Originally posted by: UNESC0
technically, our head of state is the Queen and her representative in canada the governor general, however, that's something which is a hold-over from commonwealth days and any legislation is simply rubber-stamped by the GG (who has the power, technically, to overturn it)
from the outside it does look like we hold rather strong commonwealth roots but truly canadians are rather split on whether the monarchy is a positive or negative factor in canadian politics. There are definately perks to being a commonwealth country - parliamentary system, common law, shared ties with other commonwealth nations; it really all adds up to a rather complete picture of where canada came from; not where it is heading.
it's nice to be an independant nation; just as the united states is. Think of canada as the older brother who still talks to its parents after recieving an education while the little brother US ran away at 16 and never calls home - both are from the same origins, just one prefers to have a modified identity than its parents rather than rebel and start a radically different one.
why does the US use an Imperial system (like the UK) while Canada is metric? answer me that!
Thank you!
haha I read what RyanSegara said before I read your post and thought because of what RyanSegara said that all Canadians have this Napoleanic complex over their soverignty... I guess not everyone up there's like RyanSegara ey?
I like the way that you explain it and it helps as an outsider looking in... I noticed that you said
what exactly does that entail?
and as for the metric system... lets take a page out of Grandpa Simpons book...
Thanks bro for not being like RyanSegara,
DonRodriguez
Hey, here's a question for you. What does the P in PM stand for? :roll:
Anyways.
God Save the Queen
"God Save The Queen" has no legal status in Canada, although it is considered as the royal anthem, to be played in the presence of members of the Royal Family or as part of the salute accorded to the Governor General and the lieutenant governors.
Monarchy in Canada
For most purposes, a figurehead as stated.
Queen on the Money
We had to show sympathy for the Mad Cow outbreaks somehow, so we put her on our money.
Booya!
- M4H
meltdown75
Lifer
- Nov 17, 2004
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Even though she really has no job, the Queen of England was always seen by me as some sort of "insurance" in the case that the current English government fell.
Crazy parliamentary governments with their parliament and their no-confidence votes.
Crazy parliamentary governments with their parliament and their no-confidence votes.
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Hey, here's a question for you. What does the P in PM stand for? :roll:
Anyways.
God Save the Queen
"God Save The Queen" has no legal status in Canada, although it is considered as the royal anthem, to be played in the presence of members of the Royal Family or as part of the salute accorded to the Governor General and the lieutenant governors.
Monarchy in Canada
For most purposes, a figurehead as stated.
Queen on the Money
We had to show sympathy for the Mad Cow outbreaks somehow, so we put her on our money.
Booya!
- M4H
don't private message someone something like that if you don't want it posted on the board :disgust:
anyways...
the queen is a figurehead in England too... but she's the Queen of the United Kingdom, not the Queen of the United Kingdom and Canada... so that would make an outsider think its awry... don't have such a fit because I am trying to figure out why and how Canada works :disgust:
meltdown75
Lifer
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Even though we are completely independant from the monarchy, we still pay our respects when she visits. She has no real authority.
She may not have any power in England, but in Canada her word is law!
"Fetch me my moose young squire, I wish to go on a rampage"
meltdown75
Lifer
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Toonces
Golden Member
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umm... to get back to non-flame inducing material -
shared ties with other commonwealth nations allows for a sense of increased ties both culturally as well as economically. I'm not sure if many US citizens have heard of the commonwealth games but it happens every four years with all British dependants and former colonies sending their top athletes; pretty much a mini-olympics with all top athletes competing.
These type of shared commonalities help in trade negotiations and tourism, as most if not all have very similar sets of customs and laws that help when other people from commonwealth countries travel there.
I am by no means a monarchist. I could care less about Kings and Queens - their presence really just serves as another type of celebrity to follow and admire. There are many Canadians who themselves don't really understand how the parliamentary system works or who is the actual head of Canadian government. Personally, I'd like to see a Triple-E senate (elected, efficient, equal) than abolish the monarchy. There are many more pressing issues than who we have on our money. (btw, it's only 6 coins and the $20 bill that have the queen; others are former PM's etc...)
BurnItDwn
Lifer
- Oct 10, 1999
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Back to "non-flame inducing material", even though the jestful playing with Don Rodriguez was entertaining (especially since he even went though with effort and thought on his posts) lots of this info about how Canada has "ties" to England, while still maintaining it's own sovereignty is pretty interesting and it's something I'm sure many other Americans don't know or don't care about.
silverpig
Lifer
- Jul 29, 2001
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Don't get your panties in a wad. There's nothing really wrong with being ignorant about the details of a foreign country. He is hoping to alleviate his ignorance by asking questions. Nothing wrong with that at all.
Oh and the answer to all 3 of the OP's questions is basically: tradition.
DIAF. You are a loser and probably will never succeed in life with a thought process like that.
I just can't understand that Canadians don't know how their government works? that's ludicrous...no?
Toonces
Golden Member
- Feb 5, 2000
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:laugh: yeah if celine dion is singing it maybe...
well the real reason is that for all intents and purposes there's no reason to.
the ruling party is in charge of conveneing cabinet who then decides on the course of legislation to be brought forth by the party to enact into law. It also directs departments to conduct business, pass budgets, direct funding, etc.. depending on its platform - similar to an executive system but fundamentally different in one way; the PM.
Instead of electing our head of government (not state
) the party who wins the most seats in the general election then appoints the PM into power. Accordingly, there is no way to hold the individual in charge responsible for their actions without voting against government controlled legislation.In a parliamentary system any vote which does not pass by a majority is seen as a loss of confidence in the ruling party and hence requires absolution of parliament and general election. In the recent case (and in most Proportional Representative parliaments; but Canada's is like Britain with a Single Member Plurality or First-Past the Post system) the ruling party of liberals headed by Paul Martin only gathered a minority of seats in parliament. It required the help of the NDP to create a majority when voting in the parliament.
So when the NDP decided to side with the Bloc Quebecois and Conservatives against the liberals - election. But this is way off topic, I apologize.
Many Canadians are fiercely political, they understand the FOUR major party platforms (plus at least one strong fringe party; the Greens) enough to put any American to shame. It's just that our society is not a politicized as that of the contemporary United States. (IMHO). News channels, although somewhat biased, tend to present both sides without resorting to partisian attacks - however, the last election began airing attack ads so prevalent in US election campaigns. So times, they say, "may be a changin'"
Not many people truly understand that the parliament has to answer to the Senate and Governor General since they are completely ineffectual. There's no power in either except as a figurehead for the GG or retirement wasteland for lifetime party members who's party is in power at the time. There's usually less than 60-70% attendance - actually members who take vacations for most of the year. Quite a farce and rather embarassing but in reality makes zero difference to the regular workings of government in Canada.
An imperfect analogy - were many (other than the informed) US citizens aware about the electoral colleges before the 2000 election year? Or was it simply that it conformed to the will of the people so many times that the popular vote always was reflected in the electoral college numbers? Unless something becomes important within the political process enough for mass media to allow it coverage the truth is most normal citizens have no idea about it.
Phew.
Schadenfroh
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meltdown75
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