Canada
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This region is considered by its members to be a true constitutional democracy. All decisions affecting how Canada is run, as well as how the delegate votes on UN resolutions, are administered through its off-site forum.
Contents
History
- Main article(s): History of Canada
Canada is the land of ice, snow, beer, doughnuts, hockey and universal health care. On Nationstates, Canada was created late in the year 2002, by a predecessor nation of The True Domination.
Origin
Not much is known about the region's early history, as that historical information has died along with the region's initial inhabitants. Reports of the early days of the region indicate it was sparsely populated.
Pre 2004-Constitution Era
It is known that by April, 2003, the region was at a healthy 175 nations, and was led by a delegate called Taiga. By April or May of 2003, Las Chupacabras became delegate, and imposed Canada's first constitution on the region. Elections were held, electing 14 members to the inaugural government.
After an eventful first month, rule under the Las Chupacabras constitution began unravelling under the weight of its large size. [1] The True Domination briefly succeeded Las Chupacabras as delegate and elections were held. Due to regional disillusionment with the government structure, only four ministers were elected, and not a single cabinet meeting was called during this second government.
The True Domination left the region for a stint with the Rejected Realms Army in August, 2003, allowing Las Chupacabras to once again become the delegate, only to return later and attempt to take over the delegacy from a clearly disinterested Las Chupacabras. A nation called the Queendom of Tofiti also vied for the delegacy. In quick succession at the end of August, 2003, saw three delegate changes in three days.
The True Domination remained in power until January 2004 and under his stewardship, the region of Canada stagnated, with little growth in population and no activity in Canada's forums. Near the end of The True Domination's reign as delegate, Canada began making attempts to integrate itself on the inter-regional scene. Bweezystan staffed an embassy in The South Pacific, and began discussions on reviving the region's government structure through a new constitution.
2004-Constitution Era
Bweezystan became delegate of Canada on January 13, 2004. Shortly thereafter, the new constitution was unanimously approved by a referendum. Riding the wave of renewed activity in the region, elections were held in February, 2004, electing Canada's first functioning cabinet in over six months making way for the new government structure that is still in effect today.
Under this new structure, and with renewed enthusiasm from a solid core of a dozen nations, the region began to grow and prosper. Embassies were opened in regions such as The North Pacific, assistance was offered to The South Pacific when it was subject to a coup attempt by El Sabah Nur. Recruitment attempts began in earnest, greatly increasing the region's population and activity.
Basic laws were also enacted, governing ejections from the region, an intelligence agency was created, and Canada's defence system was improved.
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In early, March, 2004, Bweezystan announced it would be stepping down from the delegacy. On March 28, 2004, Checkers McDog took over as delegate.
Under the leadership of Checkers McDog, Cabinet passed a well received accountability measure, the Cabinet Disclosure law, forcing Cabinet to post weekly reports to inform the public of its activities. Several other legislation was passed and the House of Commons was organized with political parties where any Resident nation not in government may pose questions to the government.
Present Day
Carbanousa has succeeded Checkers McDog as UN Delegate/Prime Minister. Currently, Canada continues to promote the traditional Canadian values of Peace, Order and Good Government, and is continuing with its Democratic Traditions and advances in Inter-regional Diplomacy.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Canada
Canada is a Constitutional Democracy. The Constitution mandates elections every three months for the ministries of Regional Affairs, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Justice and the ever popular Ministry of Doughnuts and Beer. By constitutional decree, the Delegate of the region is the Prime Minister, as elected by Nationstates game-play mechanics. As such, unlike the other five ministers, the Prime Minister is technically always fighting an election campaign and can be replaced at any moment.
The five elected ministers together with the Prime Minister/Delegate constitute the Cabinet. The Cabinet is Canada's official governing body.
All residents not in cabinet can participate in the governing process through the House of Commons. There they can join or create a political party, ask questions of the current cabinet members and share their ideas.
Government Officials
The regional delegate is granted the position of Prime Minister and sits in Cabinet along with five other Ministers who must earn their seat in Cabinet by way of regional election. Regional elections are held once every three months. In total, the Cabinet is comprised of six nations.
Office | Nation/Minister | Held Since | Appointed Deputy |
---|---|---|---|
UN Delegate/Prime Minister | Carbanousa | Dec 17 2005 | TBA |
Minister of Regional Affairs | Blackshear | July 2 2007 | TBA |
Minister of Defence | Almonaster | July 2 2007 | TBA |
Minister of Justice | Parrrrtay | July 2 2007 | TBA |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | Old Ogastein | July 2 2007 | TBA |
Minister of Doughnuts and Beer | Rock Onia | July 2 2007 | TBA |
Canadian Cabinet | ||
Prime Minister | Minister of Regional Affairs | Minister of Defence Minister of Justice | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Minister of Doughnuts and Beer |
Elections in Canada | |
Cabinet Elections (Summary) February 2004 | April 2004 | June 2004 | August 2004 | October 2004 | December 2004 | February 2005 | April 2005 | June 2005 | October 2005 | December 2005 | February 2005 | April 2006 | | |
Canadian Cabinets (Summary) 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th |
House of Commons
While the cabinet is the elected government, the House of Commons has an equally important role in the governing process of Canada. The House of Commons is where nations can set up political parties, debate issues and policies that Cabinet is dealing with or has dealt with, and even advance their very own ideas. The key purpose of the House of Commons is to keep all nations, regardless of Cabinet involvement, interested in Canadian political issues, hopefully creating a strong opposition that helps to keep the Cabinet accountable.
The HoC may ultimately lead to a party system in Canada's electoral process, bringing NationStates ever so closer to RL politics. The possibility of electoral reform is being currently discussed.
See also
Appointed Officials
Along with their respective habitual duties and privileges, the members of cabinet are also responsible for appointing several regional officials for certain tasks or areas that require attention. These appointees are usually selected on criteria such as their availability and readiness for duty or their proficiency in a particular task. As such, appointed officials often stay on longer at their position then cabinet ministers. It is also possible for a cabinet minister to be appointed for a position.
Position | Nation | Appointed by |
---|---|---|
Website Designer | Freezing_Cold_Water | PM |
Cartographer | The Maple Leaf | PM |
RP Coordinator | Daemon | MoRA |
Historian | Redundancies | MoJ |
NSwiki Editor | Vacant | MoDB |
In addition, the Canadian Regional Defence Force consists of soldiers who are duly appointed by the Minister of Defence.
Canada’s vast network of foreign embassies are managed by ambassadors who are also rightfully appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Law Library
- Main article(s): Law Library of Canada
Maintained by the Minister of Justice, the Law Library of Canada is the official archive of all current and past Constitutional and Legal documents.
Since its creation the Library has undergone constant progress and improvement of its contents.
As well as archiving disused legislation and former versions of the constitution, the Law Library contains:
- The Constitution of Canada
- Ejection and Board Suspension Guidelines
- Standards for Diplomatic Relations
- Roleplay Rules and Guidelines
- Government Conflict of Interest Guidelines
- Dispute Resolution Legislation
- Cabinet Disclosure Legislation
Canadian Regional Defence Force
The Canadian Regional Defense Force (CRDF) was the result of a reformation and amalgamation of Canada's previous military and intelligence services. The Dogs of War Alliance (DoWA) and the Canadian Intelligence Agency (CIA) ceased to exist on February 13th, 2006 with the official passage of version 1.9 of the Canadian Constitution, which was the result of an amendment proposed by then Minister of Defense Daemon. The constitutional amendment involved removing all reference of the Dogs of War Alliance and CIA, and replacing them with a single body, the CRDF. The amendment passed with an overwhelming majority in a regional referendum, receiving 21 votes for and only 1 vote against.
Currently the CRDF has 11 Soldiers and one Commander in Chief. The Commander in Chief is and always will be the democratically elected prime minister, Carbanousa. The Soldiers are trusted members of Canada and are of good regional standing.
The creation of the CRDF from the DoWA and CIA was first proposed here: http://invisionfree.com/forums/NationStates_Canada/index.php?showtopic=4291
The vote on the consitutional amendment may be found here: http://invisionfree.com/forums/NationStates_Canada/index.php?showtopic=4365
Version 1.9 of the Canadian Constitution may be found here: http://invisionfree.com/forums/NationStates_Canada/index.php?showtopic=4396
The current version of the Constitution (version 1.12) may be found here: http://invisionfree.com/forums/NationStates_Canada/index.php?showtopic=4953
Geography
Canada's geography is based on the outline of the North American continent. NoFunNinjas was Canada's latest cartographer however he has recently resigned from his duties. A new cartographer will be appointed shortly.
Click here for a high-resolution version.
Diplomacy
Canada treasures the values of democracy and one of the many time-honoured standard activies in Canada has been using diplomacy to fan the flames of democracy to other regions. Canada understands that diplomacy is essential, in order to ensure a significant place in NationStates and to increase our knowledge of other regions.
Another characteristic to Canada’s approach to diplomacy has been the use of an unwritten rule that has been established over time: The Hudson Bay Doctrine
In order to best protect Canadian sovereignty, formal alliances with other regions ought to be avoided.
Canada’s diplomatic efforts are directed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Many MoFA of Canada have made noteworthy contributions to the cause of diplomacy. However it is conceivable that none were as prolific or as successful as Judith Gap.
See also
Culture & Recreation
More than just a true bastion of democracy, peace, order and good government, Canada is above all else, a great region for chitchat, debates, games, fantasy sports and even good old-fashioned high quality spamming.
The Water Cooler
The water cooler is perhaps Canada’s most popular OOC section. Home to such topics as “Name 3 things” and “Describe the above poster” it is also a place where nations can “Rant, discuss and complain” about whatever it is they have on their mind. Topics like “How was your day?” and “What are you thinking?” are fine examples. Most importantly it is where a Canadian nation can chat and get familiar with others.
OOC Debates & Discussions
The Real Life - Canadian Politics and Current Events sub-forum is home to open discussions on worldly events with a natural emphasis on Canadian issues. Some of the latest discussions covered topics such as the 2006 Canadian Federal Election, the Danish embassy burnings, the death penalty and the Liberal Party’s leadership race.
Fantasy Sports
Canadians are also avid sports fans and enjoy the odd fantasy league now and then. The yahoo fantasy leagues take up most of the sporting activity including the NHL, MLB, NBA and NFL. The fantasy leagues are frequently inter-regional and very competitive. Canada currently enjoys sharing fantasy leagues with Texas and Equilism.
Arcade
The Arcade is where online games are posted and where they can played and enjoyed by everyone.