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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... authorities; they study European constitutions and compare federal systems. They readily refer to the founding of the United States, and to American constitutions and constitutional practice, both of the United States and of individual ...
... authority on parliamentary procedure, was aided by the future Sir John Sparrow Thompson, premier of Nova Scotia and prime minister of Canada. The report of the British Columbia debate of 1870 is also admirably full in parts. Other ...
... authority, the virtue of civil obedience, obeying the law for the law's sake; even when a man's private conscience may convince him sufficiently that the law in some cases may be wrong,* he is not to set up his individual will against ...
... authority. No statesmanship, no conclusion, is of any value except for the reasoning on which it is founded; and I am ready to rest the whole matter on simple argument and reason. All states large enough and populous enough to warrant ...
... authority, and responsibility. This colony has the first two, and we are now asking for the third, and the terms sent down to the council do not contain the elements of responsibility of the executive to the people. Everything is ...
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 |