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Governor General

Responsible Government

Upper Canada fought long and hard for responsible government, leading ourselves away from the Family Compact which was governing the people of Upper Canada with only an image of elected officials. However, our government is still not perfect, and can be improved to be more democratic and representative to the people? Here’s some ideas: Corporations shouldn’t be allowed to donate to political parties. Clear and concise guidelines for the reserve powers of the Crown and how it can be implemented by the Governor General. Petitioning the Commonwealth to revise the Statute of Westminster to no longer show gender and religious precedence so that the Heads of State reflects the “Just… Read More »Responsible Government

Governor General James T. Kirk

Friday morning’s Toronto Star had William Shatner on the cover, the former star of Star Trek, who has a fan movement on Facebook vying for him to be Governor General of Canada. For those unfamiliar, the Governor General is the nation’s de facto head of state. While the monarch (currently Elizabeth II) is the actual head of state, she cannot perform those duties, as she is also the head of state for numerous other countries, and resides in the United Kingdom. Governors General provide a mostly symbolic role, they represent the nation on an international level, are a spokesperson for the country, sign bills into law (once they’ve passed through… Read More »Governor General James T. Kirk

Prorogation Part II

Today marked the second December in as many years in which the Head of Government has asked the defacto Head of State to prorogue Parliament. This wouldn’t be a problem if there was a practical purpose to end the session early, however, in both cases the Right Honourable Prime Minister has used this little-used Parliamentary tradition to serve his singular purpose. Last year, Her Excellency, the Governor General prorogued parliament on the advice of her Prime Minister to prevent an election or a coalition government forming. This year, Madame Jean had a precedence set, if he asks, she must grant; what happened to the oversight of the Crown? What’s the… Read More »Prorogation Part II