Canadians had a poor understanding of how their own system of government works. Every time I'm there I read a newspaper article which gets it either hopelessly confused or just plain wrong.
I wish I'd saved the articles. One made mess of the relationship between the ministry and the parliament, concerning how the ministry is appointed. It muddled the conventions related to the appointment of ministers.
Another related to what happens after an election is called. It misunderstood the conventions surrounding this, believing that a government can no longer govern once an election is called.
A third related to the power of the Governor General. It completely underestimated the awesome power of the job.
(NB: When Canadians refer to the Prime Minister as the "Premier" are they confused? In Australia only the state government leaders are called premiers.)
I'm not sure what you mean by electoral reform. You might consider altering the upper house to one that is elected. You could use a proportional representation system like ours. (Cunningly enough constructed, it would not require a constitutional amendment.)
The whole issue of religion and politics dates back to the Old Country and antipathy between protestants and catholics. The Church of England isn't "established" here but that never stopped them... to be Catholic was to be Irish until large numbers of Italian migrants arrived after World War II. The result was a thorough secularisation of public life... simply so Catholics could attend.
It's wonderful to hear about same-sex marriages in Canada. Actual legislation against it sailed through here in Australia, making us nominally more conservative than Americans on this issue.
Re: C eh N eh D eh
I wish I'd saved the articles. One made mess of the relationship between the ministry and the parliament, concerning how the ministry is appointed. It muddled the conventions related to the appointment of ministers.
Another related to what happens after an election is called. It misunderstood the conventions surrounding this, believing that a government can no longer govern once an election is called.
A third related to the power of the Governor General. It completely underestimated the awesome power of the job.
(NB: When Canadians refer to the Prime Minister as the "Premier" are they confused? In Australia only the state government leaders are called premiers.)
I'm not sure what you mean by electoral reform. You might consider altering the upper house to one that is elected. You could use a proportional representation system like ours. (Cunningly enough constructed, it would not require a constitutional amendment.)
The whole issue of religion and politics dates back to the Old Country and antipathy between protestants and catholics. The Church of England isn't "established" here but that never stopped them... to be Catholic was to be Irish until large numbers of Italian migrants arrived after World War II. The result was a thorough secularisation of public life... simply so Catholics could attend.
It's wonderful to hear about same-sex marriages in Canada. Actual legislation against it sailed through here in Australia, making us nominally more conservative than Americans on this issue.