Some supporters of Canada’s system argue that steps have been taken to decrease the concentration of power in the executive, therefore showing signs that it is capable of evolving and improving. An example often brought up is the privatization of many Crowne corporations, which resulted in the removal of some of the juiciest political plums available. However, one only needs to consider the fact that on every cabinet agenda (usually item three) there is still an item labeled “nominations.” As Jeffrey Simpson points out in his book The Friendly Dictatorship, the power of appointing a successor is central to all “Sun Kings,” in that it keeps those under you loyal and subservient. Prime Minister Chrétien has already announced that when he retires he will make sure that the successor he chooses will have at least a year to grow into the position. Mexican Presidents for years used the system of dedazo, or handpicking their successor as well.

Simpson, Jeffrey. The Friendly Dictatorship. Toronto: Cdn Publishers, 2001.

re those that still believe that Canada needs a strong and efficient government to deal with the divisive nature of relations between Quebec and the rest of Canada. However, in a 1995 poll only fifteen percent of francophone Quebecois felt that the province was master of its own destiny, and four out of five said that they believed Canada to be the best country in the world to live in. However, things were much different during the years of Canada’s early confederation. In 2001 eighty percent of Canadians lived in urban centers, this was definitely not the case in the early years of the county’s development. Leaders also had to contend with the turbulent relations between upper and lower Canada, the Catholic French-speaking Quebecois, and the Protestant English-speaking settlers of the west. As if this wasn’t bad enough, there was the issue of native concerns that ran literally right through the territories of both. It was easy to support the need for a powerful government to maintain peace and stability in such an explosive situation. Indeed, under section 91 of the Constitution Act of 1867, the federal government had the broad power to make laws for what it felt was the “peace, order, and good government,” of Canada. The same fathers of confederation that came up with section 91 also created our famously irrelevant Senate, or the “chamber of sober thought,” designed to counterbalance the effects of democracy in Canada (Simpson, 18). Whereas the American and Australian Senates hold real power that the leaders must compromise and cooperate with, the Canadian Senate serves as little more than an appointed rubber stamp for government policy. The only Senate left in the free world that resembles Canada’s is Britain’s House of Lords, which is itself under serious review. Indeed, it is so blatantly obvious that the Senate is nothing more than a partisan institution; Chrétien has not even bothered to make his appointments seem justifiable. He has repeatedly appointed seniors to the Chamber first, so that they will retire shortly, and then another partisan can enjoy the benefits of the position.

If a minister disagrees with government policy, they have two alternatives: keep quiet, (which is done most of the time) or resign. Prime Minister Mackenzie King used to keep resignation letters from all of his cabinet members in his desk, just in case he felt that they needed to suddenly resign. When Chrétien came to office he held a cabinet meeting, and laid it out for his new ministers; he fully expected them to take the blame for government failures and bad publicity, especially when it involved him. When he was first elected and was finishing off the NAFTA deal with the American Ambassador, Chrétien hadn’t even appointed a Cabinet yet, so the US Ambassador asked him what would happen if they completed the deal and then the new tra

Some topics in this essay:
Prime Minister, Minister Canada, House Lords, Ferdinand Marcos, Mexican Presidents, Treasury Board, Minister Chrétien, prime minister, Nations Renowned, Mackenzie King, Constitution Act, federal government, voter turnout, minister chrétien, prime minister chrétien, canadian politics, canadian politics toronto, american president, system canada, maintain peace, prime minister’s, position prime minister, canada’s prime minister, jeffrey simpson,