Canadian Democracy in a North American - Assignment Example

College Canadian Democracy in a North American Introduction David R. Cameron and Jacqueline D. Krikorian are the of the article “Recognizing Quebec in the Constitution of Canada.” Cameron is the professor and chairperson of political science at the University of Toronto. Professor Cameron is a well experienced author in the law field. His co-author is also an associate professor of public policy at the University of New York. They expound on some of the challenges that this province is going through to preserve its rich French culture and language. Quebec being the only province in Canada that speaks French, the two professors try to identify the laws that affect Quebec and how relevant these laws are to the French population. To try and support the province, they analyze ways in which the province can be recognized in the Constitution of Canada without any trouble. This would, however, require amendments that will not only require the expertise of the legislation but will also have to be passed by a majority of votes in the other provinces. Is it necessary for Quebec to have its own language and hence promote their rich French culture? Body Quebec has always had a rich history in French culture and language. However, the other parts of the country speak English and do not have the rich French culture that exists in Quebec. Preserving the French culture has always proved to be a problem and as a result of this, the leaders have come with amendments that will allow each province to be able to determine some issues affecting them without having to affect other provinces. For example in this case, Quebec could be able to change its laws and make French the official language in the province unlike other provinces which have English being their official language. However, it will mean that the constitution will have to be amended to allow each province to choose its respective language without legislative opposition. The bilateral constitution amendments process has to be limited to only a few issues and should not include issues that are critical to the country’s security and economy such as voting periods. At the moment, however, it is not possible for any province to amend its constitution without legislative approval. The process began in 1982 when the country adopted a new constitutional amendment process that ensures that Canada changes its constitution without the inclusion of the British. It has, however, been argued that during this period, the amendments were made without the approval of Quebec – a major province that had over a quarter of the entire population at that particular period of time. This was ironical since Quebec had played a major role in ensuring that Canada got these amendments. However, the country’s legislature completely ignored the agenda that Quebec had for this particular change. After this, there have been several failed attempts to accept the changes that Quebec proposes to the constitution. The main arguments of the authors are that Quebec has always had a rich French culture that has always been protected by the people all through the years. The people, therefore, need these cultural values that include the French language to be protected by law. This would mean that French becomes the official language of the province. However, currently the law does not recognize the bilateral amendment process. The authors argue that in 1982, Quebec fought for a new constitution that would allow the country to amend its own constitution without Britain’s help. Quebec also proposed the inclusion of bilateral constitution amendment, a system that would allow each province to change some of its laws that did not include controversial statements that were important to the country. However, during the constitutional amendment process, Quebec was not included in the process and some of its needs were not met. Despite the constant complaints by the Quebec leaders, there has not been a consensus on how to promote culture in the area. It is important to note that the amendment process would not affect other provinces. This means that the amendment would not require a majority vote in order to be passed. The authors argue that the exclusion of Quebec in the amendment process has no justification as this area contains more than a quarter of the entire population. It is, therefore, ironical that the same province that fought for the constitutional amendments had to be left out of the process. Since French culture is important to the people of Quebec, it is their right to fight and protect it. In the mid-1980s, the prime minister proposed an amendment of the constitution that would ensure remedy of the Quebec concerns. In this statement, the prime minister recognized the existence of a francophone group of people in Canada that spoke French and lived mainly in Quebec. The provision is said to ensure that before issuance of any judgment, judges had to show a difference in any legislation that was meant to protect the French language since this was a violation of human rights. However, this provision did not gather enough support especially in Manitoba and Newfoundland. This was due to the rejection of French culture by the English speaking Canadians (Cameron and Krikorian 20). Despite the authors’ efforts to convince people to support the bilateral amendment process, there are questions that still arise from the outcome that this process would bring to the nation. First, language is one of the major things that contribute to national unity. Almost every known country has one language that unifies them: a language that is considered to be the national language. By excluding the province of Quebec from having its own language different from that of other provinces, national unity will be compromised. The exclusion of the province from having its own language would also mean that the province would not participate fully in most of the activities taking place in other parts of the country and vice versa. It means that it would require a translator at some point for one Canadian to communicate with another one. This would not promote national unity among all states. The bilateral constitution amendment process would also mean that every province, and not only Quebec, has the right to change its language and other parts of the constitution that they feel are not good for them. When this is passed, it would mean that there would be different laws that will be adopted in other provinces and would affect the general uniformity that exists in the nation. For example, one province may decide to change its system of education. Student transfer from a French speaking province to a non-French speaking province can also be cumbersome as it would be difficult for them to adapt. There are a lot of challenges that the proposed law would come with as opposed to the benefits that it will bring to the minority. In writing this proposal and analysis, the author did not put the interest of national unity in place but instead, focused on other issues that were only beneficial to a minority in the country. This article has a lot of value that is important especially to the people of Quebec. First, the authors identify the importance of the French culture to the province of Quebec and how these language and culture can be protected and preserved in the province. The importance of bilateral constitutional amendment is also discussed properly in the article. After reading the whole paper, one is able to know the importance of bilateral amendment to the country as a whole. The history of constitutional amendment process is also important and is well discussed. One is able to know the exact periods of time when such crucial steps were taken in the country. Conclusion Even though having and protecting culture is one of the basic rights the Canadians have, the inclusion of such a crucial matter in the constitution would be controversial to the country. To preserve the French language and culture, the Quebec people do not have to include this in their constitution. Rather, they can look for a way that will help promote this culture and language. For example, people can speak French in their homes and while effecting different transactions. However for official use, a national and official language is necessary. If the country is separated into different regions each speaking different languages, then there would be a lot of problems caused by this as opposed to the advantages. It would mean that national unity would be overlooked to meet the interest of the Quebec people. The bilateral constitution amendment process would also mean that every province, and not only Quebec, has the right to change their language and other parts of the constitution that they feel are not good for them. When this is passed, it would mean that there would be different laws that will be adopted in other provinces and would affect the general uniformity that exists in the nation. For example, one province may decide to change their system of education. Works Cited Cameron, David R., and Jacqueline D. Krikorian. “Recognizing Quebec in the Constitution of Canada.” Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. Print. Read More