I've been a fan and a long time visitor of this website, once in a while I like to visit the forums. Lately I have focused my attention on the political side of Fugly; heated debates and insults are the norm, as expected from Fugly, but I couldn't help but notice a few misconceptions toward Canada. So I decided to register and share my knowledge of what it means to be Canadian, our political sytem, and economic stand in these tough times. Hope you enjoy... The Canadian political system as it is known today was first drafted by the "Fathers of Confederation" at the Quebec conference of 1864. This then became law when the constitution act was passed in 1867. This act gave the formal executive authority to Queen Victoria (Queen of Great Britain) which made Canada a sovereign democracy. The Canadian political system is therefore loosely based on the British system. Now, Canada is an independent Federal state with the Queen still the head of state. Her powers are extremely limited however, as the Parliament passes the laws which the Queen gives the "Royal Assent" as the final step. The Governor General of Canada is the Queens representative in Canada and carries out all the Royal obligations when the Queen is not in Canada. The Governor is always a Canadian chosen by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. The length of office is normally five years for the Governor General. The Houses of Parliament (housing the Federal Government and the seat of the Canadian Political System) are located in Canada's capital city, Ottawa. There are 3 main sections to the Canadian Parliament. The Queen as the Head of state, the Senate (appointed on the Prime Minister's recommendations) and the elected House of Commons. The Federal Government has the power to "make laws for the peace, order and good government of Canada" which includes International policies, Defence, Immigration, Criminal Law, Customs and Border control. The Senate The Senate is an major influenec on the Canadian political system and is made up of 105 Senators who are appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. These Senators are men and women from all of the Provinces and from a wide variety of backgrounds. They can serve on the Senate up until age 75 and have to be a Canadian citizen, over age 30, own $4,000 of equity in land in their home Province, have over $4,000 as personal net worth and live in the Province represented. Each Province or Territory has a set number of Senators - 24 each from the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario, 6 each from Alberta, BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 6 from Newfoundland and Labrador and a further 1 each from the three Territories. The main role of the Senate is to read over and examine the "Bills" sent from the House of Commons though they can also initiate Bills. This process ensures that no rogue bills will become law, though only rarely do the Senate reject a Bill - sending it back to the House for amendment. The Bills are subjected to the full legislative process by the Senate and if passed will be given to the Governor General for Royal Assent and thus become Law. basically, the Senate is the quality control of the Canadian Political System! House of Commons The real power of the Canadian Political System is held by the House of Commons. Here, the members of Parliament (MP's) are elected by the general public during a Federal election - normally every 5 years. The country is split up into constituencies (total 308 by population size) and whichever candidate has the most votes wins the right to represent that constituency and take their "seat" in the Parliament. Each Most candidates represent a particular political party and the party with the most "seats" takes over as the Government. The main parties in the Canadian political system are Stephane Dion's Liberals , Stephen Harpers Conservatives (ruling), Jack Layton's New Democratic Party, The Bloc Quebecois (limited to Quebec) and The Green Party to name the largest. The leader of the political party that wins the election becomes the Prime Minister of Canada (currently Stephen Harper of the Conservatives). The Prime Minister effectively runs the country with the support and advice of his Cabinet. The Cabinet is made up of "Ministers" chosen by the Prime Minister to be responsible for certain areas of the Government. There are ministers of Health, Finance, Defence and Immigration to name a few. These areas of responsibility are called "Portfolio's" and each minister will have a large team of civil servants (normally the experts in that field) working for him/her. Only the ministers change during an election - not the civil servants. Though the MP's represent their local constituency, their main duties are debating the laws to be made and, depending on their Party, either supporting or opposing the Government. The opposition is the political party with the second most seats in the House and their main job is to hold the government accountable for their decisions. This is a vital part of the canadian political system as a strong opposition can ensure that controversial bills do not pass through as law. A Government with a lot of seats in the House will be strong and able to pass most laws they want through Parliament. Conversely, a weak Government (such as now) doesn't have the majority of the seats and has to rely on the support of another party to form an effective Government.
In America we have two parties one stands for truth, and freedom and one stands for lies, more government power over the people. The lying party has the media behind them for the most part so they get to use a lot of smoke and mirrors to trick the electorate. Kind of like this snake oil salesman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVh75ylAUXY
In Canada we have four; the conservative party, the liberal party, the new democratic party, and the bloc quebecois. There are others, but they remain too insignificant to be worth mentioning. I think it makes life a little easier when it comes time to vote; in the states if you don't find preference in neither party I think it would be harder to decide. At least with four parties there is a little bit more choice: the conservatives would closely resemble your republicans, while the new democratic party (NDP) is more like your democrats, liberals are somewhat on the fence; don't be deceived by the name, they actually tend to join with the conservatives on bi-partisan votes, and lastly the Bloc Quebecois; this merits it's own post because of the complex relationship the province of Quebec has with the rest of the country; being the only french speaking one and having issues with soverainty.
Hey it is Fugly Forums after all. Personally I dunno I think it was a movie watched by some college students. Institutions of higher learning in America have been hijacked by the fringe left here in America you would never see anything like that here.
We have Libertarians and Independents here in the States but they are insignificant. They only serve to distract and peel off legitimate votes from usually the conservative vote. Sometimes that is not the case though with the green party they are even more insignificant. I like to think that I generally lean towards Libertarian myself. I helped elect Clinton the first time by voting for Perot. Oh look the Canadian version! http://www.libertarian.ca/english/libertarian-political-quiz.html
Not bad at all... I wasn't aware of the libertarian movement in Canada. probably too small to even be on the ballot. Last time I voted there was conservatives, liberals, ndp, green party, and the communist party. I think the green ended up having one seat out of 302 and the communists about fifty something votes in the entire country. Canada isn't a big fan of communism I guess.
Well I recommend you take the quiz. The irony is that the parties do not accurately represent the true ideals. I personally am not for government regulating morality. In reality over here with the two party system the Commies just infiltrated the Liberals long time ago. Really its the Big government solution Socialist party against the "laissezfaire" Capitalist party.
Look here are two big government commies dukein it out over who wants more government. Barney Frank who is largely responsible for the mortgage crisis. (one of the key players) And second you have ... ah whats his name from the Green party.... hell who cares just click the link and watch the video. This is surreal like it could be a SNL skit if those fuckers were not just about left propaganda disguised as humor. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/10/26/frank_we_are_trying_on_every_front_to_increase_the_role_of_government.html Here Rush Limbaugh has the transcript with his added dialog.
I agree, I vote Liberals but like I said they are more centrist than the far left NDP. I took the quiz and ended up being on the left of the square, and I think it's innacurate. The quiz doesn't seem to take the NDP into account, putting all the eggs in the same basket if you will. I believe into some form of structure, especially with credit and mortgage companies, but I want the government to stay in Ottawa where they belong if you know what I mean. When people are allowed to take 40 years mortgages don't be surprised if the bank collapses, how are they suppose to make a profit if it's all locked up in long term credit? And what about the credit chasers? Credit card companies seek out post-bankruptcy customers because they can't declare bankruptcy a second time; leaving them to make minimum payments for the rest of their lives. It's a dumb investment for a company I think. Back in the days you needed assets and good credit score to get a card. Nowadays a cabbage patch doll can get a credit card and nobody cares, then they come crying to the government for bailout. I say screw that, you shot yourself in the foot and my tax dollars should buy you a crutch?
Here is what a few Obama supporters got together and worked out to vent their frustration against the "evil loan officers" http://www.breitbart.tv/five-charged-with-torturing-home-loan-agents/
I agree with conservatives on the financial side of the equation, it only makes sense. My tax dollars are hard earned, it's only natural that I want them spent in a smart way. If a bank goes down because of it's own stupidity, well too bad. This is one instance where I believe in the free-market. But I'm also for social programs, like subsidized housing for the elderly or resume/job search assistance for people on welfare. It only makes sense, people on welfare are draining the ressources of the country, so make it mandatory to have a job search/resume program in place. If they don't attend or don't send X number of applications per week; they get cut-off. Just trimming the lazy people off social welfare. As for the elderly, I'm all for it. It's not an old man's fault if he's broke or his family left him to die on his own. I'm sure that most old people would work if they could, so I believe in helping them out a bit with subsidized low-income housing and pension. I'm a tradionalist in that sense, I believe in respecting the elderly and taking care of them, most of these people have fought in a war. In the province of Quebec, the government will ask the family to support the old person before the government has to pay for it. If there is no relative able to pay (being dead or on welfare themselves), the government will help, but always as a last resort.
