Looks like the middle east uprisings swept to the great white north! (Said in a girly voice) They voted that they have lost confidence in the government, so they are going through a process that will end in dissolving parliament.
/girly voice
It’s only happened 5 times in their history. Last time was was back in '05. As in, 2005.
"The Prime Minister visits the Governor-General — currently David Johnston — to say that Parliament has lost confidence in his government. Only five Canadian governments have lost a confidence vote: Arthur Meighen’s in 1926, John Diefenbaker’s in 1963, Pierre Trudeau’s in 1974, Joe Clark’s in 1979 and Paul Martin’s in 2005. Only a minority government usually loses a confidence vote, because it doesn’t control a majority of seats.
“The Prime Minister then requests the Governor-General dissolve Parliament, so voters can elect a new Parliament.”
The Governer-General being the official representative of the Queen of England’s interests in Canada. So now effectively the Queen of England is dissolving Canada’s government. I’m ashamed to have you guys for my hat.
I have very limited knowledge of how politics works in Canada. I know that Canadian independence was “deemed” or “given” to Canada by England, where as we (the US) had to fight a revolutionary war to get rid of the Queen.
The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (22 & 23 Geo. V c. 4, 11 December 1931) which established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and the United Kingdom
The Statute gave effect to certain political resolutions passed by the Imperial Conferences of 1926 and 1930, in particular the Balfour Declaration of 1926. The main effect was the removal of the ability of the British Parliament to legislate for the dominions. The Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 was repealed in its application to the dominions. After the Statute was passed, the British government could no longer make ordinary law for the dominions, other than at the request and with the consent of the Parliament of that dominion.
It did not, however, immediately provide for any changes to the legislation establishing the constitutions of Australia and Canada. This meant, for example, that many constitutional changes continued to require the intervention of the British Parliament, although only at the request and with the consent of the dominions as described above. These residual powers were finally removed by the Canada Act 1982
The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c. 11) is an Act of Parliament passed by the British Parliament that ended all remaining dependence of Canada on the United Kingdom, by a process known as “patriation”. It includes the text of the Constitution Act, 1982, in both of Canada’s official languages, in Schedule B, and a translation of the main body into French in Schedule A, making it the first British Act of Parliament since the Middle Ages to be passed in the French language.
While the Canada Act 1982 received royal assent on March 29, 1982 in London, it was not until the Queen came to Canada that the Constitution Act, 1982, its Canadian equivalent, was proclaimed by letters patent as a statutory instrument by the Queen during her presence in Canada.[10]
The Constitution Act, 1982 was signed into law by Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada on April 17, 1982 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.[10] Queen Elizabeth’s constitutional powers over Canada were not affected by the Act, and she remains Queen and Head of State of Canada.[11] Canada has complete sovereignty as an independent country and the Queen’s role as monarch of Canada is separate from her role as the British monarch or the monarch of any of the other Commonwealth realms.[12]
LOLZ
So as of 1982 English Parliament has no jurisdiction in Canada, but the Queen of England is still the Queen of Canada.
no government will ever function amazingly… the fact that our system weathered the recession as well as it did and for a variety of other factors tells me the guys at the helm are not total fuck ups… which is good enough to be in charge i guess.
the opposition cited lack of integrity, waste etc. but that is true of every government everywhere.
This is a needless election and the early poles show the Conservatives remaining in power or possibly even gaining a majority after the election.
I make a point to not vote, however, i may vote conservative just as a statement for how this election is unnecessary.
So how does this work? Parliament voted to dissolve itself? Is Parliament like our congress: regional representatives to the national government? So all those seats are open for election?
I’m ashamed to have you guys for my hat.
