Canadian Senate Analysis

Canadian Senate Analysis The current government of Canada has remained in place since the British North America Act, 1867, which established the Parliament for Canada to be comprised of three parts: the Crown, the Senate, and the House of Commons.[1] Unique to Canada’s government, which is based on the Westminster Parliamentary System, is that the upper house of parliament, or the Senate, is comprised of unelected officials. For a large portion of Canada’s history there has been a debate concerning the Senate, largely concerning its unelected officials. While there has consistently been a discussion on if the Senate should be changed, Canada’s political parties cannot agree on if this change should be a reform of the Senate or its abolishment. In recent years this debate has been revitalized due to scandals concerning senators, Stephen Harper’s commitment to reform the Senate, and the Supreme Court ruling on what would need to be done to reform the Senate. While it is understandab le that some may want to push for the Senate to be abolished, this is much too drastic of a step for Canada to take and should not be taken just for simplicity’s sake. Democracies function and exist on mechanisms that help balance the power of the governing bodies to ensure that no one body or official has too much power and abolishing the Senate before attempting to reform it would give the House of Commons too much power. Prime Minister John MacDonald’s words are often used in explaining what the Senate does when he said that they are â€Å"the sober second thought.†[2] The reasoning for this is that by having politicians that are concerned for the long term stability and integrity of Canada and its laws and not concern themselves about being reelected and the perpetual campaign or about politics. Essentially they can give their full attention to being the check on the House of Commons. In addition, section 54 of the Canadian Constitution states that bills which deal with any aspect of money, including appropriating revenue or creating or removing a tax, must originate from the House of Commons.[3] What this then causes, because most bills deal with issues of revenue or taxes in some manner, the vast majority of bills come from the House of Commons, which creates a unique dynamic between the two houses.[4] The dynamic that is crated is an uneven balance between the two in terms of the am ount of work that is done. The House of Commons is the primary body that creates legislation and the Senate largely provides review and second thought on the issues addressed in legislation. While this may be the original thought, there are flaws to it. Many ideas on how to change the Senate have been proposed over the years, but to understand the current debate the most it is best to look at what each major political party current proposes. Currently the common discourse about the Senate is divided into three areas: main the status quo; keep the Senate, but reform it; or abolish the Senate in its entirety. Political parties of Canada have often differed on how the Senate should be approached and dealt with along the three lines. The New Democratic Party (NDP), especially in recent years, has been vocal proponents of abolishing the senate. The NDP has even gone as far as creating a website to promote the idea of abolishing the Senate, citing its unelected nature and high costs as reasons for it to be abolished.[5] The Conservative Party, on the other hand, has taken a different route and has attempted to reform it. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party attempted to create a system whereby senators would be elected by the provinces for nine years.[6] The legislation that proposed this came in 2011, but the constitutionality of this effort immediately came into question and went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court responded in 2014 when it ruled that any Senate reform must go be approved by at least seven provinces and half of the population.[7] The Liberal Party has not been as loud as the others, but did eject the senators that were part of the Liberal Caucus and released a statement declaring their support for reform of the Senate and the ejection of the senators from the caucus is the first step.[8] Each of the major political is in favor of some change to the Senate, which is a reflection of the opinion of Canadians. In addition to the political parties siding on the Senate being altered in some way, a majority of Canadians are in favor of some sort of change. According to a poll by Angus Reid conducted in April of 2015, 86% of Canadians are in favor of a change.[9] However, while an overwhelming majority of citizens are in favor of a change, there is a deep divide on what kind of change should exist. In the same poll by Angus Reid, 45% of Canadians are in favor of a reformed Senate while 41% are in favor of the Senate being abolished entirely.[10] Just as with the political parties, this mirrors the debate and contention between the political parties on exactly what should be done. Compared to the 2013 poll by Angus Reid on the same topic, in a year filled with news about scandals concerning senators, 50% of Canadians were in favor of abolishment vs. 43% for reform.[11] This shows, like with many topics, the interest and concern of people will differ a lot depending on how senators are conductin g themselves and how the Senate is functioning. The reason why the vast majority of criticisms that have been leveled against the Senate are about its unelected senators is because that is its biggest flaw. While it can be argued that removing the time consuming process of elections it gives senators a different set of priorities to focus on the work of Parliament, this is the exact reason why it is bad. By being selected rather than elected, senators are then beholden to those that choose them rather than the citizens of Canada. This then means that if a senator does not do a good job, or do the job at all, according to Canadians, it is a difficult process to get rid of them. Since these senators are then beholden to those that choose them, this creates a dangerous mechanism for internal party politics whereby those that are actually selected to be a senator may not be deserving of the position. On the contrary, as the NDP accuses the Conservative Party of doing, those that do work for the party or the Prime Minister may end up a s a senator as a favor.[12] The Senate is an undemocratic and authoritarian instrument that has to be reformed. Regardless of the scandals that have occurred or if the senators take advantage of their position, the critical point is there exists a need for senators to be elected. In the overall discourse, the idiosyncrasies of reform matter little as long as the process towards elections. What the Conservative Party proposed is a good step and is not a bad way to reform the Senate. An important part of this proposal that should be in all other proposals is that senators should have a longer term than those in the House of Commons. This is to help preserve some of the original motivations for the creation of the Senate, which is to have senators think about and be concerned for the long term integrity and development of Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party’s efforts to reform the Senate have been described as failures, but they actually began one of the most important steps to changing the Senate: discovering the process. The Supreme Court ruled that reform or abolishment of the Senate cannot be done unilaterally by the House of Commons, which caused the Conservatives to cease their efforts and Prime Minister Harper to say that the ruling â€Å"leaves [them] with little choice† but to abandon their efforts.[13] Contrary to what Stephen Harper may say, the Supreme Court’s ruling gives the Conservatives and all of Canada reason to pursue reform and creates the parameters of how. The Supreme Court ruled that in order to reform the Senate, at least seven provinces would need to approve in addition to half of Canada while abolition would require unanimous consent.[14] Although this is a daunting process, if we take into account that 86% of Canadians want change, i t is not impossible. While this 86%, when broken down accounts for 45% that are for reform and 41% that are for abolition, it can be assumed that many of those that want abolition would much favor reform rather than no change in the event that a vote was given to the general population. Overall, the strengths and arguments for reform outweigh those of abolition. In addition to paving the way on how reform of the Senate must occur, the Supreme Court also gave a strong argument for reform over abolition: it is easier. While there may be arguments to be made for to having a unicameral parliament and abolishing the Senate, this path is too far to go without attempting reform first. If we are to accept that a bicameral legislature and Senate is part of our cultural heritage and that it does have merit in providing a check and balance to the actions of the House of Commons, there should at least be some effort to preserve it with reform. Some of the criticisms that have been used against the Senate including the significant cost to taxpayers compared to the lack of work can be rectified with reforming and making senators elected officials. By becoming elected officials, they are then accountable to the people that elected them into office and can easily be voted out if th ey do any work or their work is not sufficient to their electorate. While there many strengths to reforming the Senate, there does exist problems that must be considered. The first, and possibly biggest, obstacle in regards to reforming the Senate is its inability to create bills concerning the allocation of revenue or use of taxes. Already this creates a great hindrance on the work of the Senate and is one of the reasons why the Senate does not produce nearly the same amount of bills as the House of Commons. If the event of serious efforts and progress to reform the Senate, it would have to be addressed if the Senate would be able to create bills concerning money or if the restriction would remain in place. On one hand, the removal of such restriction would encourage senators to produce more bills, but would diminish the role and authority of the House of Commons Insight into this can be drawn from Australia’s Parliament, which has an elected Senate, but still requires all money bills to begin in the House of Representatives, which is the low er house of the Australian Parliament.[15] This causes the same imbalance that occurs in Canada’s Parliament where the House of Representatives produce the vast majority of bills while the Senate produces much less, but gets to spend much more time in committee work.[16] When looking at the overall discourse and benefits presented by reforming the Senate, it is something that should be pursued by Canada. The Senate still plays an important role by providing committee work, which the House of Commons often does not have enough time to do, and provides a needed balance. However, an unelected Senate is an artifact of an old system of government that must be updated to become more democratic. While there are strong arguments to be made for abolition, it should not be considered before at least attempting to reform. In addition, it is easier to reform rather than abolish so it is rational to at least turn the Senate into something Canadians want before losing it forever. References A Legislative and Historical Overview of the Senate of Canada. A Legislative and Historical Overview of the Senate of Canada. Accessed April 27, 2015. Abolish the Senate. Roll up the Red Carpet: Its Time to Abolish the Senate. Accessed April 29, 2015. Angus Reid. Future of the Senate: Majority of Canadians Split between Abolishing, Reforming the Red Chamber. Accessed May 3, 2015. CBC News. Canadas Senate: Sober Second Thought. CBCnews. July 9, 2010. Accessed April 25, 2015. Cody, Howard. Lessons from Australia in Canadian Senate Reform. Canadian Parliamentary Review. Accessed May 3, 2015. Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982. Legislative Services Branch. Accessed April 26, 2015. Fine, Sean. Stuck with Status Quo on Senate, Says Harper after Courts Rejection. The Globe and Mail. Accessed April 29, 2015. Parliamentary Institutions. Parliamentary Institutions. Accessed April 25, 2015. Trudeau Leads on Senate Reform: Liberal Leader Takes Concrete Action to Remove Partisanship and Patronage from the Senate. Accessed May 3, 2015. [1] Parliamentary Institutions, parliamentary Institutions, accessed April 25, 2015. [2] CBC News.,Canadas Senate: Sober Second Thought, July 9, 2010, accessed April 25, 2015. [3] Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982, Legislative Services Branch, accessed April 26, 2015. [4] A Legislative and Historical Overview of the Senate of Canada, A Legislative and Historical Overview of the Senate of Canada, accessed April 27, 2015. [5] Abolish the Senate, Roll up the Red Carpet: Its Time to Abolish the Senate, accessed April 29, 2015. [6] Sean Fine, Stuck with Status Quo on Senate, Says Harper after Courts Rejection, The Globe and Mail, accessed April 29, 2015. [7] Sean Fine, Stuck with Status Quo on Senate, Says Harper after Courts Rejection, The Globe and Mail, accessed April 29, 2015. [8] Trudeau Leads on Senate Reform: Liberal Leader Takes Concrete Action to Remove Partisanship and Patronage from the Senate, accessed May 3, 2015. [9] Angus Reid, Future of the Senate: Majority of Canadians Split between Abolishing, Reforming the Red Chamber, accessed May 3, 2015. [10] Angus Reid, Future of the Senate: Majority of Canadians Split between Abolishing, Reforming the Red Chamber, accessed May 3, 2015. [11] Angus Reid, Future of the Senate: Majority of Canadians Split between Abolishing, Reforming the Red Chamber, accessed May 3, 2015. [12] Abolish the Senate, Roll up the Red Carpet: Its Time to Abolish the Senate, accessed April 29, 2015. [13] Sean Fine, Stuck with Status Quo on Senate, Says Harper after Courts Rejection, The Globe and Mail, accessed April 29, 2015. [14] Sean Fine, Stuck with Status Quo on Senate, Says Harper after Courts Rejection, The Globe and Mail, accessed April 29, 2015. [15] Howard Cody. Lessons from Australia in Canadian Senate Reform, Canadian Parliamentary Review, accessed May 3, 2015. [16] Howard Cody. Lessons from Australia in Canadian Senate Reform, Canadian Parliamentary Review, accessed May 3, 2015.

Critic Analysis of How the Grinch Stole Christmas Essay

This story by Dr. Seuss is one of the classic children’s stories of all time, which is about a cave monster, Grinch, who hated Christmas because of all the festivities. Because of this, he wished to ruin it by stealing all the gifts from the inhabitants of the nearby Whoville. He thought that through this, he could end all the happiness that the people were feeling during Christmas, but he was wrong. He found out that Christmas is not just about gifts and special presents, but it’s more on the spirit of giving and love. He had a change of heart, and was later accepted in the community (Kowalski). Using the Psychoanalytic school of criticism, we try to define the how’s and why’s of the Grinch’s action (Bressler). We can see that he is the stereotypical monster/villain, who lives a solitary life in his cave, with no one to mingle with except his dog. We see a grumpy character in Grinch, who would hate everything that is fun in the context of a normal person. So Grinch is the typical antagonist, who evilly plans on how to take away the happiness from the people in the Christmas time. But as the story continued, we found that the villain had a change of heart and became good, a typical happy ending, considering it is intended for the young audience (Kowalski). We could see that the Grinch, as well as the inhabitants of Whoville are not humans, though we still give them human characteristics. This is an effective way to relate what you feel in the story, as well as learn new things from it. It is intended for the young ones, so the content is not really complex, and it is easy to understand. The story had the bad guy gone good ending, which suits the story well, since Grinch has a very unique personality, someone you’d want to go along well with. Works Cited: Bressler, Charles. â€Å"Psychoanalytic Criticism†. 1994. April 4 2008. . Kowalski, Frankie. â€Å"How the Grinch Stole Christmas . . . And My Heart†. 1996. April 5 2008. .

Poverty A Country Of Opportunity - 1102 Words

Poverty is one of the biggest problems we are dealing with in our world. What is poverty you might ask, well poverty is when one is labeled as inefficient enough to live at society standards and needs to provide for one’s self or their family finically. Poverty may be known as a state symbol in less developed countries. But in reality poverty is everywhere! Even the countries that would never come to mind like America â€Å"the land of opportunity â€Å". Americans are proud of their economic system, believing it provides opportunities for all citizens to have good lives. But did you know more than 46.7 million people live below the line of poverty. Most recent studies show poverty rate for African Americans was 26.2 percent, Latinos 23.6 percent, Asians 12 percent, and non-Hispanics Whites 10.1 percent. Children under the age of 18 poverty rate were 21.1 percent and the number of children in poverty was 15.5 million. These children represented 23.3 percent of the total popu lation and 33.3 Percent of people in poverty. More than 19.9 million Americans live in severe poverty. Which means their family’s cash income was less than half of the poverty line, or possibly about $10,000 a year for a family of four. They represented 6.6 percent of all people and 44.6 percent of those in poverty. Now that we as a nation understand the surrealness of this unfortunate situation we have taken matters into our hands to end poverty in America. We have done a lot that works. From social securityShow MoreRelatedPoverty : A Country With Great Opportunities For A Successful Future1789 Words   |  8 Pagescontinues to face an issue with no end towards it. America is known to be a country with great opportunities for better living and most importantly a chance for a successful future. It is unfortunate that despite of a better life and opportunities in America, poverty continues to be present and affecting citizens. Income does in fact; affect the condition of living in America. There are a number of outcomes as a result of poverty such as being physically unhealthy, lack of achievement in education/careerRead MoreInequality Between Poverty And Poverty1139 Words   |  5 Pageslast two decades in ending the terms of inequalities and poverty. Many countries are determined to improve t heir economy, and become fully developed just like the United States. In my home country, Kuwait, poverty do not exist, however, inequalities do. Some of the countries that have done well in the recent past include China, India, Brazil, and South Korea. However, poverty and inequalities are still being realized in the wealthy nation. Poverty and inequalities in the society are the two main factorsRead MoreCauses And Consequences Of Poverty Essay945 Words   |  4 Pagesthe causes of poverty in three different countries. â€Å"The causes of poverty include changing trends in a country s economy, lack of education, high divorce rate which causes feminization of poverty, having a culture of poverty, overpopulation, epidemic diseases such as AIDS and malaria, and environmental problems such as lack of rainfall†. (White, Killick Kayizzi, 2001) Almost half of the world over 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day. It is said that â€Å"a country is poor becauseRead MoreThe world has undoubtedly been booming and has become more prosperous; however, growth has been600 Words   |  3 Pagesunderemployment are at the core of poverty. Eradicating poverty altogether has been the ethical, social, political and economic goal. It can only be realized by taking a multidimensional approach combined with strategies and plans for the people living in poverty that meets their basic needs and empowers them. Poverty is a cruel circle that goes from generation to generation. Though poverty occurs in all countries, the condition is serious in developing countries. According to UN, about 1.3 billionRead MorePoverty And Poverty : Poverty1662 Words   |  7 Pages Poverty for centuries has been a very severe issue that has troubled many nations while impeding economic developments and progress. Poverty stricken countries are majorly concentrated in the continents of Africa and Asia. Continents like the Americas and Europe have globally been recognized as been wealthier yet still many parts of these ostensible countries face massive cases of poverty. Most at times, countries with high populations owing to high birth rates face the most casesRead MorePoverty is not having the money to meet a human’s basic needs. 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Poverty is a serious topic that needs to be re-evaluated and analyzed some more. â€Å"Globally, about 21,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes†, according to the United Nations. This is one person every four seconds and unfortunatelyRead MoreGlobalization Is Not A New Concept1414 Words   |  6 PagesAs with the growing interdependence of an economy on the others is the growing norm of the world’s society. Why the countries are dependent on one another? Can’t they survive isolated from the rest of the world? The answer is laid upon the term Globalization. The globalization is not a new concept; it even existed even thousands of years ago. However, it became much popular in the nineteenth century most prevalently after the world war w hen the economies around the world tend to grow and developRead MoreUndocumented Immigrants And The United States Essay973 Words   |  4 Pagesnot what you think it is† Why do people cross the line illegally? there are many reasons for undocumented immigrants to cross the united states do with the poverty in the country, high level of education in the united states, and the better opportunity of jobs. Many immigrants decide to emigrate from their country of birth to seek a new opportunity for all the family, but analyze the information is not only one culture a lot of different cultures immigrant to have a better life in the united statesRead MorePoverty And Its Effects On America894 Words   |  4 PagesPoverty is one of largest problem in the whole world, because thousands of people are affected by this major concern. Poverty is an issue that inflicts many dangerous situations, such as, crimes, diseases, lack of literacy, hard labor, etc., and therefore, it is essential t o resolute before it gets worse. For example, United States is having risen in unemployment rates, which indicates the early symptoms, that citizens have started submerging into poverty. In most of the poor countries crime ratio

The Vietnam War Essay - 2566 Words

Vietnam was so significant to the United States partly as it would be the first war they would lose. It also had a tremendous financial impact on the country and the casualties were also more in the public eye than ever before due to the media. They learnt that: a long war for limited objectives, with its steady stream of body bags, will not be supported by the American people (Martino, 1996, p37). Some suggest that the US should have avoided any involvement in the war. However, it is important to consider the political climate of the time when passing judgement. The aim of this analysis is to explore†¦show more content†¦Ho was determined to achieve independence for the region. The French wanted to regain power and took badly to Hos proclaiming the former Indochina as The Democratic Republic of Vietnam in September, as the British had persuaded the allies to return power to the French in October (Palmer, 1984). At this time bi-polarity was not yet fully entrenched and Ho appealed to the U.S. in his September speech to the masses, drawing on The American Declaration of Independence (ibid.). America influenced the celebrations and professed its friendship to the new state. However, this did not last and reasons for Americas turnaround are many. During WW2 the US had viewed Indochina as of limited importance but they began to reassess the situation (Herring, 1986). France responded to Hos proclamation by enlisting Britains help in expelling the Vietminh from the south of the country, creating a division between Hos North Vietnam and French South Vietnam. This was followed by fruitless attempts to negotiate an agreement between the French and Vietminh that lasted over a year. For the Vietminh, unification was vital for the countrys survival as food production was mostly in the south, but the French refused to budge. Hostility increased until, in November 1946 France shelled Haiphong killing 6000 civilians, tragically beginning the Vietnam War (ibid.)Show MoreRelatedThe War Of Vietnam And The Vietnam War1525 Words   |  7 PagesThe war in Vietnam is The United States and other capitalist bloc countries supported South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) against the support by the Soviet Union and other socialist bloc countries of North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and the Vietcong of war. Which occurred during the Cold War of Vietnam ( main battlefield), Laos, and Cambodia. This is the biggest and longtime war in American history during the 1960s (Best 2008). It is also the most significant war after World War IIRead MoreThe Vietnam War On Vietnam1725 Words   |  7 PagesThe War on Vietnam Many believe that the way Americans entered the war against the North Vietnam communists was unjust. The United States got into a war that they had no clue on how to win. â€Å"The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The divisive war, increasingly unpopular at home, ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973Read MoreThe Vietnam War : Vietnam1170 Words   |  5 PagesBeyond Vietnam. The Vietnam War is one of the most traumatic episodes in the history of the United States. Not only because it ended with a defeat for the United States Army, but because unleashed the largest wave of protests in the country, in which the government lost support. Extended over more than a decade, between 1959 to April 30 of 1975, although the US intervened in 1965, in which American soldiers experienced in firsthand scenes of destruction and death. During the Vietnam War clashedRead MoreThe Vietnam War Of Vietnam920 Words   |  4 Pages1940’s Vietnam was trying to break free of French reign over their country. During this time period Vietnam was split into two parts, north and south. The Japanese had decided to take over Vietnam in 1942. They couldn’t capture all of Vietnam, so they decided to retreat. North Vietnam proclaimed independence on September 2, 1945 as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The State of Vietnam declared independence on June 14, 1949, but rema ined under French rule until August 1, 1954. South Vietnam was theRead MoreVietnam And The Vietnam War1711 Words   |  7 Pages â€Æ' The Vietnam War was one of the bloodiest wars in the history of Vietnam. Vietnam use to be a peaceful country until the idea of communism started spreading across Vietnam. Many wanted to stay democratic but saw what happened to the Germans and started to lean towards communism. Many also wanted to stay democratic and still had it hopes high that it will soon get their lives and economy back on track. It later exploded into a huge argument and then leads to a civil war spurring between NorthRead MoreThe Vietnam War Of Vietnam952 Words   |  4 Pageswords that describe the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War had 240 days of combat in one year. World War II had forty days of combat in four years(Interesting Facts). That statistic shows how rough the Vietnam War was. The fighting was constant between the two sides. This war was fought over politics and had many gruesome battles. Before the Vietnam war, Vietnam was in a revolution because they did not want to be ruled by France. Vietnam wanted to be independent right after World War II ended in 1945. JapanRead MoreThe Vietnam War Of Vietnam1534 Words   |  7 Pages The Vietnam War began November 1st, 1955 and ended April 30th, 1975. It was a long costly war that involved North Vietnam and their Southern allies, known as Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its main ally the United States. This war was very unpopular at home and would end with the withdrawal of the United States and the unification of Vietnam under communist control. Many think of war as something that just men are involved in but very rarely do people think of the role of women in the warRead MoreThe Vietnam War Of Vietnam1573 Words   |  7 PagesA. The Vietnam War occurred from 1955-1975, this included the North and South fighting over government structure of the newly independent state of Vietnam, having recently become independent f rom France. However, the USA was in Vietnam as a sort of protection for the South Vietnamese people, who had a weaker army force, but only a few thousand Americans were in Vietnam for that purpose at the time. On August 7, 1964, the USA entered the war for the purpose of fighting the North Vietnamese due toRead MoreThe Vietnam War Of Vietnam2003 Words   |  9 PagesThe Vietnam War in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia lasted from November 1st, 1955 to around April 30th, 1975. The war was split up between two sides, North Vietnam, who were allied with the Soviet Union, China, and most of the communist countries during this time period, and South Vietnam, who were allied with the United States and many countries that were against the belief of Communism. Although the United States did not necessarily have to get involved in the war, they believed that they had too soRead MoreVietnam And The Vietnam War1987 Words   |  8 PagesIn 1945, at the end of WWII, Vietnam started their war for ind ependence against their colonial rulers, France. Nine years after the start of the First Indochina War, the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu which led to a peace conference in Geneva. At the conference, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam received their independence from France. However, Vietnam was divided between a Communist North and a Democratic South. In 1958, Communist- supported guerrillas in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, began