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Elements of Democracy I believe Canada does not have a true democracy. Canada does not exhibit three of eight elements of democracy: political equality, common good and human dignity. One of the elements of having a democracy is political equality. Political equality is when every citizen has the right to vote and run for office and to speak on public issues. However the requirement to be able to vote and run for office in Canada is you must be a Canadian citizen and be above the age of 18. I think that people under 8 should at least be able to vote on issues and who their leader will be.
The reason I think this, is because a lot of the issues we have to deal with also affect kids under 18. When it comes to educational issues people under 18 should have the right to vote because these are the issues that affect them the most. I think the least non- Canadian citizens should have the right to is the ability to vote for their leader. Despite the fact that they may not have been in Canada for long it is still where they ive and they should therefore have the right of say in issues affecting their country and them.
The second element, common good, means that democratic citizens work towards what will make the most people safe secure and happy. It means that they will have a sense of responsibility and caring for others. As much as some Canadians citizens will deny, there is not equal common good for the people of Canada. In Canada there are millions of families that struggle everyday Just to make ends meet. There are so many people that are Just under the line of poverty.
However many of these low income earning families are not getting help and are expected to fend for themselves. A study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that Aboriginal Canadians made 30% less income than their non-aboriginal Canadian counterparts, in terms of salary. Not only is this not a good representation of the common good but it is plain disrespect, another element of a democracy, and it is unacceptable. Other groups living in poverty include lone parents, recent immigrants, people with disabilities and seniors according to Statistics Canada.
The Canadian government should be looking out for these groups of people and making a better for life for them instead of worrying of ways to make the rich richer. Lastly, very recently the government (or rather a certain person) haven’t been holding up the dignity of Canada. Rob Ford, despite being only a municipal leader has put Canada to shame. He is only a mayor so it’s strange that he has embarrassed a whole nation, however he is the mayor of Toronto; one of the biggest and most famous cities in Canada.
Rob Ford has embarrassed his country by smoking crack and with his drunken antics. Toronto has been the Joke of the nation lately and even in other countries such as being mentioned on plenty of late night talk shows on American TV. He has represented Canada in a negative way, and according to the eight elements of democracy holding up the dignity of the people makes a true democracy and Rob Ford has not done that. Until Canada can get over some of these aforementioned issues we cannot consider ourselves a true democracy. The Elements of Democracy By anoJavicky