Quote:
Originally Posted by MonctonRad
Who says that Canada is a democracy????
|
Democracy is a sliding scale.
Canada - while still having strong democratic traditions - is more authoritarian than the United States or Switzerland. Once we empower a government through an election, we give them a fairly large 'carte blanche' to implement their legislative agenda (provided a majority government is in power).
This is both a good and bad thing. It is a good thing if you like decisiveness for government to implement its agenda. It is a bad thing is you're opposed to the government's agenda.
Conversely, implementing legislation at the federal level in the United States is a nightmare, as their system was designed to inhibit legislation. Passing a law requires two elected bodies (Senate and the House) and the President to be on the same page. So, a bill about education will have stuff for corn farmers in Iowa as part of compromise process.
So, as much as people down there would like to reform the system to minimize the impact of lobbying and speed the legislative process, the sheer number of representatives involved (and weak party discipline) means that lobbyists can always find a sympathetic ear for their cause somewhere in the process.
Pick your poison. More democracy = more compromises. Too much democracy = gridlock in the legislative process. We all know the downsides of authoritarianism too.