Politics in Canada

Politics

Canada is a constitutional monarchy with democratic traditions. Like many countries, Canada also has a complex political system to suit the country’s needs. The government of Canada has three levels of government where each level of the government has different functions. The three levels are as follows:

  • Federal Government: This wing of the government is responsible for things that affect the entire country like citizenship and immigration, national interests such as defence and trade.
  • Provincial Government (including territories): This wing is responsible for things like education, healthcare and infrastructure.
  • Municipal Government (Local): This wing is responsible for local matters like firefighting and city street management. It is possible that some places do not have a local government and in that instance, the province decides instead.

These levels can be further divided into parts that are responsible for certain functions.

At The Federal Level

  • The Queen:

The Queen is the formal head of the state and. In Canada, the Governor General represents the Queen and carries out the duties of the head of the state. The current Queen is Elizabeth II.

  • The House of Commons:

The House of Commons is responsible for making the laws in Canada. The members of the House are elected by the citizens and are called Members of Parliament (MPs). These members usually have affiliations with some political party and the party with the most number of MPs from the ruling party and its leader the Prime Minister.

  • The Prime Minister:

The Prime Minister is the leader of the ruling party and the head of the government in the country. The Prime Minister chooses his cabinet from the MPs and they are responsible for subjects like healthcare, education and immigration. The cabinet is responsible for the important decisions about government policy and general functioning of the government.

  • The Senate

The Senate is responsible for reviewing the laws proposed by the House of Commons. The Senate is made up of senators that are appointed by the Prime Minister.

At the Provincial Level

  • There is a Lieutenant Governor who represents the Queen of Canada.
  • There is a legislative assembly that is responsible for making laws in a province. The members of the assembly are picked by the people of the province and are called Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs)
  • The political party which has the majority in the Legislative Assembly forms the government and its leader becomes the premier. The premier is the head of the government in a province.
  • The premier then picks MPPs as members of the cabinet who then makes government policies and laws for consideration by the Legislative Assembly.

At the Municipal Level

  • The local government defines the structures, finances, and management of cities, towns and villages.
  • The residents of a particular municipality elect a mayor and other council members to lead the local government. These councillors form committees to discuss budget, services and other problems that are passed down to the council for deliberation. Business owners and other citizens can voice their concerns to these committees at committee meetings.
  • A bunch of municipalities can form a larger county or a regional government too.

What are Human Rights in Canada

Human Rights in Canada

All of Canada’s human rights laws stem from its Universal Declaration of Human Rights which provides a list of 30 articles that outline the universal human rights enjoyed by everyone in Canada. Some of the fundamental rights are as explored below:

1: Discrimination: A significant factor stressed on by Canada’s Human Rights Act is that no one can be discriminated against on the basis of race, caste, sex etc. This protects the people of Canada when they are employed by the Federal Government to provide services or private companies regulated by the government. They can turn in this Act to protect themselves from harassment of any kind.

2: Further, Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedom ensures all Canadians are treated equally under the law irrespective of their background or upbringing. Violation of the same can be quickly reported and punished for under the law.

3: All Canadians are free to practise any religion of choice and embrace it in a public setting among others as well, without any threat. Canada is a diverse country that boasts a wide array of people each practising their religion of choice and living together in harmony.

4: All Canadians also enjoy the freedom of speech, thought and press and are hence given the liberty to express their views on various matters of interest irrespective of the fact that it could be deemed unconventional or controversial.

5: The Human Rights Act further promises freedom of peaceful assembly and association to all the people of Canada, in a free and democratic society.

6: Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedom also provides everyone in Canada certain democratic rights including the liberty to vote irrespective of their caste, creed, race or upbringing.

7: Mobility rights or the right to enter, remain in or leave Canada to live somewhere else or search for better employment is also provided to everyone in Canada. No Canadian is bound or restricted to remain in Canada permanently and can leave whenever they wish.

8: All Canadians are also promised certain legal rights which include the right to life, security and liberty under the law. Everyone is deemed innocent until proved guilty and have the right to a fair and impartial hearing and cannot be subjected to any kind of cruel or unusual modes of punishment irrespective of the crime.

9: Everyone in Canada is further, allowed linguistic freedom which includes the language of their choice, while there is also protection of Canada’s official languages, French and English.

Canada is a very liberal country that is extremely welcoming to anyone living in or moving to it and regards them with a broadened mind and big heart. All Canadians open their doors to any immigrant moving to their country and they are all provided the same Human Rights promised to original citizens of the country.