Replace this archaic institution with a citizens’ senate

Replace this archaic institution with a citizens’ senate CLAUDIA CHWALISZ Contributed to The Globe and Mail Published Monday, Jun. 15, 2015 3:00AM EDT With the expenses scandal and the unpopular Bill C-51 being passed, the Canadian Senate has recently come under fire from the New Democratic Party and the Greens. After the Senate vote on C-51, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair tweeted, “The unelected, under investigation Senate just passed #C51. Canadians can count on an #NDP government to repeal this dangerous law. #Abolish.” While the NDP has pledged to abolish the unelected, ever-growing institution for a long time, these recent events have reignited a new flame around the issue. With the party now leading in the polls, the chance of reform in the next Parliament is, for once, reasonable. Yet, what’s less clear is with what, if anything, the Senate will be replaced? Does the party want Canada to become a unicameral system, with only one legislative body? It seems this is implied, as calling for “reform” would maintain the need for a second chamber. While calling for unicameralism would be a mistake – it would reduce the government’s legitimacy due to lack of oversight – the more radical proposal of…

Minorities visibly absent in Canadian politics

Minorities Visibly Absent in Canadian Politics Written by  New Canadian Media Friday, 22 May 2015 12:58 by Mark A. Cadiz (@markacadiz) in Toronto Many Canadians boast about their country’s diversity. There is a sense of pride attached to it. Yet, when it comes to the foundation of Canada’s democracy, proportionate representation fails miserably. From municipal levels straight up the parliamentary halls of Ottawa, the demographic remains largely the same — middle-aged, white males. A study by macro economist, Kai L. Chan titled “Canada’s governing class: Who rules the country?”, reveals that as of September 2014 there were, “relative to the makeup of the [country’s] population, 107 ‘extra’ white males in Parliament, 64 ‘missing’ white females and 45 ‘missing’ minorities.”   “The numbers are the numbers . . . and the under-representation is relative to the general population,” Chan says. “I am not surprised by the findings, but it was interesting to note that women and minorities are equally under-represented relative to their levels in the population.” Chan, a government and public policy professional who moved from China to Toronto when he was four years old, conducted the study to highlight the political issues he felt were important to address in…

Canada’s parliament and its diversity problem

Canada's parliament and its diversity problem BY ASHLEY SPLAWINSKI   | JANUARY 30, 2015 Canada is widely renowned for being a 'diverse mosaic'. However, a newly released study by Kai Chan concludes that Canada's current Conservative government and cabinet are not an accurate reflection of our population. Not surprised? Perhaps it's time to contemplate the meaning of "multiculturalism" in all of its controversial glory. Why are we just questioning this now? The term 'diversity' can be used quite loosely. However, in Chan's study, it is defined through: geography, language, religion, age, gender, education, ethnicity and occupation. Chan, currently a policy advisor to the prime minster of the United Arab Emirates, stated that his motivation to study parliamentary representation was fueled by the escalating tension between Canada's Conservative government and its scientific community. The relationship between policy and science has been outlined by the Canadian Science Writers' Association (CSWA) in a statement saying that, in the past, Canada's federal scientists were encouraged to publicly discuss their research. This changed when the Conservative government introduced media policies to control communication between scientists and the public. The move to cut funding to scientific services and programs added to the scientific community's concern, resulting in…

Toronto Star article: “Parliament’s lack of diversity goes beyond race, gender: study”

January 2, 2015 Parliament’s lack of diversity goes beyond race, gender: study A study exploring the demographics of Parliament suggests a mismatch with the Canadian population that goes beyond race and gender to issues such as religion and education. Report author Kai L. Chan says a homogeneous House and Senate are likely to result in "uniformed" perspectives that do not represent the general population. By: Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter, Published on Fri Jan 02 2015 The ruling Conservatives and federal cabinet don’t look remotely close to the new Canada they represent, says a new study, which suggests there are real consequences to the lack of diversity. Kai L. Chan’s demographic study of who’s representing us in Parliament shows that the federal NDP comes closest to matching Canada’s visible-minority and gender realities, but both the House of Commons and Senate fail miserably in mirroring the diversity of Canada. “The socio-demographic biases are not without consequence as Parliament is the policy-making and political governing body of the country,” Chan writes in “Canada’s Governing Class: Who rules the country?” “When these decision makers debate the merits of initiatives, laws or policies that affect . . . women, minorities or the scientific community, the opinions of Parliament are…

Economist: Canadian politics

Letter to the Economist (Oct 4th 2014) SIR – Stephen Harper and his Conservative party will have a hard time staying in power after the next federal election in 2015. This is not because of scandals and voter fatigue with the current government, or of intrinsic liberal values of Canadians, but because the Conservative movement is not aligned with the socio-demographic realities of Canada. Among the three national political parties, the Conservatives have the lowest shares in Parliament (i.e. MPs and senators) of women (22%); French speakers (12%); and ethnic minorities (10%) in their party, in a country where the French-speaking and ethnic minorities each account for about a quarter of the population. Simply put, the Conservatives do not look (or sound) like the face of Canada. Kai Chan Dubai Letter as it appeared in the Economist (online edition only). Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2014. All rights reserved.

Daily Princetonian: A budding academic’s take on why academics support Kerry

Your friends, as they say, are the best judges of your character. Indeed, a healthy dose of criticism is cathartic, and heeding the advice of friends is a quality we all need. Besides, as the Biblical verse says, people cannot see the plank in their own eyes. Recently, a poll cited by the BBC showed that worldwide support for the presidency favored Kerry. Among the 35 countries surveyed, only Nigeria, the Philippines and Poland preferred Bush. Regardless of differences in world opinion over Iraq and how the war on terrorism is being fought, Americans should remember that these disagreements are over politics, and not with Americans themselves. Among traditional allies such as Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Japan — of which, two backed the Iraq war — John Kerry was preferred by up to 66 percent over George W. Bush. In Canada Kerry is up 61 to 16 percent. In France, it's 64 to five. In the United Kingdom, Kerry leads by 47 to 16 percent, and in Japan, Bush is down 32 to 43 percent. But the margin is largest in Germany: Kerry outpaces Bush 76 to 10 percent. So why is the world so staunchly behind Kerry?…

Daily Princetonian: In politics, religious zeal can be blinding

One must tiptoe through the tulips of religion with twinkle toes. Recently, a colleague and I discussed the French ban on conspicuous religious displays. I argued that although not perfect, the ban was appropriate. My friend, who is originally from a Muslim country but not religious, deplored the law. In fact, he so fiercely opposed the ban that he became belligerent in what was supposed to have been a civil debate between two educated persons. I referred to some anecdotal evidence that demonstrated some French-Muslim women might actually be happier with this law in place. At this point he lost his composure and began yelling: "You are not Muslim! So how do you know what (French) Muslim women think? I am Muslim, and I can tell you that the vast majority of (French) Muslim women are opposed to the ban!" In any case, he became so bellicose that a friend stepped in to calm his nerves. With that said, let me plod my size nines through the garden. What makes some people so fanatical about religion? It has the power to turn otherwise intelligent people into irrational ideologues. And lest we think that this zeal is confined only to Muslims,…

Daily Princetonian: A few of the many reasons to envy Canada

Admit it. All of you secretly wish that you were Canadian. From flag-waving American undergraduates to overseas graduate students, you are all envious of the Canadian mystique. I do not blame you for being jealous. I understand that it is this jealously that leads you to tease us "poutine" and "beaver tail" eaters. Some of you may be sheepishly asking what is so good about Canada that others would be envious. For sure, most of you are not envious of having winter nine months of the year, and neither is it that you care for eating mooseburgers or cod tongue (although they are tasty!). But if you think about it, Canada really is a great place. In addition to pristine wilderness and the best damn maple syrup in the world, Canada is a progressive country that produces progressive people. In what other country can you be in a part of a city known as Little Italy yet dining in an Indian restaurant that is owned by a Jew, albeit eating Vietnamese food and drinking "Maudite" with your half-Brazilian, half-Croatian date, while being served by a Chinese waiter, watching Anson Carter (who is black) score for team Canada to win the…