Protecting Canadian Democracy

Protecting Canadian Democracy PDF

Author: Canadian Centre for Management Development

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 9780773526198

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This first in-depth analysis of Canada's Senate in 40 years.

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada PDF

Author: Meenal Shrivastava

Publisher: Athabasca University Press

Published: 2015-10-01

Total Pages: 437

ISBN-13: 1771990295

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In Democracy in Alberta: The Theory and Practice of a Quasi-Party System, published in 1953, C. B. Macpherson explored the nature of democracy in a province that was dominated by a single class of producers. At the time, Macpherson was talking about Alberta farmers, but today the province can still be seen as a one-industry economy—the 1947 discovery of oil in Leduc having inaugurated a new era. For all practical purposes, the oil-rich jurisdiction of Alberta also remains a one-party state. Not only has there been little opposition to a government that has been in power for over forty years, but Alberta ranks behind other provinces in terms of voter turnout, while also boasting some of the lowest scores on a variety of social welfare indicators. The contributors to Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy critically assess the political peculiarities of Alberta and the impact of the government’s relationship to the oil industry on the lives of the province’s most vulnerable citizens. They also examine the public policy environment and the entrenchment of neoliberal political ideology in the province. In probing the relationship between oil dependency and democracy in the context of an industrialized nation, Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy offers a crucial test of the “oil inhibits democracy” thesis that has hitherto been advanced in relation to oil-producing countries in the Global South. If reliance on oil production appears to undermine democratic participation and governance in Alberta, then what does the Alberta case suggest for the future of democracy in industrialized nations such as the United States and Australia, which are now in the process of exploiting their own substantial shale oil reserves? The environmental consequences of oil production have, for example, been the subject of much attention. Little is likely to change, however, if citizens of oil-rich countries cannot effectively intervene to influence government policy.

Canadian Democracy from the Ground Up

Canadian Democracy from the Ground Up PDF

Author: Elisabeth Gidengil

Publisher: UBC Press

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0774828277

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Canada is often held up as an example of a healthy democracy. However, the Canadian public is less enthusiastic about the way our democracy works. This first-of-a-kind book approaches the “democratic deficit” from the perspective of everyday Canadians and assesses the performance of Parliament and the media in light of their perceptions and expectations. In doing so, a number of chapters highlight the disjuncture between perceptions and performance. Canadian Democracy from the Ground Up is essential for anyone who would like to learn how to build a better democracy – one that meets the expectations of the Canadian public.

A People’s Senate for Canada

A People’s Senate for Canada PDF

Author: Helen Forsey

Publisher: Fernwood Publishing

Published: 2015-04-01T00:00:00Z

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 1552667596

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This little book is written for Canadians who care about our democracy and the future of our planet. The Senate, surprisingly, could make major contributions to both. A People’s Senate for Canada explains how we can make that happen. What if we had a Senate that was independent of party politics, truly committed to “sober second thought” and dedicated to the common good? What if Senate appointments focused on experience, integrity and creativity, and flowed from a non-partisan participatory process based on merit and reflective of our country’s diversity? What if senators were able to fully devote themselves to their proper legislative and investigative work, cooperating wherever possible, free of party control and electoral worries, and financially accountable to the Auditor General? As Helen Forsey demonstrates, such a People’s Senate would not require risky and questionable constitutional amendments: the needed changes could be made within the present framework. In fact, some hopeful initiatives are already under way. A People’s Senate for Canada combines grassroots experience, thorough research and critical commentary to create a people’s resource for positive change. This book offers a rationale, an analysis and a feasible proposal for an upper house that would restore citizen participation and help check government power. It is an antidote to cynicism and a prescription for a truly honourable Senate, one that would make us proud.

Reviving Canadian Democracy

Reviving Canadian Democracy PDF

Author: C. Richard Tindal

Publisher:

Published: 2014-12-15

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 9781460259689

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The Downward Spiral of Canadian Democracy Democratic government in Canada has been declining - at an accelerating rate. The House of Commons is ineffective. The Senate is not accountable and is scandal-ridden. Decision making is increasingly centralized in the largely invisible staff in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Many who have been active participants have turned off and tuned out because of understandable disillusionment. The result is that actions that undermine democracy can now be taken without much fear of reprisal. This book explains how our democratic governing machinery and operating principles have been undermined and what can be done to reverse this downward slide. It is intended to enrage you and then engage you - in the fight to restore and to enhance our democratic institutions and practices.

Democracy under Threat

Democracy under Threat PDF

Author: Ursula van Beek

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Published: 2019-01-19

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9783030077730

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This book addresses some of the most pressing questions of our time: Is democracy threatened by globalisation? Is there a legitimacy crisis in contemporary democracies? Is the welfare state in individual countries under pressure from global trends? What are the implications of high-level migration and rising populism for democracy? Does authoritarianism pose a challenge? The volume builds on a cross-cultural study of democracy conducted by the Transformation Research Unit (TRU) at Stellenbosch University in South Africa for nearly twenty years. Three of the countries studied – South Africa, Turkey and Poland – receive individual attention as their respective democracies appear to be the most vulnerable at present. Germany, Sweden, Chile, South Korea and Taiwan are assessed in their regional contexts. Further insights are gained by examining the impact on democracy of the global screen culture of Television and the Internet, and by pointing out the lessons democracy should learn from diplomacy to fare better in the future. The book will appeal to both students and practitioners of democracy as well as the general reader.

Judicial Power and Canadian Democracy

Judicial Power and Canadian Democracy PDF

Author: Paul Howe

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780773522251

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Chiefly papers originally presented at Guiding the Rule of Law into the 21st Century, a conference held Apr. 16-17, 1999 at the University of Ottawa.