The Democratic Federalist System

This paper will explore the dimensions of federalism and democracy, in which it will become apparent, that the two are intertwined. As will be explored, federalism enhances the principles of democracy by creating accountable governments, increasing political participation, and protects against the tyranny of the majority. Federalism enhances democracy and thus, goes hand in hand.

A14D

In the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution is Artificial intelligence, better known as “AI.” As a frontier technology, AI is implementing deep and far-reaching changes into the way we work, play and live. These tools present numerous opportunities in solving issues of international development. Yet in spite of its infallible potential, the negative repercussions of AI driven change have become abundantly clear. These consequences will only be exacerbated in the Global South where there is a greater tendency for weak institutional capacity and governance. AI has the potential to threaten employment, human rights, democratic process and worsen economic dependency. The very nature of these tools--the ability to codify and reproduce patterns--must be met with responsible, ethical actors who ensure developmental goals will be met. Is AI4D the answer? This paper will illustrate the opportunities and risks of AI-driven development. I argue that technology can no longer be considered an inherent equalizer, and that the responsibility for fairness in the digital world must be championed by the international community. Finally, I will present possible steps policymakers can take to ensure true development in our data-driven future.

The Intelligence Accountability Framework in Canada

The recurrence of intelligence operations has grown significantly since the beginning of the twenty-first century. This growing popularity has increased the need for public and legislative oversight as well as intelligence parliamentary review. The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the intelligence accountability framework in Canada. This assessment will argue that the expansion of intelligence capabilities in the late 20th and early 21st century has not been followed by an adequate expansion of the oversight and review framework. In order to support this argument, the paper will conduct a comparative analysis of the Five Eyes (FVEY) members and examine the evolution of Canadian intelligence accountability structures from the Cold War until 2020. The paper will conclude by proposing literature-supported changes to improve the oversight and review process.

The Inequitable Political Pillars of Canada’s Founding Nations

In conceptualising the Canadian federation and the driving force behind the state’s development, Peter H. Russel frames it as the conciliation of interests in the relationship between the three founding nations – Aboriginals, Anglophones, and Francophones. As the recent nation-wide demonstrations against the Coastal Link pipeline trespassing on Wet’suwet’en land has demonstrated, they are far from equal partners. The incident is indicative of a broader trend of the non-Aboriginal nations creating an environment that obstructs and disincentives Aboriginal participation in the daily functioning of Canadian society, politics being no exception. This exclusion is much to the detriment to the strength of Canadian society. Accordingly, this paper examines Aboriginal absenteeism from Canadian politics as to identify the obstacles to their meaningful political participation with the wider aim of aiding the redefining of the relationship between the founding nations that recognises the Aboriginal nation as an equal partner.

Replacing FPTP

Canada’s use of the First-Past-the-Post electoral system has been defended due to its simplicity, constituency representation, and inherent stability. Arguments have been raised, however, that the system does not sufficiently represent Canadian demographics in parliament, it renders opposition parties ineffective, smaller parties have trouble or are unable to win seats in parliament, and regionally-concentrated parties are encouraged over national based ones. It has been suggested that adding an element of proportionality would address some of these issues. This paper seeks to consider this claim by examining the political outcomes of proportional electoral systems. The literature review outlined that the use of proportional systems increased descriptive as well as geographic representation, and was positively linked to voter turnout.

The Impact of Canadian Federalism on Telecommunications Infrastructure Development

This paper examines Canadian federalism's impact on broadband telecommunications infrastructure development in Canada by discussing the limits of the federal telecommunications regulatory sphere in relationship to provincial policy frameworks. I argue that the extensive centralization of federal regulatory powers over telecommunications has not been meaningfully leveraged to promote a national policy approach to telecommunications development. Telecommunications infrastructure development is further frustrated by vastly divergent regulation of right-of-way by provincial regulators and municipalities. As a consequence, telecommunications infrastructure development has become the domain of provincial governments. This paper further considers the emergence of a regime of competitive federalism and province-building through policy experimentation by provincial governments in the absence of meaningful fiscal and collaborative federalism.

The Constitutional Difference in Canadian Asymmetry

This paper discusses how asymmetrical Canadian federalism contributes to neo-colonialism and therefore, also the social inequalities faced by Indigenous nations. Asymmetrical federalism has been heralded as a system that maintains a balance of power among the diverse nations that constitute Canada. However, many fail to recognize that Canadian federalism contributes to neo-colonialism, as it validates solely colonizers through the power division in the Constitution Act of 1982. Further, this power imbalance places Indigenous nations under the jurisdiction of the federal government. This greatly limits the ability of Indigenous nations to self-govern and be heard within the Canadian system of government. Through furthering neo-colonial power divisions, the Canadian federal system significantly contributes to social inequalities, such as poor healthcare coverage, faced by Indigenous nations.

Tailor-Made for Canada

While reform of Canada's electoral system has not yet occurred, it has been an ever-present, ever-potent topic in Canadian political science since the middle of the 20th Century. While there are aspects of First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) to be admired, its fundamental flaws cannot be ignored; the system encourages parties to exacerbate sectionalism, leaves far too many voters unrepresented, and too often allows for uncooperative governments. Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP), a form of Proportional Representation (PR), possesses the best aspect of FPTP, local representation and accountability, and amends its most serious flaws. MMP represents all votes cast, attenuates sectionalism, and creates diverse legislatures that incentivize cross-party cooperation far more than FPTP does currently. Canada is nearly a perfect country for MMP, and this system should be implemented for our federal elections.

Rectifying Revisionism: Canadian National Identity and War Commemoration

Canadians have been given the torch, but are failing to hold it high, and are therefore breaking faith with those who died. This paper will argue that this phenomenon is primarily due to eroding remembrance of Canadian military heritage, through the weaponization of the ‘peacekeeping myth,’ and the geographic reality of continental separation from war cemeteries. With the aim to heal the damages of past revisionism regarding Canadian military heritage as a component of Canadian national identity, a standardized, national commemoration curriculum will be proposed, to ensure that our sacred pact to hold the torch high, is fulfilled.

How Does Canada’s Decentralized Federation Impact Environmental Regulations

This paper argues Canada’s decentralized federation plays an influential role in thwarting environmental regulations at the federal and provincial levels of government. The text is structured as follows: the author’s argument comes first, which is followed by an opposing viewpoint and a subsequent rebuttal reaffirming the author’s stance. The paper’s evidence is based on scholarly journal articles, lectures, and textbooks. The author’s arguments build on the Constitution’s ambiguity regarding environmental responsibilities: the ambiguity promotes a piecemeal approach to environmental regulations at the provincial level. This results in unsynchronized policies across Canada which weakens the overall efficacy of the environmental policies. Moreover, despite attempts at clarifying environmental responsibilities there is still dissonance because Canada is a decentralized federation. Subsequently, the federal government cannot force synchronization or compliance. Furthermore, at times, the federal government must underplay its hand even when it takes constitutionally charged actions because sound environmental actions require provincial actions as well. Ultimately, this paper showcases how decentralized federalism plays federal and provincial level governments against each other when it comes to environmental regulations. This results in poor environmental policies at all levels of government.