> Not at all. Russia has very regular elections, for example. Even DPRK has elections!
Sure.
The soviet union also had a constitution that gave strict garuntees of freedom, much stronger than the american constitution. It of course wasn't worth the paper its written on.
Having a written constitution with rights and freedom is no different then having elections. You can do it for real or you can do it as a show. Canada's actual elections safeguard its democracy. The fact that russia has fake elections is no more a counterpoint than the soviet constitution is a counterpoint to the american constitution. Just because someone else has the fake version doesn't mean the real version doesn't exist.
> As for Canada, I feel that the jury is still out. CCRF is still fairly recent, and you guys just don't have the history of a sufficiently intense political conflict to see how well it holds up in a crisis, and what the government might do.
The charter is not the starting point of canadian constitutional law. While it added a lot of rights and is certainly an improvement, Important legal victories like striking down laws for violating freedom of speech or declaring that women are allowed to hold office happened before the charter was adopted.
Sure.
The soviet union also had a constitution that gave strict garuntees of freedom, much stronger than the american constitution. It of course wasn't worth the paper its written on.
Having a written constitution with rights and freedom is no different then having elections. You can do it for real or you can do it as a show. Canada's actual elections safeguard its democracy. The fact that russia has fake elections is no more a counterpoint than the soviet constitution is a counterpoint to the american constitution. Just because someone else has the fake version doesn't mean the real version doesn't exist.
> As for Canada, I feel that the jury is still out. CCRF is still fairly recent, and you guys just don't have the history of a sufficiently intense political conflict to see how well it holds up in a crisis, and what the government might do.
The charter is not the starting point of canadian constitutional law. While it added a lot of rights and is certainly an improvement, Important legal victories like striking down laws for violating freedom of speech or declaring that women are allowed to hold office happened before the charter was adopted.