Canada's Founding DebatesJanet Ajzenstat, Paul Romney, Ian Gentles, William D. Gairdner Canada's Founding Debates is about Confederation—about the process that brought together six out of the seven territories of British North America in the years 1864-73 to form a country called Canada. It presents excerpts from the debates on Confederation in all of the colonial parliaments from Newfoundland to British Columbia and in the constituent assembly of the Red River Colony. The voices of the powerful and those of lesser note mingle in impassioned debate on the pros and cons of creating or joining the new country, and in defining its nature. In short explanatory essays and provocative annotations, the editors sketch the historical context of the debates and draw out the significance of what was said. By organizing the debates thematically, they bring out the depth of the founders' concern for issues that are as vital today as they were then: the meaning of liberty, the merits of democracy, the best form of self-government, the tension between collective and individual rights, the rule of law, the requirements of political leadership, and, of course, the nature of Canadian nationality. Canada's Founding Debates offers a fresh and often surprising perspective on Canada's origins, history, and political character. Previously published by Stoddart Publishing, 1999. |
From inside the book
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... (Senate). Still others quarrel about definitions of representation and democracy. In the west the debate on parliamentary institutions is especially heated. Neither British Columbia nor Red River enjoys responsible government. Although ...
... Senate, and — here is the heart of the matter — the cabinet must maintain the support of the majority in the House of Commons on taxing and spending legislation. We are all familiar with the results. The governor general (or lieutenant ...
... Senate, and the House of Commons, elected by the people; with that principle there was no disposition to interfere. Here we have responsible government — in fact we have tried almost all sorts of government. We had a governor and ...
... Senate which would in the union take the place of the House of Lords — the senators would be nominated by the crown and appointed for life — and would be composed of seventy-two members. There had been much debate as to whether the body ...
... Senate would jeopardize that prized principle of the parliamentary system, responsible government. To favour an appointed Senate was not necessarily proof of political backwardness in the pre-Confederation period! Some of the provinces ...
Contents
PART THREE WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT IDENTITY | |
British or Canadian? | |
What Is a Canadian? | |
PART FOUR WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE NEW NATIONALITY | |
Minorities and Minority Rights | |
PART FIVE HOW TO MAKE A CONSTITUTION | |
Pro and | |
Appendixes | |
Afterword on Books | |
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Canada's Founding Debates Janet Ajzenstat,Paul Romney,Ian Gentles,William Gairdner No preview available - 2017 |