Canadian sovereignty

The location of Canada

The sovereignty of Canada is a major cultural matter in Canada.[1] Several issues currently define Canadian sovereignty: the Canadian monarchy, telecommunication, the autonomy of provinces, and Canada's Arctic border.

Canada is a Commonwealth realm, meaning that Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. However, while several powers are the sovereign's alone, most of the royal constitutional and ceremonial duties in Canada are carried out by the Queen's representative, the Governor General,[2] as such, the Governor General is sometimes referred to as the de facto head of state.[3] In each of Canada's provinces the monarch is represented by a lieutenant-governor.[2] The greater autonomy of each province and territory - Canadian federalism - is also important to Canadian sovereignty. Quebec has twice voted about seceding from Canada.[4]

Under Canada's Telecommunications Act, telecommunication carriers must be nationally owned.[5] The most recent issue affecting Canadian sovereignty has been caused by the melting of Arctic ice. As Arctic ice in Northern Canada has melted, several countries have struggled to come to an agreement on who owns certain areas in the oil-rich Arctic.[6]

Canadian monarchy

Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, is the sovereign and head of state of Canada, and gives repository of executive power, judicial and legislative power; as expressed in the constitution: the Executive Government and Authority of and over Canada is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the Queen. However, sovereignty in Canada has never rested solely with the monarch due to the English Bill of Rights of 1689, later inherited by Canada, which established the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, the monarch is still the sovereign of Canada.

In Canada's federal system, the head of state is not a part of either the federal or provincial jurisdictions; the Queen reigns impartially over the country as a whole, meaning the sovereignty of each jurisdiction is passed on not by the Governor General or the Canadian parliament, but through the Crown itself. Canada is a constitutional monarchy. Thus, the Crown is "divided" into eleven legal jurisdictions, eleven "crowns" – one federal and ten provincial.[7] The Fathers of Confederation viewed this system of constitutional monarchy as a bulwark against any potential fracturing of the Canadian federation.[8]

In practice, the sovereign rarely personally exercises her executive, judicial or legislative powers; since the monarch does not normally reside in Canada, she appoints a governor general to represent her and exercise most of her powers. The person who fills this role is selected on the advice of the prime minister. "Advice" in this sense is a choice generally without options since it would be highly unconventional for the prime minister's advice to be overlooked; a convention that protects the monarchy. As long as the monarch is following the advice of her ministers, she is not held personally responsible for the decisions of the government. The governor general has no term limit, and is said to serve "at Her Majesty's pleasure"; however, the practice is for the governor general to be replaced after about five years in the party.

Just as the sovereign's choice of governor general is on the prime minister's advice, the vice-regal figure exercises the executive powers of state on the advice of the ministers of the Crown who make up the Cabinet. The term "the Crown" is used to represent the power of the monarch.

Though the sovereign or viceroy rarely intervene directly in political affairs, the real powers of the position of the monarch in the Canadian Constitution should not be downplayed. The monarch does retain all power, but it must be used with discretion, lest its use cause a constitutional crisis. Placement of power in the sovereign's hands provides a final check on executive power. If, for instance, she believed a proposed law threatened the freedom or security of her citizens, the Queen could decline Royal Assent. Furthermore, armed removal of her by parliament or government would be difficult, as the monarch remains Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces,[9] who swear an oath of allegiance to her. Constitutional scholars such as Senator Eugene Forsey have maintained that the sovereign (the Queen) and Governor General do retain their right to use the Royal Prerogative in exceptional constitutional crisis situations,[10] though the Canadian public service has stated that such actions may lack democratic legitimacy amongst the Canadian populace coming from an unelected institution. Liberal governments, for their part, have long adhered to the view that the Governor General does not have the right to refuse dissolution from the prime minister.[11][12]

Monarchy in the Canadian provinces

In the Canadian federation, the provinces are each a separate jurisdiction of the Canadian Crown, wherein a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of each province, forming the core of its Westminster style parliamentary democracy.[13] As the institution from which the power of the state flows, the terms The Crown in Right of [Province], Her Majesty in Right of [Province], and The Queen in Right of [Province] may also be used to refer to the entire executive of the government in each jurisdiction. As the pinnacle of governance, the authority of the Crown in the province is symbolised through elements included in various government institutions' insignia, as well as their names, such as Court of Queen's Bench and Queen's Printer.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications play an essential role in the maintenance of Canada's identity and sovereignty.[14]

Canadian Telecommunications Act

The Canadian Government has created a law to govern the use of telecommunications. Canada's Telecommunications Act and its policy, which received royal assent on June 23, 1993, prevails over the provisions of any special Act.[14] Some of its objectives are :

"(a) to facilitate the orderly development throughout Canada of a telecommunications system that serves to safeguard, enrich and strengthen the social and economic fabric of Canada and its regions;...
(e) to promote the use of Canadian transmission facilities for telecommunications within Canada and between Canada and points outside Canada;...
(h) to respond to the economic and social requirements of users of telecommunications services; and
(i) to contribute to the protection of the privacy of persons."[14]

Canadian Broadcasting Act

Furthermore, Canada's Telecommunications Act references the Broadcasting Act which prescribes that broadcasting has an important role in Canadian sovereignty.[14][15][16] In fact, the Canadian broadcasting system is legislated to be owned and controlled by Canadians.[17] In this case, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), inaugurated November 2, 1936,[18] has had the role of representing Canadians.[19] CBC was established by the Broadcasting Act which received royal assent on June 23, 1936 (Statutes of Canada, 1 Edward VIII, Chap. 24)[18] following "a Royal Commission that was concerned about the growing American influence in radio."[19] Radios, television and the CBC have significantly helped reunite Canadians and build its sovereignty.[19][20]

Provincial autonomy

Quebec sovereignty movement

The province of Quebec, in red.

The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement aimed at attaining independent statehood (sovereignty) for the Canadian province of Quebec.

In practice, "separatism", "independence" and "sovereignty" are all used to describe the goal of having the province of Quebec leave Canada to become a country on its own, with future possibilities of various collaborations with Canada. However, sovereignty is the term most commonly employed.

The most apparent reason for separatism is Quebec having a Francophone or predominantly (80%) French-speaking (French-Canadian or Québécois) majority, as compared to the rest of Canada which consists of eight overwhelmingly (greater than 90%) English-speaking provinces and New Brunswick which is officially bilingual and about one-third French-speaking. The territory of Nunavut speaks mostly Inuktitut. The origins and evolution of the movement are actually fairly complex and extend beyond simply language issues. Some scholars may point to historical events as framing the cause for ongoing support for sovereignty in Quebec, while more contemporary pundits and political actors may point to the aftermath of more recent developments like the Meech Lake Accord or the Charlottetown Accord.

Quebec referendum, 1995

The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should secede from Canada and become an independent state, through the question:

  • Do you agree that Québec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Québec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995?.

The 1995 referendum differed from the first referendum on Quebec's sovereignty in that the 1980 question proposed to negotiate "sovereignty-association" with the Canadian government, while the 1995 question proposed "sovereignty", along with an optional partnership offer to the rest of Canada.

The referendum took place in Quebec on October 30, 1995, and the motion to decide whether Quebec should secede from Canada was defeated by a very narrow margin of 50.58% "No" to 49.42% "Yes".

Arctic border

Under international law, no country currently owns the North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. The five surrounding Arctic states, Russia, the United States (via Alaska), Canada, Norway and Denmark (via Greenland), are limited to a 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) economic zone around their coasts.[21]

Upon ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a country has a ten-year period to make claims to extend its 200 nautical mile zone.[22] Due to this, Norway (ratified the convention in 1996[23]), Russia (ratified in 1997[23]), Canada (ratified in 2003[23]) and Denmark (ratified in 2004[23]) launched projects to base claims that certain Arctic sectors should belong to their territories. The United States has signed, but not yet ratified this treaty, although George W. Bush asked the United States Senate to ratify it on May 15, 2007[24] and on October 31, 2007, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 17-4 to send the ratification vote to the full US Senate.[25]

The status of the Arctic sea region is in dispute. While Canada, Denmark, Russia and Norway all regard parts of the Arctic seas as "national waters" or "internal waters", the United States and most European Union countries officially regard the whole region as international waters (see Northwest Passage).[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Finlay, Karen A. (2004). The Force of Culture: Vincent Massey and Canadian Sovereignty. University of Toronto Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-8020-3624-7.
  2. 1 2 Forsey, Eugene; How Canadians Govern Themselves: The Institutions of Our Federal Government; Library of Parliament; sixth edition; pg. 1
  3. ↑ Governor General: Role
  4. ↑ Mason, Christopher (27 March 2007). "Quebec Liberals Are Re-elected, Avoiding Another Secession Vote". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  5. ↑ The Canadian Telecommunications Act (1993) - Overview. Media Awareness Network. Accessed 21 December 2008.
  6. 1 2 Carter, Lee (23 August 2005). "Canada sends navy to Arctic north". BBC. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  7. ↑ Jackson, Michael; Canadian Monarchist News: Golden Jubilee and Provincial Crown; Spring, 2003 Archived 2007-10-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Smith, David E.; The Invisible Crown; University of Toronto Press; 1995; p. 26
  9. ↑ Constitution Act, 1867
  10. ↑ Forsey, Eugene. "How Canadians Govern Themselves: Parliamentary Government (pg. 2)". Queen's Printer for Canada. In very exceptional circumstances, the Governor General could refuse a request for a fresh election.
    Forsey, Eugene. "How Canadians Govern Themselves: The Institutions of Our Federal Government (pg. 2)". Queen's Printer for Canada. But they almost invariably must act on their Ministers' advice, though there may be very rare occasions when they must, or may, act without advice or even against the advice of the Ministers in office.
    Forsey, Eugene. "How Canadians Govern Themselves: Canadian and American Government (pg. 2)". Queen's Printer for Canada. Yes: in Canada, the head of state can, in exceptional circumstances, protect Parliament and the people against a Prime Minister and Ministers who may forget that "minister" means "servant," and may try to make themselves masters. For example, the head of state could refuse to let a Cabinet dissolve a newly elected House of Commons before it could even meet, or could refuse to let Ministers bludgeon the people into submission by a continuous series of general elections.
    Zolf, Larry (2002-06-28). "CBC News: Boxing in a Prime Minister". CBC News. The Governor General must take all steps necessary to thwart the will of a ruthless prime minister prematurely calling for the death of a Parliament.
    "By Executive Decree: The Governor General". Library and Archives Canada. In exceptional circumstances, the governor general may appoint or dismiss a prime minister.
    "Governor General of Canada: Role and Responsibilities of the Governor General". Office of the Governor General of Canada. One of the governor general's most important responsibilities is to ensure that Canada always has a prime minister and a government in place. In the case of the death of a prime minister, it is the governor general's responsibility to ensure the continuity of government.
    McWhinney, Edward (2005). The Governor General and the Prime Ministers. Vancouver: Ronsdale Press. pp. 16–17, 34. ISBN 1-55380-031-1.
    MacLeod, Kevin S.; A Crown of Maples: Constitutional Monarchy in Canada; The Queen in Right of Canada; 2008
  11. ↑ "Responsible Government and Checks and Balances: The Crown". Responsible Government: Clarifying Essentials, Dispelling Myths and Exploring Change. Canada School of Public Service. Forsey's credibility as an authority on these matters notwithstanding, many Canadians today would find these scenarios unthinkable ... they might view the exercise of the reserve power of the Crown as undemocratic because the Crown is not an elected institution.
  12. ↑ Zolf, Larry (June 28, 2002). "CBC News: Boxing in a Prime Minister". CBC News. ... the Liberal view is that the Governor General in Canada has no right to refuse dissolution from a Canadian prime minister.
  13. ↑ Forsey, Eugene; How Canadians Govern Themselves: Introduction; Library of Parliament; sixth edition; pg. 1
  14. 1 2 3 4 Government of Canada, Department of Justice Canada. "Telecommunications Act ( 1993, c. 38 )". 27 July 2008. Department of Justice Canada. Accessed 26 August 2008.
    Note: Republished by Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). "Telecommunications Act". 23 June 1993. Lexum. Accessed 26 August 2008, 17:47
  15. ↑ Government of Canada, Department of justice. "Broadcasting Act - Broadcasting Policy for Canada - 3.(1)b". 1 February 1991. Department of Justice Canada. Accessed 26 August 2008.
  16. ↑ The term enacts or prescribes are appropriate for this sentence because it discusses the laying down of a rule. The term Stipulates is used for contracts. (See Le Grand Dictionnaire Terminologique Archived 2012-06-04 at Archive.is and search for the term édicte.)
  17. ↑ Government of Canada, Department of justice. "Broadcasting Act - Broadcasting Policy for Canada - 3.(1)a". 1 February 1991. Department of Justice Canada. Accessed 26 August 2008.
  18. 1 2 Archives Canada Online Database Archived 2012-07-08 at Archive.is. Accessed 2 September 2008.
  19. 1 2 3 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. CBC/Radio-Canada: Facts at a Glance. November 2007. CBC/Radio Canada. Accessed 1 September 2008.
  20. ↑ Contempra telephone". [Photo of a museum information plaque]. 31 Aug. 2008. The Museum of Science and Technology (Ottawa).
  21. ↑ news.yahoo.com
  22. ↑ "United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Annex 2, Article 4)". Retrieved 2007-07-26.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  24. ↑ President's Statement on Advancing U.S. Interests in the World's Oceans
  25. ↑ Drawbaugh, Kevin (October 31, 2007). "U.S. Senate panel backs Law of the Sea treaty". Reuter.
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