Responsible Government In The Canadian Regime Essay

Responsible Government In The Canadian Regime - Essay Example Soon, people began to agitate and rebel seeking "reform" of the constitutional system. As a result, Lord Durham was sent to Canada to investigate the cause of the rebellions and to figure out a solution. Lord Durham stressed that "the complete assimilation of French Canadians" (Malcomson and Myers 2005) was necessary and proposed the Act of Union. Further, he stated that a responsible government was needed to handle the situation and the British Government eventually acknowledged the idea. Canada's constitution has therefore been under the principle of responsible government, based on the fusion of power, which is distinct from a separation of powers. This fusion of power is the most important and fundamental factor in the responsible government system that helps the Canadian government remarkably efficient. It also increase voters' accountability, and imposes strong influence over the confidence in the House of Commons. The responsible government which depends on the fusion of power, allows the cabinet not only to acts as an executive but also to take a role in legislative action. There are no "standstills of the sort[and] once the cabinet backed by a parliamentary majoritythere is nothing to stand in its way." (Malcomson and Myers 2005) Because the same group is responsible for legislating, practicing and enforcing the law, they can take decisions without transferring the proposal from one branch to another for permission. Moreover, in a responsible government, the "power is married to responsibility". (Kam, Sept 19, 2006) Under separation of powers, it is hard to blame a particular branch or a person for unsatisfactory political events. However, in a responsible government, the power is fused into one system, and therefore, the responsibility for positive or negative events lies on one entity alone. This also influences the voters' evaluation of their elected servants. The fusion of power increases the accountability to the voters much more than separation of powers. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister and the cabinet's legitimacy solely depend on the confidence of the House of Commons which generates unique characteristics for the government. The prime minister and the cabinet are not directly elected by the people. Because of this, their democratic legitimacy depends on the confidence of the House of Commons. Consequently, if the members of the party do no support each other and cooperate in order to endorse the ministry, they will soon lose the confidence of the House and their right to rule would be taken away. For this reason, the party discipline in Canada is pretty strong. Furthermore, it prompts MPs to vote in support of their party instead of their constituents' desires. The dependence on the confidence of the House of Commons also influences the date of the election in Canada. Under the principle of separation of powers, each branch and the president are elected separately. Once they are elected, they each have their own mandate. However, in Canada, "the timing of parliamentary elections is normally decided by the prime minister". They "canlose that confidence at anytime,[so] it is essential to be able to hold elections at any time." (Malcomson and Myers 2005) The responsible government system originated from the British, but soon percolated into the Canadian government, creating distinctive features in the

The issue of regional currency unification Essay

The issue of regional currency unification - Essay Example However, the important and fundamental differences between the European Union and the other regions needs to be viewed critically, because the circumstances obtained in the case of EU with regard to the regional currency unification is significantly different compared to the other regions mainly in terms of political background, level of interactions among the member states, diplomatic relationships, cultural differences, historical political relationships among these countries, the level of maturity and understanding on the part of the various stakeholders with regard to the benefits that might arise out of currency unification. Apart from the economic considerations, which are not insurmountable in any case, the political situations in the different countries in the region both domestically and in relation to the neighboring countries and the leadership issues in these countries could act as a stumbling block in the progress towards regional currency unification. Economic integrati on in the developing world Currency substitution in the backdrop of globalization is the common phenomenon in many countries. US Dollar has been used in several countries outside the US, and Euro outside EU countries simultaneously alongside the local currencies. This practice is prevalent in most of the countries in travel, tourism and hotel industries, where the US Dollar and Euro are accepted freely. There are many full- fledged money changers registered with the centrals banks of various countries doing business around the world, who exchange currencies of a country for currencies of other countries. Currency movements across the borders have substantially increased over the period of time on account of remittances by the nationals residing in foreign countries consequent upon liberalization and globalization of economies. In the integration process of the global economy, absolute control over supply and circulation of money by the state has given way to the unification of regio nal currencies, which may subsequently pave way for common currency for the world as a whole or at the best few currencies. Debates on replacement of national currency with the common currency by all the countries in a specified region, as in the case of Euro, have gathered momentum at regional level in various parts of the globe. For instance, the idea of common currency for SAARC countries (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), ASEAN countries, regional African countries and so on are on conceptual level at various stages. Regional unification of currencies The move towards regional currency regime need not be considered as a surrender of sovereignty by the nations in the unification process. Rather it is a process of coming together by various nations recognizing the need for unification, justified by the benefits of currency unification in the economic development of the constituent countries. According to Cohen (2003, p. 2), the emergence of regional currencies can be regarded as a logical corollary of the intense competitive contest among monies – a Darwinian struggle where, ultimately, only the fittest may survive. The decision of a country with regard to unification of currencies is dependent upon several factors such as size of the economy, stability in the financial markets, and its exposure to international trade, political situation in the country and its diplomatic relationship with the other countries in the