麻豆视频

Forever is a long time鈥�

By Kelly Running

听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 Bring on the change. In Canada politicians, namely our prime ministers, can basically be in power forever, well, in a sense.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 In Canada the prime minister does not have a fixed term that they serve for. They are the premier minister of the Crown and are serving in the name of Queen Elizabeth II. A prime minister can serve for their lifetime although a limit of five years has been placed on them through the constitution.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 While reading through what exactly the prime minister position entails it appears as though they do serve for life because even after those five years are up, they can maintain their position as prime minister at different levels. If their party has a majority then they are prime minister, if the opposition wins a majority then the prime minister can resign or be dismissed by the governor general. However, if the prime minister鈥檚 party obtains a minority while the opposition wins a minority they can keep office by forming a coalition with other minority parties. So, even if a different party obtains a plurality 鈥� more seats than any other party but still a minority 鈥� a coalition can be made which keeps the prime minister in that position.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 This seems like an awful lot of power to be giving to someone within a democracy. We already have people serving for life, our monarchy, but why should someone that is part of a democratic system gain almost a lifetime position? This doesn鈥檛 make sense to me.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 In the United States, which trust me is far from perfect but they have presidents who serve for two-terms of four years, although there is a clause that allows for more. Franklin D. Roosevelt served three full terms. During his time the world was in disarray dealing with the repercussions of the depression as well as navigating the United States through World War II. Four years after his three terms, Roosevelt actually ran a fourth time and gained office, though he passed away shortly after due to a cerebral hemorrhage.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Change, however, can be a very good thing at the right time and it should not be a lifetime position running the country, like it kind of is in Canada, unless a different party earns a majority or a coalition is not struck up between parties as I explained above.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Some would likely argue that it鈥檚 the party you鈥檙e voting on and not the prime minister, so why does it really matter who has the title and if it is for life. Over the years looking at Canadian prime ministers and U.S. presidents, the thing is, each individual has different focuses and will bring about different kinds of change even if they are representing the same party.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 They each have their own agendas and beliefs because let鈥檚 face it, they鈥檙e human. So, limiting their terms to say six years as opposed to a lifetime might be beneficial as it would allow them to accomplish what they have in mind for the country and then the next person with their party can be brought in, because despite being part of the same party people view different issues as the ones that need to be addressed. By limiting the position of prime minister this would likely benefit the country because you don鈥檛 want a country run by 鈥測es men,鈥� because then a democracy develops into a power grab for a party headed by one individual. And because you just have to be 18-years-old to run, a lifetime could last awhile.

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Prime Ministerial power in Canada

Lynne Bell

听听听听听听听听听听听 With federal elections looming in both Canada and in the U.S., Kelly and I decided to examine the term limits that each country's leader is bound by-that is, in Canada, the Prime Minister is not bound by any limits on how many terms he or she can serve, while in America, all presidents are restricted to serving a maximum of two terms of four years each.

听听听听听听听听听听听 While researching this column (and frantically harkening back to ancient Social Studies classes), I was reminded that the office of Prime Minister in this country allows this particular elected official to wield an extraordinary amount of power.

听听听听听听听听听听听 As I'm sure you all know, The Queen is Canada's Head of State, the Governor General is her official representative, and of course, the Prime Minister is this country's elected head of government.

听听听听听听听听听听听 The power of the Prime Minister's office extends to many jurisdictions and is not subject to as many checks and balances as one would think.

听听听听听听听听听听听 For most intents and purposes, the Prime Minister's influence extends to the ruling party's Members of Parliament. This means that any bills that are introduced and passed into law are almost certain to have the approval of the PM. The Prime Minister also is the chair of (and appoints) the Cabinet, which is at best, is a sounding board and at worst, a group of yes-people who agree with any decision(s) their leader makes.

听听听听听听听听听听听 In addition, Canadian Prime Ministers appoint the Governor-General, members of the Senate, Supreme Court Justices (and other officers of federal courts), ambassadors, board members and presidents of Crown corporations, as well as members of other federal boards that include: the refugee board, the parole board and the labour relations board, among others.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Canada's PM is also the Commander-in-Chief of all branches of our country's military and can appoint members of the military's senior hierarchy, including the country's Chief of Defence Staff.

听听听听听听听听听听听 So it's not surprising that the sitting Prime Minister can also call an election at a time that is usually most convenient for their (ruling) party.

听听听听听听听听听听听 My first impulse upon rediscovering these facts-via my school-starved memory and Google-was to argue in favour of an American-style, two-term limit for our most powerful elected leader.

听听听听听听听听听听听 But when put in practice, the U.S. system of two-term limits for presidents isn't perfect, either.

听听听听听听听听听听听 During their second term, presidents have been known to aggressively push through legislation before the clock runs out, fundraise for (vanity) legacy projects-such as presidential libraries, engage in retirement planning on a big scale, or simply, seemingly phone in their second serving term on the job.

听听听听听听听听听听听 In most western democracies-like Canada and the U.S.-changing such an ingrained part of our electoral system(s) is a herculean task, and would be probably more expensive and time-consuming trouble than it's worth.

听听听听听听听听听听听 So what's a Canadian citizen to do? Well, one thing Kelly and I do agree on regarding this issue is that we are indeed privileged-as citizens of this country-to have the right to vote, regardless of when or how often elections are called.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Voting is a privilege that too many of our fellow citizens of the world lack and as citizens of a western democracies, both Canadians and Americans-as voters-still control the outcome of our countries' elections, no matter when or how often they are called.

听听听听听听听听听听听 So please, on Tuesday, Oct. 19-vote! 听