclusive authority to select the president in the event of an Electoral College stalemate.

The bills are studied to find out how they might affect the daily lives of Canadians. Changes are suggested to improve them. In the event some bills may even be rejected. The Senate may also introduce bills of its own, even though most bills are introduced in the House of Commons. A bill is not able to become law in Canada without Senate approval. The Senate is responsible for protecting the rights and interests of Canadians in all of its regions, especially minority groups or people who do not often get a chance to present their opinions to Parliament. Before a bill can become law, it goes through three stages, called "readings," in both Houses. The bill is debated, adjusted and then voted on by each House. Once approved, the bill is presented to the Governor General for royal assent and is made law. Another role of the Senate, not plainly provided for in the Constitution, “is to act as a non-ideological, routine revising chamber that picks up flaws in legislation that have avoided notice during a bill’s passage through the House of Commons.” (Jay Makarenko) Accordingly, the Senate might highlight confusing ideas or language in legislation, or raise questions about potential loopholes that may diminish the usefulness of a certain

The Legislative branch is headed by Congress. This includes the Senate and the House of Representatives. Their main duty it so compose the laws. The constitution gives congress permission to declare war and enact legislation. It also gives them permission to accept or reject Presidential appointments. The House of Representatives separated between 50 different states and has 435 elected members. There are 6 members that do not vote. The presiding officer of the Chamber is third in line in the succession of the presidency. Members must be 25 years of age, elected every 2 years, a resident of the state, and a U.S. citizen for at least seven years. The house has many jobs assigned to it. These powers include impeaching federal officers, initiating revenues bills, and electing the president in case of a electoral college tie. The Senate is made up of 100 Senators. There are 2 in each state. Senators used to be chosen by legislatures, not by the popular vote. They have been elected to

Canada should change the Senate because the senate is useless, undemocratic and costly today. However, the principle of Senate is a good idea, so it is still needed and important. The Senate is a legislative body of the government, which has the almost the same power as the House of Common. If Canada abolishes it means that Canada won't have a place with "sober second thought.” This is why the senate still has some value and worth Canada to improve it to let it become better.

In South Africa we have different political parties that citizens vote for to represent them in Parliament and have their best interest at heart. The struggle against apartheid is over and we now live in a democratic society. Parliamentary sovereignty is done away with and replaced with constitutional supremacy which means the constitution is supreme and the highest law in South Africa. The majority party is the ANC which puts the DA second in line however the question is whether having such a strong majority party could have a negative impact on the parliaments function to represent the citizens of South Africa.

Parliament’s legislative branch of Government, with the three-part component, it is composed of the House of Commons, the Senate and the Queen (McTeer, 1995), who is represented by the Governor General in Canada (currently David Johnson) (G.G., 2015). These components of government serve more as a ceremonial role with such responsibilities as: “the installation of the Governor General; the Opening of Parliament; the Speech from the Throne, and Royal Assent ceremonies” (Parl. Library, 2011). The Governor General is appointed by the Prime Minister, who advises the Queen about who shall be appointed with a lengthy term of five years, which may eventually be extended (Parl. Library, 2011). The other part of the puzzle consists of the Executive branch of government. This branch consists of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The Prime Minister runs the Cabinet; he/she controls the ministerial appointments (Parl., 2012). Being responsible for government policy, it is crucial for the Cabinet to have confidence of the House of Commons (Parl., 2012). Not everyone can be a part of Cabinet, so the Ministers who are chosen by the Prime Minister are “Members of House of Commons… and at least one Senator… who serves as the Leader of the Government in the Upper house (Parl., 2012). Each Cabinet Minister is assigned specific roles they must fulfil within government (House of Commons, 2008), and the Cabinet lasts as long as the Prime Minister is in power. Another factor that grants the responsible government power is winning majority seats in the House of Commons. Simply defined by Joseph Howe, responsible government indicates the responsibility to the people in Canada; as it “is more commonly described as an executive or Cabinet that is dependent on

Parliamentarism, or a parliamentary government, is defined “as a system of government in which the executive, the government, is chosen by and is responsible to…the legislature.” (Gerring, Thacker and Moreno, 2005, p. 15) With this form of governmental control, many advantages and disadvantages arise, especially when this system is compared to the likes of ‘Presidential systems’ or even that of ‘Semi-presidential systems’. However, my aim within this essay is to, both, highlight to advantages of parliamentarism, and to also give my opinion as to why this system is better when compared and contrasted with the aforementioned systems.