Improving Canada's Democracy

Improving Canada's Democracy PDF Author: Terry Julian
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1552128776
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 61

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Book Description

Improving Canada's Democracy

Improving Canada's Democracy PDF Author: Terry Julian
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1552128776
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 61

Get Book Here

Book Description


A Canada Strong and Free

A Canada Strong and Free PDF Author: Mike Harris
Publisher: The Fraser Institute
ISBN: 0889752141
Category : Canada
Languages : en
Pages : 77

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Book Description


Democracy in Canada

Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Donald J. Savoie
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0228000416
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
Canada's representative democracy is confronting important challenges. At the top of the list is the growing inability of the national government to perform its most important roles: namely mapping out collective actions that resonate in all regions as well as enforcing these measures. Others include Parliament's failure to carry out important responsibilities, an activist judiciary, incessant calls for greater transparency, the media's rapidly changing role, and a federal government bureaucracy that has lost both its way and its standing. Arguing that Canadians must reconsider the origins of their country in order to understand why change is difficult and why they continue to embrace regional identities, Democracy in Canada explains how Canada's national institutions were shaped by British historical experiences, and why there was little effort to bring Canadian realities into the mix. As a result, the scope and size of government and Canadian federalism have taken on new forms largely outside the Constitution. Parliament and now even Cabinet have been pushed aside so that policy makers can design and manage the modern state. This also accounts for the average citizen's belief that national institutions cater to economic elites, to these institutions' own members, and to interest groups at citizens' own expense. A masterwork analysis, Democracy in Canada investigates the forces shaping the workings of Canadian federalism and the country's national political and bureaucratic institutions.

Canadian Democracy from the Ground Up

Canadian Democracy from the Ground Up PDF Author: Elisabeth Gidengil
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774828285
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
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. Rather than focusing on institutional performance, this book approaches the “democratic deficit” from the perspective of the Canadian public and assesses the performance of political leaders and the media in light of Canadians’ perceptions and expectations. In doing so, a number of chapters highlight the disjuncture between perceptions and performance. For example, governments do keep many of their election promises, and media coverage is not as negative as we are apt to believe. Similarly, the book provides new insights into political apathy by drawing on focus group discussions that represent the first attempt to ask politically marginalized Canadians why they have turned their backs on politics. By introducing the voice of everyday Canadians, this book adds a new perspective to political discussions in this country. 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.

Reviving Canadian Democracy

Reviving Canadian Democracy PDF Author: C. Richard Tindal
Publisher: FriesenPress
ISBN: 1460259696
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 107

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Book Description
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.

Strengthening Canadian Democracy

Strengthening Canadian Democracy PDF Author: Institute for Research on Public Policy
Publisher: Institute for Research on Public Policy
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Reconsidering provincial and federal debates about democratic reform alternatives.

Advocacy Groups

Advocacy Groups PDF Author: Lisa Young
Publisher: UBC Press
ISBN: 0774840323
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
Advocacy Groups uses the Audit standards of responsiveness, inclusiveness, and participation to examine advocacy groups in Canada and assess the ways that they contribute to, or detract from, Canadian democracy. It argues that group activity represents an important form of political participation. Though some interests face greater organizational challenges than others, advocacy groups can play critical compensatory roles for interests that are often unrepresented in traditional political institutions. It also finds that while Canadian advocacy groups employ a wide range of strategies to draw attention to their concerns, those with greater financial resources generally have greater access to government decision-makers. This has been accentuated by recent trends in the reduction of government funding to advocacy groups. The book concludes with several recommendations for 'best practices' that groups can follow in their internal organization and efforts to influence public policy, as well as for actions that governments can take to engage in constructive consultation with groups.

Strengthening Canadian Democracy

Strengthening Canadian Democracy PDF Author: Institute for Research on Public Policy
Publisher: IRPP
ISBN: 9780886451912
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Reconsidering provincial and federal debates about democratic reform alternatives.

Turning Parliament Inside Out

Turning Parliament Inside Out PDF Author: Michael Chong
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre
ISBN: 9781771621373
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 165

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Book Description
For years, the prospect of parliamentary reform has been a hot-button issue in Canada. More and more Canadians find themselves frustrated with how Parliament works (or doesn't) and end up increasingly checked out from politics as a whole, feeling like their voices don't matter to those in power. When he introduced the "Reform Act" bill in 2013, Conservative MP Michael Chong brought the issue of parliamentary reform to the forefront, proposing changes that would empower MPs and hold party leadership accountable to their caucus--and therefore, to all Canadians. Although the changes required for such reforms are modest, the effects they would have on the Canadian democratic process would be revolutionary. In Turning Parliament Inside Out, Chong joins Kennedy Stewart (NDP) and Scott Simms (Liberal) in organizing a collaboration between MPs from all of Canada's major political parties, representing ridings from across the country. They join together in an across-the-aisle effort to make these changes a reality, explaining why reform is so urgently needed and proposing practical, achievable suggestions for making it happen. The contributors of this cross-partisan, cooperative project aimed at increasing citizen control of Canada's political institutions, include: FOREWORDS BY: Ed Broadbent, Preston Manning and Bob Rae NIKI ASHTON is the Member of Parliament for the riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski. First elected in 2008, she is a member of the NDP, the party's Critic for Jobs, Employment and Workforce Development and was a candidate in the 2012 NDP leadership race. MICHAEL CHONG (Editor) has represented the riding of Wellington-Halton Hills since 2004. He served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Sport and was a contestant in the 2017 Conservative leadership race. MICHAEL COOPER, Conservative Party, was elected to represent the riding of St. Albert-Edmonton in 2015. He is the Official Opposition Deputy Critic for Justice. NATHAN CULLEN is the NDP MP representing Skeena-Bulkley Valley since 2004. He has held various senior portfolios for the NDP including House Leader and Finance Critic and stood as a candidate in the 2012 NDP leadership race. ELIZABETH MAY is the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She became the first Green Party candidate to be elected to the House of Commons in 2011 and represents the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands. SCOTT SIMMS (Editor)is the Member of Parliament for the Newfoundland and Labrador riding of Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame. First elected in 2004, he is a member of the Liberal Party and the current chair of the Standing Committee of Fisheries and Oceans. KENNEDY STEWART (editor) was elected in 2011 and is the NDP MP for Burnaby South. He is currently the NDP Critic for Science and chair of the NDP's British Columbia caucus. ANITA VANDENBELD is a member of the Liberal Party and was elected to represent the riding of Ottawa West-Nepean in 2015. She in a a member of the Standing Committee of the Status of Women and chaired the Special Committee on Pay Equity in 2016.

Tragedy in the Commons

Tragedy in the Commons PDF Author: Alison Loat
Publisher: Random House Canada
ISBN: 0307361314
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
In Tragedy in the Commons, Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan, founders of the non-partisan think tank Samara, draw on an astonishing eighty exit interviews with former Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum to unearth surprising observations about the practice of politics in Canada. Though Canada is at the top of international rankings of democracies, Canadians themselves increasingly don’t see politics as a way to solve society’s problems. Small wonder. In the news, they see grandstanding in the House of Commons and MPs pursuing agendas that don’t always make sense to the people who elected them. But elected officials make critical choices about how this wildly diverse country functions today and how it will thrive in the future. They direct billions of dollars in public funding and craft the laws that have allowed Canada to lead the way internationally. Even with so much at stake, citizens—voters—are turning away. How did one of the world’s most functional democracies go so very wrong? In Tragedy in the Commons, MPs describe arriving at their political careers almost by accident; few say they aspired to be in politics before it “happened” to them. In addition, almost without fail, each MP describes the tremendous influence of their political party: from the manipulation of the nomination process to enforced voting in the House and in committees, the unseen hand of the party dominates every aspect of the MP’s existence. Loat and MacMillan ask: Just what do we want Members of Parliament to be doing? To whom are they accountable? And should parties be trusted with the enormous power they wield with such little oversight or citizen involvement? With unprecedented access to the perspective and experience of Canada’s public leaders, Tragedy in the Commons concludes by offering solutions for improving the way politics works in Canada, and how all Canadians can reinvigorate a democracy that has lost its way, its purpose and the support of the public it is meant to serve.