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Canadian Democracy Its Strengths and Weaknesses

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Canadian Democracy Its Strengths and Weaknesses
“The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within”. (Gandhi) A lawful and fair democracy is one that represents the people, where the will of the people is done not where the government’s will is enforced. Here in Canada we believe a democratic government is well suited for its people but like any other system it has its flaws. This country was a model democracy. Canada’s wealth, respect for legal, human and civil rights almost promises that this country has the potential to uphold a legitimate democracy. Reading headlines today concerning the state of democracy in Canada we can see how our political system is slipping. A democracy should uphold the rights of its people rather than the rights of a sovereign to rule. Throughout this paper the strengths and weakness of Canadian democracy will be discussed. The first issue of discussion will be the state of Canadian democracy and current events of politics in Canada today. After that, points on the Prime Minister and also the electoral system will be made. Finally the last points of discussion will be the Canadian Charter of rights, judges in the parliament and the effect of the media on Canadian Democracy. To begin, the word democracy itself has no single agreed definition. There are three especially useful models of democracy which are especially useful when analysing Canadian democracy they are representative, direct/ plebiscitary and deliberative democracy. They are similar in that they are ruled by the people, probity, equality, and rule of law/ due process. Some differences are the conceptions of society, political philosophy, decision-making rules and proper and possible public involvement in governing (Forms of Democracy, White, 2008). Direct democracy is the model of democracy we use in Canada today. The central ideas behinds direct democracy is it has a strong desire for genuine public participation in important government decisions. It is highly majoritarian and


Bibliography: • Bakvis, Herman. Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canada: an Autocracy in Need of Reform?. Journal of Canadian Studies, 2001. • Blais and Hicks. Restructuring the Canadian Senate through Elections. IRPP choices, Vol. 14, no. 15 , 2008 • Churchill, Winston • Gandhi, Mahatma. “Essence of Democracy” 2 Sep 1996. < http://www.mkgandhi.org/momgandhi/chap72.htm> (22 March 2009) • McLachlin, Beverley • Milner, Henry. Civic Literacy in Comparative Context. IRPP, 2001 • Nadeau and Giasson • Paul Howe, Richard Johnston and André Blais. Strengthening Canadian Democracy. Montreal: IRPP, 2005. • Savoie, Donald. Power at the Apex: Executive Dominance. Canadian Politics, 2004. • Wheelwright, Jonthan. “Democracy” 6 October 2006. (30 March 2009) • White, Graham • White, Graham. “Direct Democracy”. UTM, Ontario. 2008. 24 Mar. 2009 • White, Graham • White, Graham. “Electoral Systems”. UTM, Ontario. 2008. 24 Mar. 2009 • White, Graham
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