• Bzdalderon@lemmy.ca
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    6 days ago

    If it makes you feel better, that’s the way it is in most countries. The US is actually the oddball letting unelected bureaucrats run a portion of the executive branch. In Canada for example, we don’t even vote for our prime minister, and they hold absolute executive power with only symbolic cheques and balances (whom they appoint and dismiss) which a federal judge just confirmed during a hearing on proroguing our parliament. So, as bad as it seems, it could be worse. We aren’t even allowed to share non canadian news unless the platform has an exclusive agreement with the news outlet to compensate them.

    Trump may sound like a dictator, but at least he actually CAN be removed and was voted in. Our last prime minister threw a tantrum and had to have people convince him to step down, because there was no other legal way to remove him, and anyone who tried he just kicked out of cabinet.

    The fact that you can see that things are messed up means you have more freedom than you may think. Most Canadians think things are fine here, while we have the highest number of Canadians ever going to food banks, and a billionaire just took over as PM without an election, and is currently polling to win the election he called because well he’s a billionaire in a poor country and can just buy the victory.

    The biggest argument so far against Trump “you voted for a billionaire and you thought he cared about you” is a valid one, and yet we’re doing it here like lemmings.

    All I can say is I hope the world changes fast.

    • dan1101@lemm.ee
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      6 days ago

      Trump may sound like a dictator, but at least he actually CAN be removed and was voted in.

      Trump has spoken numerous times about elections not being fair, after all his stunts this year I don’t think we can possibly expect fair elections or even elections.

      • Bzdalderon@lemmy.ca
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        5 days ago

        I think that applies everywhere tbh. I don’t think the people have power anymore at all.

        When billionaires are your leaders, you aren’t in control period.

    • Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
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      6 days ago

      I started out thinking you were full of shit, but wasn’t sure until

      took over as PM without an election,

      Now tell me how much I don’t want proportional representation.

      • solrize@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        Basically there’s no executive branch. Voters elect parliament and parliament elects government ministers (equivalent to the Cabinet) and the PM, similar to how the US Congress elects a speaker and committee chairs.

        • Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
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          6 days ago

          Which is why that guy is full of shit. Trying to position Carney as being an unelected dictator totally overlooks our entire system of government. And indeed he was elected, as leader. He doesn’t have a seat in parliament but one of the first things he did was call an election which wasn’t officially required until October.

          In the Ontario provincial election that just happened the Liberal leader failed to win her seat and has so far regained the leadership while not being in parliament. It happens.

          • Bzdalderon@lemmy.ca
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            5 days ago

            He is an unelected dictator, and the point is that our system is flawed. He was not voted in, he was elected by a select few Canadians to run a party that has avoided confidence votes for months meaning they’ve avoided accountability to Canadians which a Supreme Court justice confirmed as problematic.

            Like to say that he represents Canadians would be an absolute lie. He has absolute power, and yet has not faced a general election.

            The justice even confirmed that PMs have no accountability even internally, as we saw with the Wilson Raybould crisis, we scandal, green slush fund, etc.

            This guy bought himself the PM seat, and is now PM. How is that in anyway democratic?

            Also to bring up whataboutisms just proves you have no serious dispute.

            Also proportional representation is actually ridiculously stupid. What makes more sense is a ranked ballot first past the post.

            • CarnivorousCouch@lemmy.world
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              5 days ago

              It sounds like you just don’t like parliamentary systems? If voters don’t like the party leader, they still have recourse to select other MPs in the upcoming election in a month, right?

              As a lifelong student of politics, I think there are trade-offs to presidential vs parliamentary systems. As an American experiencing political gridlock in the US Congress across decades, there have been times I have been envious of the notion of having a legislative and executive branch work together rather than in diametric opposition.

              Edit: Also, while I believe Carney is friends with billionaires, his net worth is around $7 million. For someone who spent so much time in investment banking, to my American eyes that doesn’t seem extravagant. Compare to former presidential candidates Mitt Romney, net worth of $186 million.

              • Bzdalderon@lemmy.ca
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                4 days ago

                I love the parliamentary system, but done properly, there is proper accountability. For example, the King serving for life means your check and balance has no need for political affiliation. Unlike the GG who holds that power in Canada who is appointed on the recommendation of the PM, which no recommendation has never been rejected by a monarch in modern history, ergo according to Canadian law means the PM selects their boss (confirmed by Justice Crampton). They choose and fire the AG and their recommendations are always approved by convention in Canada (confirmed by the investigation into the Wilson Raybould case), and they are able to escape accountability by proroguing parliament until other problems take precedent to not be held accountable in the house (currently what we’re seeing with the Trump nonsense overtaking the green slush fund debate that every single opposition party was working together to hold them accountable for for the first time in almost a decade or more, which started in the fall and is still unresolved half a year later).

                In the UK, judges have ruled on PM decisions, there is a precedent there. The King holds actual power. The House of Lords are a functional upper house with actual authority.

                It’s not like that here. Our systems are mostly superficial at best, and retirement plans for plutocrats at worst.

                I do stand corrected on Carneys net worth, which also raises another question of, if he’s good with money and knows what he’s doing, why isn’t he more rich? If you only have that much money as an investment banker, and after leaving as CEO of one of the largest companies in Canada, you’re lying about your money, have it hidden somewhere else, or you owe a ton of money to people and are flat out broke. All of those should scare you as much as the concept of him being a multibillionaire, which there are no credible sources on, but I’d be more inclined to believe.

                A good investment banker has no money, and their money is in, investments, in offshore accounts, that we would never know about.

                My two cents. Totally all over the place on that one, sorry for the written spew.