Canada-stuck in constitutional Hell?

OK-so "Hell" overstates the problem. Maybe "limbo" in international terms.

James Bennett at the very pro-Anglosphere Slbion's Seedling writes:


"Canada's constitution now combines the British parliamentary system's stong prime ministership, which with a well-disciplined majority can pretty much push through whatever legislation it wants, with an American-style supreme court with very strong powers. Rather than serving as a check upon each other, they seem to act together in creating a ratchet toward a single set of solutions for any problem -- more interventions by the federal state, no matter how ineffective or obnoxious previous ones have been. Either the historical British system, or the historical American one, have been more effective in balancing government actions with freedom and an effective civil society. The Canadian hybrid seems to have imported the vices of both with the virtues of neither.

"Playing mix'n'match with imported institutions is always problematic."
http://anglosphere.com/weblog/archives/000240.html

As a commenter at the above link notes, defference to the judiciary is largely a result of Blackstones influence upon the Framers generation. This Englisg influence is more fogotten than noted anymore.

BUT, getting back to the issue, what should Canada do?

-Orson

 

Oh, Canada!

I don't agree that Canada's problems stem from combining the Parliamentary system with a written constitution. There are plenty of other countries that manage quite nicely. I see no theoretical difficulty; indeed, the U.K. will likely be there itself one of these days.

To the extent that Canada HAS problems, and these pale next to OURS, the difficulty comes more from the (to us) weird distribution of power between the federal and provincial governments. And that is a consequence of Canadian history.

For example, Quebec makes a full time job of "preserving" its French culture and political institutions in the face of overwhelming Englishness elsewhere in the country. Newfoundland didn't even WANT to join Canada when it was FORCED to do so, in the face of a "No" vote, in 1947. There has long been, or more accurately, NOT been, a "Canadian" consciousness. It's sort of lika a peaceful, democratic Iraq.

If power is migrating to Ottowa, and I agree that it is, I think that it is doing so in the face of inevitable social pressure for federal solutions in an increasingly integrated society.

They'll be okay.