Are Canadian Political Values Becoming Americanized?

Are Canadian Political Values Becoming Americanized? Canada and the United States may be the most extreme case of the small nation, big neighbor syndrome but when asked to point the main differences between the two countries, more than 70 people from both the sides said that Canada is just like a shadow of America. But what makes them make this confound argument? On what basis have they decided that they are the same? And on the other hand why does the rest of the 30% think that they are different? Going against all the odds, I would like to oppose the fact that Canadian Values are becoming Americanized by evaluating healthcare, the global culture and the free trade agreement between the two countries. Since the early 90s, the US has been successful in making a security system for the elder people, a medical help for the welfare recipients which can be called disorganized as there was no public funding in the health care center for the rest of the population. Canada on the other hand relied on a constitutionally entrenched system of equalization transfers from have to have-not provinces to balance roughly welfare state provisions, while the US adopted no such approach. . When needed, it is easy for Citizens of Canada to get healthcare or needs some assistance from welfare then it is easily available. The United States have said that they desire to have the same. Along with universal health care, Canadas welfare system is distinct from the United States. As Bashevkin pointed out, Canadas remain even while the United States remain uneven. Canada is portrayed as an executive political system with different languages and various significant regional bonds, where legislative, executive and judicial power and control lies largely in the hands of the prime minister. This horizontally centralized control system allows Canadian political elites in a majority government to impose their preferences more readily than executives in a horizontally decentralized case like the US, where a constitutional separation of powers creates multiple veto points across the three branches of government. In a more racially divided society with a diffuse congressional regime, American presidents are generally unable to command the concentrated institutional levers available to their Canadian counterparts. My next argument will state about the free trade argument between the two countries and its evaluation. Since before Confederation, Canadas national identity has been defined in part by its relation- ship to the United States. In Canada, this relationship has been characterized by divisive tensions between believers in the economic benefits of closer commercial relations with the US and those who have feared that free trade would Americanize Canada, either literally in the form of joining the union or figuratively in terms of values and culture. These conflicts have been particularly evident over the past 15 years, as Canada entered into the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement in 1988, which was expanded six years later to include Mexico in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Opponents of these agreements argued that they would cause jobs to be lost, wages to decline, inequality to increase, Canadas national identity to be undermined, and the capacity to forge distinctive policies to be vitiated. Proponents of free trade claimed that it would foster tremendous economic benefits and vehemently denied that it would lead to the Americanization of Canada. For Canada, globalization is effectively 80 percent Americanization. That figure represents the percentage of Canadian exports that go to the United States. Clearly, it is too simplistic to reduce the complex nature of US influence to trade relations. Nonetheless, that percentage is an effective representation of the importance of the United States in Canadas external relations with the world. Indeed, when one considers the cultural content of the media to which Canadians are exposed, the 80 percent figure is probably conservative. The main theme of the North American integration research for the Project on Trends is that the consequences of continental integration have not been as formidable as widely believed. Despite a sharp rise in trade dependence as a result of the Free Trade Agreement and growing American dominance of global media, the border between the two countries still matters. Admittedly, some policy instruments have been surrendered in exchange for access to larger mark ets. In addition, pressures for harmonization do exist, and have probably in- creased. But Canada still retains significant room to manoeuvre even in the areas of policy most affected by growing economic integration. (Hoberg, G. 350) The next argument is related to Globalization and Culture. With its awe-inspiring characteristics like limited government, an open society and Internationalism, Canada holds a position somewhere between France and United States when it comes to Cultural Politics. Just like India and Nepal, Canada and United States practice International Culture co-operation by engaging themselves in bipartite and multipartite activities. Like Kevin V. MULCAHY said that it represents an interesting case when countries like Canada-United States define statements like where you sit determines where you stand. For the United States, culture is judged generally to be a sidebar in the spectrum of politics among nations, as cultural expression is more often considered to be a commodity than a value of identity. For Canada, culture is a much more central concern in its bilateral relations with the United States given this asymmetrical relationship. The International trade agreement has really affected the cultural, political and economic relations between the two countries, to a limit that is very unusual but the artistic provisions of such a commitment, the work process of the cultural sector can clearly raise a debate on this political subject of Canadian Values becoming Americanized. Even though Canada is sensitive about its identification and coherence, there is awareness and the cultural practices ARE given a lot of importance. The counter arguments: Virtually, the cultural relations of these 2 peas in a pod may have their own identity in their own divergent and heterogeneous ways between power and smaller neighbor commonality, their adjoining population and keeping in mind the geographical condition of Canada. This may conclude for many others that Cultural, Rational and Political mix of Canadian Values and Culture stand more on the side of dependency of the United States. As is often the case, where a small nation has a big neighbor, geographic propinquity can create awkward, even difficult, cultural relations. (De la Garde, Gilsdorf, and Wechselmann, 1993) None of this is to suggest a loss of Canadian political sovereignty. Yet, Canada has had to grapple with a persistent stereotype of being the fifty-first American state. As such, colonialism (the cultural dominance of a stronger power over another) persists in its post-colonial era: moreover, there is a significant question about whether political sovereignty can be sustained without cultural independence and the concomitant value of individual identity. In sum, how can a distinct Canadian identity thrive in the face of a hegemonic American culture? Evidence- Canada does not have that unique point which acts as an advantage of differentiating them and giving them an edge over the other countries like the United States does. For example barely one percent of the movies that Americans watch are foreign (Mulcahy,2003). The attitude and their vast cultural diversities that American Industry has, galvanizes the fact about the Americanization of Canada. The US has clearly been dominating the Canada Free Trade agreement since the beginning of this new decade. The rivalry with the UK and US were preety much the same since the early 19th Century but after the Second World War there was a clear increase in trade with the US. The imports were measurable but the imports were much more from the US then it was from the UK. The world war had clearly left a major impact on the trade and the economic policies. The markets were devastated as 70% of the imports for Canada came from the US. In the wake of the Free Trade Agreement, there was a sharp (15 percentage point) increase in Canadas dependence on trade with the US. In 1998, total exports constituted a staggering 40 percent of GDP, with the US accounting for 84 percent of that total, Or 33 percent of GDP. Thus, while trade dependence was quite high previously, the current levels of trade dependence, globally and on the US in particular, are record setting. The Rebuttal Although small in population, Canada is home to two major linguistic societies and may be ideally positioned to mediate a global cultural perspective that is an alternative to the hegemony of American entertainment. A hybrid Canadian culture, which is post-colonial, bi-lingual and multi-cultural, could serve as a model for other nations that seek to retain their heritage and identity without retreating into autarchy or dependency. Like Kevin said Unlike Canada, the United States does not have such a distinct society, which Accounts for about 22% of its population. Accordingly, Canadian commitment to Multiculturalism has had to accommodate both individual rights and collective rights. In the U.S., everyone is legally equal to be American. In Canada, one is guaranteed the right to be Canadian, as well as the right to retain ones ascriptive identity. In this sense, Canada has had significant experience with policies that protect cultural diversity. Canadian culture does not rest as heavily on American principles of assimilation and homogenization; rather, there is accommodation and heterogeneity. As a broad generalization, Canada is a cultural mosaic in contrast to the American melting pot. Talking about the Free Trade Agreement, I agreed Canada has a few tough choices to make and the road ahead is not smooth but it is attainable. The Free Trade Area of the Americas is under negotiation, but the US Congress denied President Clinton the fast-track authority necessary to get Americans properly engaged. Nonetheless, the momentum still appears to be in the direction of increasing rather than decreasing international economic integration. Given the geography of trade, it seems unlikely that even if these agreements fail to go forward, the close integration of the Canadian and US economies is likely to change in any fundamental way. Conclusion: Being a part of North America and sitting right on the North of North America, it is not surprising that many might believe that Canada is slowly turning to be a sub-nation or is becoming Americanized but considering the facts like healthcare, welfare, the free trade agreement and other policies and various other elements of the political culture of this country would clearly define them to be different then the United States of America. Even the free trade agreement gives Canada quite an edge over the US. The imports might have been higher as compared to the exports in the early 2000 but ever since after that the imports have been similar to the exports i.e. 70%.. The culture of Canada is totally different as compared to the United States even though they celebrate the same festivals the way they celebrate is different and differences like these affect a lot and leave a major impact when differentiating the two countries. The culture has always been kind of similar but that does not mean that Canada is becoming Americanized. The government is totally different and the only part which I think is becoming Americanized is that Canada has more Starbucks now than it used to. Court Report Essay: Sexual Offences Court Report Essay: Sexual Offences Court Report Name of the Court: The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) (the Supreme Court) Location: 6 Knowles Place Canberra ACT 2600 Honourable Judge: Justice Hilary Ruth Penfold Court Room No: No.5 in Supreme Court building Name of the case: R v Michael John Stratford Case No.: (SCC250/2016) Defendant: Michael John Stratford (Grandfather) Date of hearing: 22.03.2017 Time of hearing of case: 12.30pm Legislation: Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) INTRODUCTION On 22 March 2017 at 12:30pm, I attended the criminal trial of R v Michael John Stratford (SCC250/2016) in Court Room 5 of the ACT Supreme Court located 6 Knowles Place Canberra ACT 2600 where Honable Justice Hilary Ruth Penfold heard the matter and sentence hand down to the accused/offender. Present in the court room was Crown Prosecutor, who was assisted by an instructing solicitor from the Director Public Prosecutions. Representation for the defendant included defence barrister and instructing by solicitor. Also present at the trial were court officers, members of the public and the family members of victim and accused. THE CHARGE the accused aged sixty-four-year-old was charged with the ten time sexual offences/indecency act with his 12-year-old granddaughter without her consent which carries minimum sentence of 12 year of imprisonment. However, s70(2) of Crimes Act[1] allows the jury to find alternative verdict for an act of indecency (s60(1))[2] instead, which carries a maximum penalty of 7 year of imprisonment[3]. FACTS OF THE CASE Mr. Statford was charged under the offence of indecency act with his granddaughter. He committed this crime in his own house while his son and daughter-in-law was going to New Zealand for business trip and left their daughter for babysitting into his real parents house. Accused was the real grandfather of victim. The age of the victim was 12-year-old and age of accused/offender was 64 year old at the time of sexual act of indecency. Accused did ten times act of indecency with his granddaughter. Accuseds wife who are also real grandmother of the victim was witness of that act when accused did that tenth time with victim and then she reported to the police. According to Mr. Statford, victim also involved with consent in that activity. He also stated that he always asked permission from victim before did that act. IS THIS A SUMMARY MATTER OR INDICTABLE MATTER? This is an indictable matter because these types of offenses are serious in nature and requires many hearing and take a longer time to resolve. Jury and Judge consider each aspect of this matter for conclusion and for final verdict. This matter was reported to police in July 2016 and today court hand down sentence to the offender/accused. PAST HISTORY AND CRIMINAL RECORD OF ACCUSED Honable judge read-out some previous life and criminal history of accused that Mr. Statford was a single parent child and abused by his mother also faced financial hardship. He has ten charge of theft in 1998 and 6 charge of dishonesty but not on his real name. He was also patient of two mental hospital one was Batsman-Bay Hospital and other was Goulbourn Mental Hospital. THE LAW Sexual Intercourse without Consent: Crimes Act 1900(ACT) Section 54 A person who engages in sexual intercourse with another person without the consent of that other person and who knows that that other person does not consent, or who is reckless as to whether that other person consents, to the sexual intercourse is guilty of an offence punishable, on conviction, by imprisonment for 12 years.[4] Indecent assaults/Acts of Indecency: Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) S60 Act of indecency without consent (1) A person who commits an act of indecency on, or in the presence of, another person without the consent of that person and who knows that that other person does not consent, or who is reckless as to whether that other person consents, to the committing of the act of indecency is guilty of an offence punishable, on conviction, by imprisonment for 7 years.[5] Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) S61L Indecent assault Any person who assaults another person and, at the time of, or immediately before or after, the assault, commits an act of indecency on or in the presence of the other person, is liable to imprisonment for 5 years.[6] Act of Indecency with consent or without consent: Indecency is an ordinary English word which means indecent behaviour. It is for the jury to decide that whether the facts of the case amount to indecency or not.[7] Generally, it has sexual meaning which followed by the ordinary meaning approach which connected with the areas of the body associated with the sexual activity.[8] Courts has also referred to what right-minded persons would consider in directing the jury: This case also recognized that some conduct might be considered inherently indecent, some might be vague. (This case Accused had spanked 12-year girl across the buttocks admitted to buttock fetish).[9] ELEMENT OF THE OFFENCE Physical element (Actus Res) of this case: In my observation while I was listening the sentencing order, actus res was present and the conduct of offender was voluntary during every time he touched the private parts of victims body and also did the indecency act while no body present at home and he repeated that act of indecency several times. Fault element (Mens Rea) of this case: Offenders intention towards victim was not good. Offender has knowledge about his act which he did with victim. He had malafide intention of sexual act towards victim. Mental Element of Indecent Assault: Under common law, accused intentionally or recklessly touched victims body or intentionally or recklessly threatened that unlawful force would be applied.[10] PURPOSE OF THIS OFFENCE In my opinion, there was two purpose of this offence; Accused/Offender had dark hidden fantasy about incest and fulfilled his dark fantasy. Accused/Offender had a psychiatric disorder named Pedophilia[11] in which a person has sexual attraction to prepubescent children, generally age 13 years or younger. JUSTICE PENFOLDS CONSIDERATION TOWARDS ACCUSED Prior to sentencing Mr Statford, Justice Penfold discussed the following observations of Mr Parkinsons circumstances: Criminal record of theft and dishonesty. An unhappy childhood, with an abusive mentally ill mother. Financial hardship. Employment history comprising mainly trade and labour jobs. Patient in two Mental hospital one was Goulbourn Hospital and other was Batsman bay hospital. Unsuccessful married life. Three time divorced. Two time tried to suicide due to his mental condition/ JUSTICE PENFOLDS CONSIDERATION TOWARDS VICTIM 12-year-old girl who never know what happed with her. Breach of trust towards trustworthy relations. Her short but strong statement, you have to kept this secret from everyone. TOTAL PENALTY/SENTENCE AWARDED BY COURT Generally maximum penalty of this offence is 7 years of imprisonment [12]but after all consideration and circumstances as well as observations of jury in this matter, Honable court awarded sentence 6 year and 6 month of imprisonment. CONCLUSION After attending a sentence hearing, now I understand that there is a lot of considerations to be taken while sentencing and sentencing is a really complicated and complex issue. In my opinion, accused did very serious offense which might affected the mental health of victim in future as well as worst impact on society because it is also a matter of trust between the close relations. To conclude this, I strongly agreed with the sentence handed out by the Honable judge. I also understand that a persons past history and relevant cases must be taken into consideration when assessing these types of issues. Finally, through sex offender programme in relation to child abuse should prevent the offender from committing the crimes again. Bibliography: A- Books David, Brown, David Farrier Sundra Egger Luke McNamara Alex steel Michael Grewcock and Donna spears, Criminal Laws materials and commentary on Criminal Law and Process of New South Wales (The Federation Press 6th ed, 2015) B- Legislation Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) Criminal Code 1995 (Cth) [1] Crimes Act 1900 (ACT). [2] Ibid. [3] Ibid, s60. [4] Ibid. [5] Ibid. [6] Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). [7] R v Nazif [1987] 2 NZLR 122 at 127. [8] Harkin (1989) 38 A Crim R 296 at 301. [9] R v Court [1989] AC 28 at 42 per Lord Acker. [10] Drago v The Queen (1992) 8 WAR 488. [11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedophilia [12] Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) s60.