Canadian Democracy Research Articles

Canada as counter-environment: Canadian democracy in a digital world

This article follows Innis, McLuhan and others in exploring the concept of space, but does so in relation to the survival and evolution of Canadian democracy within our emerging digital world. First considering the spatial implications of Canadian geography, the country’s constitution and institutions, along with the federal government’s spending power, it then considers those associated with economic staples and particularly how these affect our institutional infrastructure, especially in disturbing cases of ‘state capture’. Alongside identifying and addressing a number of concerns relating to digital space as now configured (and which will require fundamental reform), I also probe the concept of ‘inner space’ or interiority. I do this specifically in relation to its role as one of the most valuable resources of the digital age, not only in its commercial exploitation but also in terms of its defence: ultimately, in the service of mobilizing towards a more democratic culture. In demonstrating how Canada, following McLuhan, might function as a ‘counter-environment’ that makes the ‘world environment’ of the United States perceptible to its global occupants, I maintain that what we require is the exact same cultural remedy that Innis prescribed to counter the biases of the space-binding and time-annihilating electronic space of his own time. Namely, what is required is the retrieval of what Innis referred to as ‘oral tradition’, accompanied by the necessary and concomitant re-embedding of people within their local communities.

The public servant’s role in democracy

AbstractThis research note reports on the findings from a survey conducted in partnership with the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC). Despite robust debate among public administration experts about the role public servants should play in Canadian democracy, there has yet to be a systematic study of how public servants themselves view democracy and their role within it. We ask: What role do public servants play in democracy? The survey questions public servants about their views and contributions to democracy to gain a better understanding of what role they are playing in Canada’s system.

Take and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Democratic Colonialism in Canada

Tillotson’s Give and Take is a major contribution to Canadian history, a highly engaging analysis of culture and politics in the critical yet wildly understudied field of fiscal policy. The book makes the persuasive argument that the taxpayer was never somehow anathema to the citizen but rather that the two figures were mutually constitutive. After presenting a general overview of the Give and Take, this review considers its treatment of First Nations and taxation. While the book fruitfully covers the topic, the review argues that Tillotson might have used her material to profile not the rise of Canadian democracy but that of democratic colonialism in Canada.

The Business of Taxes, the Taxation of Business and the Question of Democracy

Shirley Tillotson’s Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy provides an opportunity to examine this important work’s approach to taxation and business, even if the book’s focus is not primarily focused upon business taxes, businesspeople, or the role of business in taxation policy over the period that that book addresses. This article looks at how Give and Take explores business and taxation, and at how Tillotson engages with some of the key elements and themes in Canadian business history. While not a business historian, Tillotson provides important insights into how we understand the intersection of business and taxation.

No Surrender. No Challenge. No Protest Paradigm: A Content Analysis of the Canadian News Media Coverage of the "Yellow Vest Movement" and the "United We Roll Convoy".

This study's exhaustive content analysis (N = 538) examines how Canada's mainstream news media covered the nascent yellow vest movement from the first Canadian protests in December 2018 culminating in the February 2019 cross-country United We Roll convoy. We demonstrate that Protest Paradigm scholarship does not offer a useful analytic for understanding the coverage of this right-wing social movement whose tactics were banal and law abiding. Furthermore, we argue that Canadian news media coverage of the protest movement was largely uncritical and decidedly hegemonic, raising questions about normative watchdog conceptions of the news media in Canadian democracy.

The Canadian Senate: An Institution of Reconciliation?

Growing mainstream awareness of tensions surrounding Indigenous rights and recent political movement to promote reconciliation suggest that the time might be ripe to revisit some of the most important ideas for strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ place and space within the Canadian federation, particularly within the country’s central political institutions. This article argues that the Canadian Senate has the potential to be an important institution for reconciliation in Canada’s system of federalism. It centres on one of the proposed recommendations of the Charlottetown Accord—reserved representation for Aboriginal people in the Senate. Using a theoretical framework based in treaty federalism, this article argues that reserved Indigenous representation in the Canadian Senate could provide a starting point to mitigate some of the existing tensions between dominant understandings of federalism and reconciliation, as well as to ensure that Canada’s political institutions better represent the interests of Indigenous Peoples and Nations. The Senate’s essential responsibilities in Canadian democracy, including representing sectional interests and reviewing legislation, make it an ideal starting place for realizing commitments to reconciliation in Canada’s central political institutions.

Trial by Zoom? The Response to COVID-19 by Canada's Courts

COVID-19 has made videoconferencing a regular occurrence in the lives of Canadians. Videoconferencing is being used to maintain social ties, run business meetings—and to uphold responsible government. On April 28, 2020, Members of the House of Commons sat virtually using Zoom. The virtual sitting was the first of what will become a stand-in for regular proceedings, allowing the Members to fulfill some of their parliamentary duties while complying with physical distancing (see Malloy, 2020). As the legislative and executive branches look to digital technology to allow the business of government to continue, what about the judicial branch of Canada's government? Courts are an essential service. This is best articulated by the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia: “The fact is, the Courts cannot close. As the third branch of government, an independent judiciary is vital for our Canadian democracy to function. It is never more important than in times of crisis” (Wood, 2020). In this analysis, we seek to understand how courts have responded to COVID-19 and the challenges of physical distancing through the use of digital technologies. This is accomplished through a systematic review of COVID-19 statements and directives issued from all levels of court across Canada. We briefly compare Canada to the United States, a jurisdiction that demonstrates greater openness to technology.

Shirley Tillotson. Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy; David Tough. The Terrific Engine: Income Taxation and the Modernization of the Canadian Political Imaginary.

Shirley Tillotson. Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy; David Tough. The Terrific Engine: Income Taxation and the Modernization of the Canadian Political Imaginary.

Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy Shirley Tillotson, Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017, pp. 448

Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy Shirley Tillotson, Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017, pp. 448

Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy

<i>Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy</i>

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Undermining Parliamentary Sovereignty and Federalism

This article explores the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its role in altering two core concepts of Canadian democracy: parliamentary sovereignty and federalism. The author argues that the Charter has undermined these concepts through the empowerment of Canada's judiciary, namely the Supreme Court of Canada. The article explores ways in which the powers of parliament have been superseded by the courts, specifically through the establishment of "charter proofing," parliament's loss of power over the "public purse," and the erosion of the provinces' policy autonomy. Ultimately, the article seeks to demonstrate that the Charter has "legalized" Canadian politics to the extent that the judiciary unwieldy an unacceptable amount of power in Canada's political environment. Cases explored in the essay include Morgentaler v. the Queen (1988), Schachter v. Canada (1992), and Attorney-General of Québec v. Association of Québec Protestant School Boards (1984).

Debating the Supreme Court of Canada's Role in Governing Minority Groups with the Charter

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms empowers the Supreme Court to interpret and uphold values entrenched in the Constitution by giving it the responsibility to review legislative and executive actions, and invalidate them in case of non-compliance. While scholars have noted the growing influence of the Court’s judicial power on policy outcomes, its supporters argue that a robust interpretation of rights protects citizens to be treated equally in order to participate in democratic politics; on the other hand, its critics suspect how judicial reviews could avoid interfering with the will of people, which is expressed through elected representatives in other branches of the government. Despite such disagreement, most scholars think the Charter creates new constitutional actors in the form of ethnic minorities, and therefore makes balancing between different interests especially difficult and controversial.&#x0D; My paper picks up on this debate in the scholarly literature to argue that the Court often tends to place a greater emphasis on equality over liberty when interpreting the Charter, and some freedoms cannot be achieved without the government actively promotes them through direct intervention. To develop this argument, I examine how the changes in relationship between Canadian government and minority groups impose challenges in governing the country as a result of the Charter. In particular, I focus on cases involving religious and language minorities to illustrate how the Court attempts to solve the legal puzzle following secular and egalitarian principles.&#x0D; &#x0D; References&#x0D; Beaman, Lori G. 2012. “Is Religious Freedom Impossible in Canada?” Law, Culture and the Humanities 8(2): 266-84.&#x0D; Grover, Sonja. 2006. “The right to minority language public school education as a function of the equality guarantee: a reanalysis of the Gosselin Supreme Court of Canada Charter case.” Education and the Law 18(4): 283-94.&#x0D; Hiebert, Janet L. 2002. Charter Conflicts: What Is Parliament’s Role? Montreal &amp; Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.&#x0D; Manfredi, Christopher P. 1994. “‘Appropriate and Just in the Circumstances’: Public Policy and the Enforcement of Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 27(3): 435-63.&#x0D; Morton, F.L. and Rainer Knopff. 2000. The Charter Revolution and the Court Party. Peterborough: Broadview Press.&#x0D; Smithey, Shannon Ishiyama. 2001. “Religious Freedom and Equality Concerns under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 34(1): 85-107.&#x0D; Weinrib, Lorraine Eisenstat. 2001. “The Activist Constitution.” Judicial Power and Canadian Democracy, ed. Paul Howe and Peter H. Russell. Montreal &amp; Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Yellow Vests, Right-Wing Extremism and the Threat to Canadian Democracy

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; This briefing note explores the potential threat posed by the Yellow Vest Canada movement (YVC) being arguably infiltrated and co-opted by right-wing extremist (RWE) groups, and the possible escalation this may cause. The YVC has the potential to evolve from a peaceful movement into a national security threat. Yellow Vesters have become increasingly characterized by their death threats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, clashes with counter-protesters, and the movement’s growing support from local RWE groups, seeking to utilize the YVC as a means for expanding their supporter base and normalizing extremist rhetoric. In the event of the adoption of YVC by RWE groups, there is the potential for extremist narratives to be pushed into the normative political sphere and turn the YVC movement into a Violent Transnational Social Movement (VTSM).&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Honour in sovereignty: Can Crown consultation with Indigenous peoples erase Canada’s sovereignty deficit?

It has been uncontroversial in Canada since the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Haida Nation v British Columbia (Minister of Forests) that the Crown bears a constitutional duty to consult Indigenous peoples before proceeding with any conduct that threatens potential or unproven Indigenous rights or title. This duty is rooted in the honour of the Crown and is important to the broader goal of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. But section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 mentions neither the honour of the Crown nor the duty to consult. The conceptual foundations of the duty are unclear and remain undertheorized, leaving courts, Indigenous peoples, the Crown, and private industry to wonder precisely what consultation should involve. This article attempts to fill this theoretical gap. First, it argues, as an analytical matter, that the duty to consult is most coherently understood to flow from a commitment to creating space within the existing structures of Canadian democracy for the exercise of political sovereignty by Indigenous peoples. Second, the article makes the normative argument that this is the correct way to understand the duty. Canada’s historical failure since contact to recognize Indigenous sovereignty in any politically meaningful way has perpetuated a sovereignty deficit in Canada. Reconciliation, in turn, requires erasing this sovereignty deficit. Crown consultation with Indigenous peoples is one way to restore some degree of political sovereignty to Indigenous peoples, by holding the Crown more directly accountable to Indigenous communities. If these procedural protections for unproven Indigenous rights and title are to promote reconciliation, it must be shaped and informed by the extent to which consultation increases Crown accountability to Indigenous peoples and allows Indigenous peoples to act as sovereign, politically autonomous nations. This proceduralized understanding of section 35, however, should not be allowed to undermine the substantive protections that section 35 entrenches for existing Indigenous rights and title.

Lila and the Crow by G. Grimard

Grimard, Gabrielle. Lila and the Crow. English translation by Paula Ayer, Annick Press, 2016.Gabrielle Grimard is a very successful Quebec illustrator with at least thirty picture books to her credit. Her artistic style is exquisite; forms and figures are outlined with pencil; watercolors and gouache effect a palette both delicate and rich. In Lila and the Crow the illustrations are well focused and well situated on the page. They are also large and clear enough to be effective for group storytelling. There is no overt identification of the setting of this book although Grimard’s depictions of streets lined with birch and oak trees, and peak-roofed, two-storey homes are evocative of Quebec. As well, the caps and sweaters worn by the school children, the yellowing landscape, and the drifting leaves all seem appropriate to autumn in that province. These evocations being noted, the story could occur in any of our provinces.This is the first book of which Grimard is both author and illustrator. Originally written in French, her work has been simply and charmingly translated by Paula Ayer. The storyline is very realistic, a part of the school playground scene that exists today—and always has—for children who are “the other.” Lila, a little girl who comes to a new school hoping to make new friends, is outcast. Her dark hair, eyes, and skin excite comment. Nathan, a pink-faced, red-headed boy, “leads the pack” of children shouting, “A crow! A crow! The new girl’s hair is dark like a crow!” Lila’s eyes and skin are similarly mocked. The teasing escalates. She tries to hide her hair beneath a cap, her eyes behind dark glasses—but the assault continues. She is shunned. She plays alone at recess, sits alone at lunch.The mystery of Lila’s appearance unfolds symbolically. Each day, as she walks home from school, a crow keeps watch from an oak tree, wants to approach her, seems “…as if it wants to tell her something…” Finally, at the moment of her greatest despair, Lila “for the first time really looks at the bird.” She experiences “…the strange feeling they have known each other for a long time.” Boldly and creatively, the little girl embraces and celebrates her native heritage, stunning nasty Nathan into silence, and earning the respect and friendship of the other children. “Lila is still called Crow. But she doesn’t mind.”Grimard’s use of the crow symbol is particularly apt. Corvidae are birds renowned for their intelligence and self-awareness. (They recognize themselves in mirrors.) As well, the birds are widespread across North America and they, along with their larger cousins, the ravens, have symbolic significance for many of our Indigenous peoples. (We should note that Grimard’s dedication of the book references “…the crows of Yellowknife”; Lila’s ancestry may be other than that of the official Crow Nation currently located in Montana, and, at one time, existent in southern Alberta.)In sum, Lila and the Crow belongs in every elementary school library. In the best case scenario, it would be used in anticipation of the arrival of a child who is markedly different from the “norm” of the school population. At the very least, it might help change attitudes if and when name calling has begun. There is no forseeable end to the cultural and physical diversity of humankind, and acceptance of this diversity is the hallmark of Canadian democracy. Grimard’s book is a wonderful introduction to this concept.Reviewer: Leslie AitkenHighly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Leslie Aitken’s long career in librarianship included selection of children’s literature for school, public, special and academic libraries. She is a former Curriculum Librarian of the University of Alberta.

Neoliberalism, Authoritarian-Populism, and the “Photo-Op Democracy” of the Publicity State: Changes to Legislative and Parliamentary Norms by the Harper Government

AbstractSeveral recent reports seek to evaluate the impact of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Canadian democracy by documenting his government's efforts to curtail established democratic processes and mechanisms for public debate. However, this article uses examples of the Harper government's changes to legislative and parliamentary norms to demonstrate that this government's efforts to curtail multi-directional public debate were importantly accompanied by efforts to amplify unidirectional communication of the government's partisan messages. The paper finds that this corresponding emphasis on communication exemplified a “photo-op” approach to democracy, which highlights points of compatibility between the seemingly contradictory authoritarian-populist “publicity state” and neoliberal democratic ideals. This research demonstrates the necessity of attention to government communication in analysis of the Harper government's impact on the Canadian public sphere. It also illustrates the pragmatic rather than doctrinaire nature of New Right politics in Canada and the affinity between neoliberal and authoritarian-populist approaches to governance.

Muslims, Socio-cultural Integration, and Pride in Canadian Democracy

In this paper, I use the General Social Survey 2013 (Cycle 27) and address three aspects of integration anxiety about Muslims in Canada: a) the extent to which Muslim immigrants' level of integration differs from other religious denominations, b) how Muslims differ from other groups in their support for democracy, and c) whether there is a relationship between integration and support for democracy. Results show that contrary to the anxiety of some academics, policymakers, and the public, Muslim immigrants in Canada are equally, if not more, integrated than Christians or other religious immigrants. They also express a higher sense of pride in Canadian democracy when compared to Christians or other religious groups. Finally, integrated immigrants have as much pride in Canadian democracy as assimilated ones, and both have more pride in Canadian democracy than those who are marginalized or have a separatist orientation. The implication of these findings for anxiety about Muslims' incompatibility with Western values are discussed.

“But it is not getting any safer!”: The Contested Dynamic of Framing Canada's Military Mission in Afghanistan

AbstractThe Canadian government and military struggled to control its media framing of the war in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2009. This content analysis (n= 900) critically investigates the mediated dynamic of framing Canada's military mission in Afghanistan. This study found that while journalists overwhelmingly indexed their stories to elite sources, they frequently impeached the frames sponsored by government and military leaders. Journalists used elite criteria to fact check the frames of military and government leaders. Most of the coverage was episodic and event-oriented rather than thematic and contextual. While Canadian journalists challenged official claims of improving security, for instance, their coverage lacked context and critical appraisal of Canada's military mission in Afghanistan, raising questions about journalism's normative role in Canadian democracy.

The Contested Origins of Canadian Democracy

This article takes up the debate about Canadian democratization, arguing that Canada was not democratic in 1867 and that the various electoral reforms pursued throughout the late nineteenth century were not part of a democratic agenda. Instead, they were the product of competing political elites seeking to stabilize an emerging liberal order—a form of government responsive to the economically privileged—and to do so in a way that would favour their political party. Previous scholars have mischaracterized the creation of this liberal order as a democratic one, either by assuming that democracy was established in 1867, or mistaking what were essentially struggles over property rights for democratic rights. This has led to a misunderstanding of the factors that have contributed to establishing and reproducing Canada’s limited democracy.

Accessing with Dinosaurs: Protecting Access to Government Information in the Cretaceous Period of Canadian Democracy

In many ways, our democratic institutions, processes, and frameworks resemble the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period...They have ceased to evolve sufficiently and are being left behind in an environment where technological innovations and greater expectations for political consultation, participation, and accountability have combined to present new challenges to the legitimacy, and perhaps the viability, of the status quo. Indeed, without further evolution, one wonders how our democratic dinosaurs will be able to survive cataclysmic events on the horizon, including escalating terrorism events and their aftermath.