Two Opposing Concepts: The USA vs. Canada

In this post, I’d like to explain the essential difference between the USA and Canada in the conception of their founding which affects their approach to law and to authority.

First of all, the American Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” From this conception come the rights enshrined in the American Bill of Rights by way of the first ten amendments to the USA constitution. The first amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting a free exercise thereof …” Included in this amendment is the right of the people to “peaceably assemble.” The basic concept on which America rests is the notion of unalienable rights held by each citizen. The Bill of Rights limits government action. Recent cases in the Supreme Court ruled in favor of churches and against the attempts at state governors at closing them down during the Covid-19 crisis. This is one example of many that show the freedom and liberty individual Americans have in consequence of their conception of government. As an outsider, I have to say the American Constitution is one of the noblest documents created in the history of civilization. Its ideas have empowered the American nation like no other nation in the history of the world.

On the other hand, Canada’s foundation rests on an entirely different principle. The provinces of Canada joined in a federal union under the Crown (at the time of Canada’s founding, the Crown was that of Queen Victoria). By a royal decree, Queen Victoria brought into being the nation of Canada. The constitution states, “The Executive Government and Authority of and over Canada is declared to continue and be vested in the Queen.” Now, although the Queen’s authority is more symbolic than real, the important point to note is the difference between the two nations. In the USA, the nation’s foundation is its citizens with unalienable rights consenting to a government that administers the nation. In Canada, the nation’s foundation is the authority of the Queen who subsequently grants rights and freedoms to her citizens.

Canada added its Charter of Rights and freedoms to the Canadian Constitution in 1982. The Charter illustrates what I mean by rights and freedoms granted to the citizens by the Crown. The second clause of the Charter contains these words: “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion … (c) freedom of peaceful assembly …”

So far, so good. We are grateful for this document. But hold on! Don’t forget the first clause of the Charter: “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” [Emphasis added.] The freedoms in the Canadian Charter are not absolute, nor do they derive from the unalienable rights of citizens. The Crown guarantees them, but can limit them by law when, in the judgement of the Crown (i.e. the government), they “can be demonstrably justified”.

What this means is that if the government decides to limit a freedom in the Charter, the only way citizens can overturn the decision is by forcing the government to justify its position in the courts. This is much harder to do in a country where freedoms are granted, and rights are not unalienable. “Demonstrably justified” is a relative term, not a clear-cut and absolute term.

In the Covid-19 crisis, the Canadian governments (federal as well as provincial) are limiting our freedoms in various ways, due to the state of emergency presented by the pandemic. Hardly anyone denies that the pandemic presents a justification for some modification of our freedoms. The only hope churches have on the legal front in Canada is to show that the restrictions on religion are unreasonable in the circumstances, or compared to the way other freedoms are restricted (like the freedom to peacefully shop at Costco or the local marijuana shop!).

On the outside, looking at how the responses to the pandemic are playing out in various US states and Canadian provinces, the varied rules, shut downs, masks/no masks, etc. look the same in application. The authority of the governments, however rest on entirely different foundations, which affects how successful appeals to the courts might be in different jurisdictions.

Canada is a “top-down” country: the authority is at the top, the freedoms trickle down (if we are in the good graces of the Crown). The USA is a “bottom-up” country: the authority is at the bottom [citizens] who grant to their governments limited authority.

A refusal to vote for Trump is a vote for…

Hillary?

So say the rabid Trumpsters on social media. If you object to Trump and his excesses, his foolish statements and positions, you are pounced on and accused of supporting Hillary Clinton.

Well, I don’t think so. I don’t have a vote in the election (but many family members do). But like most in the world, I have an opinion.

The polls on the election fluctuate and will continue to fluctuate until the real poll, election day. However, I think the polls have consistently had Hillary ahead. As of today, the Real Clear Politics polling average has Clinton ahead by 2.7%. More important, though, is the state by state polling. Every prognostication based on state by state polling shows Hillary killing it in the Electoral College. Trump will have to get probably 10 points ahead of Hillary to overcome her advantage state by state.

I think that tells us that, barring some unforeseen miracle – a creditable third candidate, some unforeseen disaster that overtakes Hillary’s campaign, or some other unknown event – Hillary Clinton will be the next President of the United States.

All my reading about this election suggest that even Democrats are not thoroughly enamored with Hillary. She has more negatives than most candidates in history and is thoroughly beatable. So why is she leading? Because she has a clown for an opponent.

Why does she have a clown for an opponent? Because the voters in primary season voted for him.

The reality is that “A non-vote for Trump is a vote for Hillary” is just a canard. Ridiculous. It was all those votes for Trump during primary season that are the actual votes for Hillary.

Thanks Trumpsters. You’ve just elected a president worse than Obama. Hard to believe.

this may seem like heresy

But why are we concerned about Crimea?

I get that it’s Russia, and by default we should be anti-Russky. I get that it’s Putin and he gives us all the creeps. I get that guns are involved and that means, you know, IT CAN’T BE RIGHT!

But here are some facts: [Read more…]

a few thoughts on the American election

Over at Proclaim & Defend, I linked to this article by a seminary professor from Charlotte. I think it is well worth reading. While it may not be the only explanation for the results of the election, I think Michael Kruger is correct about the spiritual state of the USA. This doesn’t bode well for the politically conservative side in the future. The spiritual state of Canada is much worse, which is why we have NO abortion law and a nation-wide same-sex marriage law – and it is why, despite having a Conservative government with a professing Christian Prime Minister, we are very unlikely to see any change over these social concerns in Canada.

This state of affairs puts an imperative on the Christians of North America. We need to get out of our comfort zone and be concerned with evangelism. The people of our nations are sinking fast. Their only hope is Christ and we should be alarmed about the needs of our friends, neighbours, acquaintances and even our enemies.

On the outlook for the future… many of my friends appear to be well into the doom and gloom camp. As it happened, the Dow Jones average dropped by 2.36% the day after the election. Many cried that the so-called fiscal cliff was at hand. The next day, the DJIA dropped another .94%. The horror! Well, today it went up, by only .03%, but up is up, eh?

The fact is that the stock market does fluctuate every day. A 2 % drop on one day is not a really significant drop.

[Read more…]

CMAJ issues controversial call

The headline: Selective abortions prompt call for ultrasound rules

In a recent issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, its editor-in-chief issued a call for banning the disclosure of a baby’s gender before 30 weeks of pregnancy in a bid to end the practice of aborting female babies. This practice is especially prevalent among some South Asian cultures (the editor issuing the call is apparently from this culture himself).

The whole article has the pro-abortion side tied up in knots, as you can see from the comments following the article. You can also see the hard-heartedness of many Canadians who insist on their rebellion and sin.

The article is, overall, heartbreaking. The ramifications of the fall of man are constantly on display. May God help us reach some of our fellow citizens with the gospel.

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proximity of political paralysis

I ran into a friend of mine the other day. He was outside one of our grocery stores, campaigning for his seat in our legislature. He is the incumbent MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) for the riding next door to the one I live in. [For our American friends, an MLA is like a State Representative, except we have a unicameral legislature, so an MLA has much more influence than a State Rep would. There are other differences as well, but that will have to suffice as an explanation.]

I first met my friend when I was selling real estate to support our work here in Victoria. Another friend referred him to me. One day I picked up my phone at the office and this voice said, “Is this Don the Baptist?” And when I answered “Yes”, the voice went on, “Well I am John the Socialist.” And indeed he is. We get along rather well, in spite of political differences. The story of that house sale is one of my best from real estate days, but we’ll let that go by the wayside, too. John told me the other day they are still in that house, happy with it, and planning to renovate the kitchen soon.

As I said, I ran into John while he was campaigning. We talked about a few things and noted our differences. I was talking to my daughter about it afterwards. I told her that if we lived just a few blocks further west, I’d have a real problem deciding who to vote for. That might come as a shock to those who know my political views – my friend is a member of a party that I think I could almost never vote for. They are through and through socialists, so wrong headed [Read more…]

persecution or good governance?

In Canada today, the biggest news story of the day is the arrest of two Mormons for polygamy. These men are the heads of rival factions among a Mormon sect in Bountiful, BC. There have been numerous stories about these men, their wives, their children, their feud, and on and on over the last few years. With the arrest of two of the principles yesterday, our news media has exploded with stories and opinion articles concerning the matter.

Google.ca news says there are 599 related articles when I clicked on this link, but once you arrive at the link, it says 89 related articles. I am not quite sure how that works, but the story is undeniably a big story here in Canada and is surely of interest around the world, especially in places where there are many Mormons.

One of the men arrested yesterday was on TV today claiming religious persecution. Now… is this religious persecution, or is this a matter of good governance?

[Read more…]

oh boy…

So I’m listening to the One’s acceptance speech…

And this is what keeps running through the back of my mind…

[display_podcast]

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P.S. What’s he so angry about? He just won? Why can’t he smile?

the other side scares me

I offered earlier a somewhat underwhelmed view of the Republican ticket. But what of the other side?

The other side scares me:

When I read the Bible, I do so with the belief that it is not a static (stable) text but the Living Word and that I must be continually open to new revelations.(Barack Obama, Audacity of Hope, p. 224)

There’s more, read about it at Lighthouse Trails.

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it’s a good question

A letter writer to my newspaper, The National Post, asks this question about the Republican vice-presidential nominee:

Re: The Culture Wars Continue, Father Raymond J. de Souza, Aug. 30. Father Raymond J. de Souza’s subtle endorsement of Sarah Palin is interesting. How can a woman be second in charge of the most influential country on Earth and not able to be ordained in his Church?

Just asking. Eric Madden, Collingwood, Ont.

Raymond de Souza is a Roman Catholic priest who has a regular column in the Post. A column I rarely look at and almost never finish, by the way.

But the letter writer asks a good question, one for which Independent Baptists and other fundamentalist Christians should have a good, biblical answer.

[Read more…]