User:Spirit watcher 22
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i've been doing some reseaech and you know what i do not believe that it is just our government and the queen who control our country. because who is in charge of our army at the moment??? George Bush. what does that tell you???? give me your opinions at the bottom Plz help me create this page to be all about canada and your opinions on Canada!! thanx for listening and at the end of each post put your name and date plz...LOL- Soku Kitty- PUnk RoCKin CanADIan 16:30, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
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[edit] Who's Really In Charge???
Running Canada Canada subscribes to a system of responsible government and constitutional monarchy , combined with the features of a federation and parliamentary democracy .
The Federal System Canada is a federation, which means that the work of governing the country is shared by the federal and provincial or territorial governments. Federalism allows the government of a country as large and diverse as Canada to meet the common needs of all citizens, while also being able to serve the special interests and characteristics of the country's various regions and cultural/linguistic communities.
The original provinces that united to form the Canadian federation were the Province of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Later developments brought six more provinces into Confederation . Three territories have been carved out of Canada's north.
The Division of Powers The Constitution Act, 1867 gives the federal government responsibility for matters that concern all Canadians, most notably matters that cross interprovincial and/or international borders, such as defence, foreign affairs, the regulation of interprovincial and international trade and commerce, criminal law, citizenship, central banking and monetary policy.
Provincial governments have jurisdiction in matters of local interest, for example, primary and secondary education, health and social services, property and civil rights, provincial and municipal courts, and local (municipal) institutions. Schools are generally run by school boards or commissions elected under provincial education acts.
Some areas of responsibility are shared by both levels of government. For example, in the area of transportation, the federal government has jurisdiction in matters involving movement across provincial or international borders (aviation, marine transport and rail), whereas the provinces look after provincial highways, vehicle registration and driver licensing. Control over agriculture, immigration and certain aspects of natural resource management are also shared; but if federal and provincial laws in these areas conflict, the federal law prevails.
The territorial governments (Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) have more or less the same responsibilities as the provinces, but do not control land and natural resources. Further, their powers are not guaranteed by the Constitution but are granted by the federal government, which can change them when it is considered necessary.
A basic principle of the Constitution Act, 1867 is that any power not specifically assigned to provincial legislatures belongs to the Parliament of Canada. In interpreting the law, the courts have generally followed the principle that if the power appears to be local, then it will be assigned to the provinces and territories, and if national, then to the federal government, or to both levels if the power is both national and local (for example, the environment).
Municipalities are formed to handle the affairs of cities, counties, towns, villages, districts and metropolitan regions. They are set up by provincial legislatures and have only such powers as the provinces give them. They provide citizens with services such as water and sewer systems, garbage disposal, roads, building codes, parks and libraries, and have authority over property tax.
[edit] Elections
Canadians play an active role in how and by whom Canada is governed. We elect members of Parliament to the House of Commons and to our provincial and territorial legislatures to make decisions and enact laws on our behalf. Regular elections ensure that Canadians continue to be represented by candidates of their choice. The Constitution sets the maximum term of a Parliament at five years. However, the government in power may call an earlier election at any time. To do so, the Prime Minister must ask the Governor General to dissolve the House and call the election.
Representation in legislatures is based on geographical divisions known as electoral districts, constituencies or ridings. Each riding elects one member to the legislature. Federally, riding boundaries are established every ten years by independent commissions, taking into account population and social and economic links. Elections are conducted riding by riding, with the winner being the candidate with the greatest number of votes. It is not necessary to have a majority of votes to win. Most candidates running in federal, provincial or Yukon elections belong to a political party.
Political parties are a group of people who establish a constitution outlining their common vision, elect a leader and other officers, and support candidates for election to the House of Commons federally, or to the Legislature provincially or in the Yukon. Historically, Canada has had representatives from at least 3 to 5 political parties in Parliament. To be registered for a federal election, a political party is required to have had at least 12 members in the previous Parliament, or must nominate a minimum of 50 candidates 21 days prior to the election. Provincially and in the Yukon, the process is much more complex, ranging from single-party dominant systems to competitive three-party systems across the country (candidates in territorial elections in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are not members of political parties).
All Canadian citizens at least 18 years of age on election day are eligible to vote, with very few exceptions. To ensure impartiality, the officials responsible for election administration—the Chief Electoral Officer and the Assistant Chief Electoral Officer—may not vote in a federal election. Some residency restrictions apply for voters outside the country.
http://www.elections.ca/youth/english/welcome.html
[edit] Is The Canadian Charter of Human Rights Important??
as far as i'm concerned it is one of the most imprtant things for canadians!!- Soku Kitty- PUnk RoCKin CanADIan 16:30, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known as The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply The Charter) is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982. The Charter guarantees certain political and civil rights of people in Canada from the policies and actions of all levels of government. It is designed to unify Canadians around a set of principles that embody those rights.
The Charter was preceded by the Canadian Bill of Rights, which was enacted in 1960. However, the Bill of Rights was only a federal statute, rather than a constitutional document. As a federal statute, it was limited in scope, it was easily amendable by Parliament and it had no application to provincial laws. The Supreme Court of Canada also narrowly interpreted the Bill of Rights and the Court was reluctant to declare laws inoperative.[1] The relative ineffectiveness of the Canadian Bill of Rights motivated many to improve rights protections in Canada. The movement for human rights and freedoms that emerged after World War II also wanted to entrench the principles enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[2] The British Parliament formally enacted the Charter as a part of the Canada Act 1982 at the request of the Parliament of Canada in 1982, the result of the efforts of the Government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
One of the most notable effects of the adoption of the Charter was to greatly expand the scope of judicial review, because the Charter is more explicit with respect to the guarantee of rights and the role of judges in enforcing them than was the Bill of Rights. The courts, when confronted with violations of Charter rights, have struck down unconstitutional federal and provincial statutes and regulations or parts of statutes and regulations, as they did when Canadian case law was primarily concerned with resolving issues of federalism. However, the Charter granted new powers to the courts to enforce remedies that are more creative and to exclude more evidence in trials. These powers are greater than what was typical under the common law and under a system of government that, influenced by Canada's mother country the United Kingdom, was based upon Parliamentary supremacy. As a result, the Charter has attracted both broad support from a majority of the Canadian electorate and criticisms by opponents of increased judicial power. The Charter only applies to government laws and actions (including the laws and actions of federal, provincial, and municipal governments and public school boards), and sometimes to the common law, not to private activity.
[edit] Politics In Canada
Political BuisnessSoku Kitty- PUnk RoCKin CanADIan 16:30, 1 September 2007 (UTC)(UTC) in canada we have four political parties:
Sask party
Liberal Party
Conservative Party (in charge now)(Stephen Harper)
NDP
If you had a choice who would you pick???
we are a sttrong country with many ppl........... someone help me describe canada- Soku Kitty- PUnk RoCKin CanADIan 16:30, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Saskatchewan
so many ppl think that "blah" means sask folk...it does not Soku Kitty- PUnk RoCKin CanADIan 16:30, 1 September 2007 (UTC) (UTC)
[edit] Opinions of me and others
My opinion onm the war
This is an unfair situation. the canadian army should not be fighting n this war. my brother is there and he almost died two months ago. can't a treaty be signed or something?? we are losing the people we love to this. can it not end already.... please??? i love our freedom but the longer we fight, the more we wonder will we be bombed next Soku Kitty- PUnk RoCKin CanADIan 16:30, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
