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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... colonies in existence at the time of the Quebec Conference had made their decisions, and all but one had been brought ... colony, arranged in five topical parts, which treat the themes of liberty, prosperity, identity, federalism and ...
... colonies. And one aspect is uniquely interesting to them: its provision for minority rights. For these reasons Part Four, which deals with guarantees for minorities, gives pride of place to the Canadian debate. But other colonies have ...
... colony by colony within each chapter, beginning with the colony that has the liveliest debate, or the one that sets out the issues most clearly. Spelling varied widely in the Confederation period, from province to province and year to ...
... colony with the dominion, and the creation of one homogeneous nationality from sea to sea. — Legislative Council, March 9, 1870. CANADA. George Brown: Here is a people of two distinct races, speaking different languages, with religious ...
... colony or province (today, the lieutenant governor, or in the case of Canada the governor general) exercise the powers of the state only on the advice of an executive council or cabinet. With the introduction of responsible government ...
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 |