Democracy in Canada : the disintegration of our institutions / Donald J. Savoie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Savoie, Donald J., 1947- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy--Canada.

Democracy.

Canada.

Canada--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xi, 492 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2019]

Summary:

"Canada's representative democracy is confronting important challenges. At the top of the list is the growing inability of the national government to perform its most important roles: namely mapping out collective actions that resonate in all regions as well as enforcing these measures. Others include Parliament's failure to carry out important responsibilities, an activist judiciary, incessant calls for greater transparency, the media's rapidly changing role, and a federal government bureaucracy that has lost both its way and its standing. Arguing that Canadians must reconsider the origins of their country in order to understand why change is difficult and why they continue to embrace regional identities, Democracy in Canada explains how Canada's national institutions were shaped by British historical experiences, and why there was little effort to bring Canadian realities into the mix. As a result, the scope and size of government and Canadian federalism have taken on new forms largely outside the Constitution. Parliament and now even Cabinet have been pushed aside so that policy makers can design and manage the modern state. This also accounts for the average citizen's belief that national institutions cater to economic elites, to their own members, and to interest groups at their own expense. A masterwork analysis, Democracy in Canada investigates the forces shaping the workings of Canadian federalism and the country's national political and bureaucratic institutions."-- Provided by publisher.

"Canada’s representative democracy is confronting important challenges. At the top of the list is the growing inability of the national government to perform its most important roles: namely mapping out collective actions that resonate in all regions as well as enforcing these measures. Others include Parliament’s failure to carry out important responsibilities, an activist judiciary, incessant calls for greater transparency, the media’s rapidly changing role, and a federal government bureaucracy that has lost both its way and its standing. Arguing that Canadians must reconsider the origins of their country in order to understand why change is difficult and why they continue to embrace regional identities, Democracy in Canada explains how Canada’s national institutions were shaped by British historical experiences, and why there was little effort to bring Canadian realities into the mix. As a result, the scope and size of government and Canadian federalism have taken on new forms largely outside the Constitution. Parliament and now even Cabinet have been pushed aside so that policy makers can design and manage the modern state. This also accounts for the average citizen’s belief that national institutions cater to economic elites, to their own members, and to interest groups at their own expense. A masterwork analysis, Democracy in Canada investigates the forces shaping the workings of Canadian federalism and the country’s national political and bureaucratic institutions."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Understanding Democracy p. 23

2 Understanding the Roots of Canadian Democracy p. 42

3 Canada: Setting, People, and Culture p. 72

4 Canada Then p. 91

5 Canadian Federalism Now p. 110

6 Everything Canadian Is Regional, Except National Political Institutions p. 131

Part 2 The Changing Face of Canadian Democracy

7 Getting Elected: The Deinstitutionalization of Political Parties p. 157

8 The Commons: The Institution That Fails p. 176

9 The Senate: The Institution That Never Was p. 199

10 The Cabinet: The Institution That Once Was p. 219

11 The Media: The Lost Institution p. 239

12 A Nowhere Man, in a Nowhere Land: Public Servants Now Operate in Two Institutions p. 259

13 The Public Service: An Institution with Six Goalies p. 287

14 New Forces above the Fault Line p. 307

Part 3 Why and What Now?

5 Is Canadian Democracy Failing? p. 327.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Savoie, Donald J., 1947- Democracy in Canada.

ISBN:

9780773559028

0773559027

OCLC:

1089864179