O Canada! The True North strong and free!

On 22 October 2019, TomCat wrote an article entitled “Who Won the Election . . . Eh?” about the results of the 19 October 2019 Canadian federal election.  It must have been a slow news day!  In the article, he claimed:

“Fortunately, we have an expert here at the site to flesh out my report.  For starters, I’d like our resident Sasquatch to explain the ‘Speech from the Throne’ to us.”

Well I am not an expert, but I am a proud Canuck (Canadian) who has studied Canadian history as well as American history.  So, I am going to give you a bit of a Canadian history and civics lesson, heavy on the civics.

The first settlements in what is now Canada were Viking settlements in Newfoundland and Labrador (Newfoundland is the island, affectionately called The Rock by locals, and Labrador is on the mainland but they together make up the 10^th Canadian province) as well as in the Canadian Arctic around 1,000 CE, so settlement predates Columbus by almost 500 years.  These Vikings first expanded to Iceland then Greenland and their expansion into Canada was the culmination of their westward journey for land and riches.  The first name for what is now part of Canada was Vinland (pronounced Winland).  Evidence of these settlements has been found at L’Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland.

Canada’s First English Settlement, Cupers Cove, now Cupids, Nfld was established by John Guy in 1610 under a royal charter from James I. It was England’s first attempt at organised colonization in Canada and the second plantation in North America. Jamestown, Virginia was the first in 1607.

Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he called “The Country of Canadas “, after the Iroquois names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec City) and at Hochelaga (Montréal).

With two countries, England and France, fighting the 7 Years War in Europe, it was only logical that they brought the war to the New World where they both had interests.  The British under General James Wolfe soundly beat General Louis-Joseph Montcalm, Marquis de Montcalm of France and so, Canada became English territory.

It is interesting to note that Canada and the United States are both children of the same European country, England.  But as siblings, we were quite different and remain so today. The Americans of the Thirteen Colonies chose to revolt against the British proclaiming no taxation without representation and subsequently defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) with the assistance of France.  As we know, the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 signalling the independence from Britain.  The English colonies in Canada never went to war against Britain in order to win their independence.  Canada petitioned Britain for independence in 1867 which was granted.  On 01 July 1867, under the British North America Act, Canada became the Dominion of Canada.  At this point, Canada still relied on the English Constitution (Magna Carta) but slowly we wrote our own Constitution. Interestingly, it was the father of our current Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, who repatriated the constitution in 1982 when he was Prime Minister.  In my opinion, the true characters of our two countries are shown in how we chose to cut our mother’s apron strings.

Canada		United States
Queen Elizabeth II	Head of State	President
Governor General – Vice Regal (the Queen’s representative in Canada)	Executive
Bicameral – based on Westminster Parliamentary System of Britain; elected House of Commons 338 total seats; appointed Senate 105 seats	Legislature	Bicameral – elected House of Representatives 435 seats; elected Senate 100 seats
Liberal (centre left) Conservative (right) New Democratic Party (left – social democrat) Green Party; Bloc Québécois (Québec only)	Political Parties	Democratic Party (centre left & progressive) Republican Party (conservative, alt right) With other parties from time to time such as the Libertarians and the Green
Supreme Court of Canada	Judicial	SCOTUS

From this, you might wonder where the Canadian Prime Minister is situated.  The PM is the head of one of the political parties in the legislative body or House of Commons. The term Prime Minister means the first or prime minister to the Crown.  After the 2015 election, the Liberal party had a majority with 184 seats but today is a minority having fallen short of the 170 seats needed for a majority.  The Liberals still had more seats than any other party with 157 seats, so they negotiated with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support a Liberal government.  As such, the Liberal party formed a minority government.  No other party would align itself with the Conservative party to throw the win to them, although there was speculation at the time.  There are 338 seats in the Canadian parliament.  Justin Trudeau became the leader of the Liberal party in 2013 and has been the Prime Minister since 2015.  To be PM, Trudeau also must be a seated Member of Parliament and was elected in the Papineau riding in greater Montréal.  The PM must represent his riding but also must represent all the people of Canada. To my American friends, do you think Trump could have done this?  In my opinion, Trudeau does better than Trump by far and he does more than Trump even including Trump’s golf time!  Also note that the Prime Minister is directly elected by some of the people (his constituency) and those in the Liberal Party who voted to make him leader of the party.

Electoral districts or ridings in Canada are established by Elections Canada, a non-partisan agency.  Unlike in the US where electoral districts are established by the individual states and therefore controlled by the political party in power at the time the boundaries are established, political parties in Canada are not involved at all.  Canada does not have the gerrymandering issues very evident in the US.

Prorogation is the action of discontinuing a session of a parliament or other legislative assembly without dissolving it.  When an election writ is dropped, Parliament is dissolved.  We also have recesses for Christmas or annual vacations.  Prorogation is not unlike a recess in the US.

From Huffington Post 

“And on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he asked Gov. Gen. Julie Payette to prorogue Parliament until Sept. 23, when a throne speech will be delivered and, in short order, a confidence vote will be held. 

Prorogation is a tricky subject in Canadian politics. It’s been called a natural part of the political process, while also criticized in recent years as something mobilized by PMs to get out of tough situations.  …

A parliamentary “reset” — and the new throne speech that comes with it — could also spell danger for the Trudeau government, as a vote of no-confidence on the plan could trigger an election.  …

Trudeau said that since the December throne speech that outlined his government’s agenda obviously made no mention of COVID-19 crisis that would disrupt the world months later, a new plan for a “stronger, more resilient Canada″ was in order.”

In this case, the WE Charity scandal which involved the Finance Minister and relatives of the PM, in addition to the changing financial position of the country and the COVID-19 pandemic are the prime reasons for the prorogation.  Any investigations into WE were halted, and the Finance Minister stepped down.  It is interesting to note that in 2015, PM Trudeau spoke of Stephen Harper’s prorogation of Parliament in 2007, 2008 and 2010 and said the Liberals would never do that.  Short memories! In 2008, the prorogation of Parliament was strictly a political move by Harper (Conservative) to out-maneuver the opposition and should not have happened.

The Prime Minister asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament on 18/08/2020 until 23/09/2020 when Parliament would resume with a Speech from the Throne.  The Speech from the Throne, a very formal affair conducted alternately in French and English in the Senate Chamber, is used to open the first sitting of Parliament after an election or to restart a sitting after prorogation.  The Speech is always read by the Governor General but is prepared by the Prime Minister and his office.  You might remember from the news that HRM Queen Elizabeth II prorogued the British Parliament on 28/08/2019 at the request of PM Boris Johnson. Effective from 10/09/2019  until the State Opening of Parliament on 14/10/2019, the prorogation was cut short because of political opposition.  As I recall, Johnson wanted prorogation in regards to limiting debate over the issue of leaving the European Union.

Speech from the Throne — The Speech from the Throne, whether it follows an election or prorogation, is a statement of the government’s priorities, essentially a roadmap of what the government hopes to accomplish during this session of Parliament.  After the October 2019 election, the PM was faced with bringing a plan together which a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) would support.  Talk about “Let’s Make a Deal”!  Trudeau was able to negotiate with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support that plan.  Had he not been successful obtaining support, Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservative Party at the time, would have been asked by the Governor General to form the government.  The Conservatives had fewer seats than the Liberals so they would have to have received the support of the NDP and the Bloc Québécois, neither of which would even think of that.  Had neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives been able to form a government, the only alternative is a new election.

Rather than going through the 2019 Speech from the Throne, which is obsolete now except as history, I’ll show the highlights of the 2020 Speech from the Throne that came out on 23/09/2020. It is interesting to note that Jagmeet Singh, leader of the NDP, was able to get some changes to the roadmap in exchange for NDP support.  Had Trudeau not been successful in gaining NDP support, Trudeau would have presented the Liberal plan and it would be voted upon.  If the vote failed, which it almost certainly would have, that would be a vote of non confidence.  The government would fall and Canada would be having a federal election.  We are not having an election.

As a small dig to my American friends, election campaigns in Canada must be, according to the Elections Act, a minimum of 36 days and a maximum of 50 days.  It sure beats the American system of 2 years, or in the case of presidential elections with Trump, 4 years of campaigning.  There is little chance of getting bored with election talk.

Another difference between Canada and the US is the amount that political parties can spend. The amount that a political party and its candidates can spend is limited by a formula of approximately one dollar for every eligible voter in Canada.  If an election were to be called now, it is estimated that each party could spend approximately $25 million.  I am not saying this is a small amount, but when compared to US election spending, it is a pittance.

Yet another difference, Canada can dispose of its government with a non confidence vote.  Of course, that means an election, but it would also be a way to dump Trump, all other factors being met.  It beats 4 years of buyers’ remorse!

In these COVID times, if you see Parliament in session you will notice that everyone is sporting masks which does not seem to happen in the US Congress to the same degree.  Social distancing is maintained as much as possible as well.

Highlights of the Speech from the Throne 23 September 2020

     1.  PROTECTING CANADIANS FROM COVID-19

Vaccine efforts; PPE production.

     2. HELPING CANADIANS THROUGH THE PANDEMIC

Creating jobs; Financial supports (CERB – Canada Emergency Relief Benefit) and Employment Insurance benefits;

From Huffington Post:

“NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had been calling on the government to extend the CERB until the benefit could be replaced by something paying the same level of support. CERB has paid $2,000 for a four-week period, up to 28 weeks, to eligible Canadians.”

Women in the economy;

From Huffington Post:

The government is promising an action plan for women in the economy, led by a task force of diverse experts, to ensure the pandemic’s legacy is not “one of rolling back the clock on women’s participation in the workforce.”

Supporting business; From Huffington Post: The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy 

Fiscal sustainability.

    3.   BUILDING BACK BETTER — A RESILIENCY AGENDA FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS

Addressing gaps in our social systems; a stronger workforce; Taking action on extreme risks from climate change.

   4.   THE CANADA WE’RE FIGHTING FOR

Reconciliation with Indigenous communities; Addressing systemic racism; Protecting two official languages; A welcoming Canada (Immigration); Canada in the world.

I cannot go into the detail required on each category in the Speech here, however I have included an English version pdf below put out by the government.

The Speech from the Throne  pdf

 

I know that Nameless likes our national anthem so I have included it here for him.  We only sing the first verse and chorus but there are 3 more verses.  Enjoy Nameless!

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.

[Chorus]
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada!
Where pines and maples grow,
Great prairies spread, and lordly rivers flow.
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From east to western sea.
The land of hope for all who toil,
The true north strong and free!

[Chorus]

O Canada!
Beneath our shining skies,
May stalwart sons, and gentle maidens rise.
To keep thee steadfast through the years,
From east to western sea,
Our own beloved native land,
Our true north strong and free!

[Chorus]

Ruler Supreme!
Who hearest humble prayer,
Hold thy dominion in thy loving care.
Help us to find, Oh God, in thee,
A lasting rich reward.
As waiting for the better day,
We ever stand on guard!

[Chorus]