Is Canada really a democracy, if lawmakers bypass the legislative process and elected officials represent their party interests, instead of constituents?
By: Christine Colebeck
Canada’s 3 Branches of Federal Government
The Monarch (King of England) is the Head of State and is supposed to have no political role
The Monarch is represented by the Governor General
| Legislative Branch | Executive Branch |
Judicial Branch
|
| Governor General
Represents the Monarch
|
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| Parliament | Prime Minister is a Political figure and the head of government who leads cabinet. (Appointed by Governor General) | Supreme Court
(Judges Appointed by Prime Minister) |
| Senate-Appointed by Governor General on advice of PM
Refines legislation and introduces Bills. |
Cabinet (Ministers)
Selected by Prime Minister Appointed by Governor General |
Superior Courts
(Judges Appointed by Prime minster) |
| House of Commons–
All elected MP’s. They introduce Bills, are supposed to represent constituents but instead they represent party they belong to. |
Lower Courts and tribunals | |
Role of Governor General of Canada
- Governor General is Appointed by Monarch (King of England) on recommendation of Prime Minister.
- Governor General represents the Monarch
- All Federal Bills must receive Royal Assent from the Governor General, to become laws.
- Governor General Swears in the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
- Governor General Prorogues Parliament.
- Dissolves Parliament (calls elections)
- Swears in Prime Minister.
- Reads Speech from throne.
- Grants Royal Assent when Bills become laws.
Role of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
- In accordance with the Constitution Act 1867 the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario represents the Monarch (King of England)
- Chosen by the Prime Minister and appointed by the Governor General of Canada.
The Judicial Branch of Government: Who appoints the judges?
It is claimed that Judicial independence is a cornerstone of the Canadian judicial system and under the Constitution, the judiciary is separate from the other two branches of government, the executive and legislature. Judicial independence guarantees that judges will be able to make decisions free of influence. However; is it truly independent if the Prime Minister appoints the Supreme Court and Superior Court Judges?
The Provincial Government
Lieutenant Governor: In Accordance with the Constitution Act 1867, the Lieutenant Governor represents the Monarch (King of England) and is Chosen by the Prime Minister of Canada and is appointed by the Governor General of Canada.
The Attorney General is an elected Member of Provincial Parliament ( MPP ). They are chosen by the Premier and appointed by the Lieutenant Governor
Ontario 3 Branches of Provincial Government
| Legislative Branch | Executive Branch | Judicial Branch |
| Queens Park | Lieutenant Governor Represents the Monarch
Chosen by Prime Minister and appointed by Governor General |
The Court of Appeal for Ontario Judges are appointed by the Attorney General |
| Legislative assembly all elected MPP’s
They introduce Bills, are supposed to represent constituents but instead they represent party they belong to |
Premier Head of Provincial Government, leads the Cabinet ministers (appointed by Lieutenant Governor) | The Superior Court of Justice
Judges appointed By Attorney General |
| Executive council – Cabinet Ministers appointed by Lieutenant Governor on advice of Premier
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The Ontario Court of Justice
Provincial judges are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, on the recommendation of the attorney general. |
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| The Attorney General of Ontario is an elected MPP, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor on the advice of the Premier. He is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Cabinet and oversees the Ministry of the Attorney General – the department responsible for the oversight of the justice system in the province of Ontario.
Appoints Judges to Superior Court
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Regulations by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario: Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA)
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90i01
17 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,
(a) prescribing any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed by the regulations;
(b) prescribing forms and providing for their use and requiring that statements of conscience or religious belief be in the form of affidavits;
(c) governing the custody, recording, inspection and destruction of records in respect of immunizations in relation to designated diseases;
(d) prescribing programs of immunization in respect of designated diseases, including specifying immunizing agents and the number and timing of dosages of immunizing agents;
(e) classifying children, pupils or persons and exempting any such class from any provision of this Act or the regulations and prescribing conditions to which such exemption shall be subject;
(f) requiring and governing reports by persons who operate schools to medical officers of health in respect of records and documentation related to the immunization of children applying for admission to the schools and pupils and former pupils in the schools;
(g) respecting any other matter that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers necessary or advisable to carry out effectively the intent and purpose of this Act. R.S.O. 1990, c. I.1, s. 17.
Regulations by Minister
(2) The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care may make regulations prescribing designated diseases for the purposes of this Act. 2002, c. 18, Sched. I, s. 11 (4).
The Lieutenant Governor and Ontario Minister of Health totally bypass the legislative Branch
The Lieutenant Governor, is given the authority in the Immunization of School Pupils Act (This authority was voted in by the Ontario Members of Provincial Parliament (MPP’s) and ironically it is signed by the Lieutenant Governor) to change or amend the exemption affidavit, and prescribed form without any requirement of legislative input. Totally bypassing the legislative branch of government and the MPP’s that the constituents elected to represent them, (but actually represent their party)
The Minister of Health is given the authority in this ISPA (voted in by the Ontario MPP’s, signed by the Lieutenant Governor) to make regulations and prescribe diseases under this Act. Bypassing the legislative branch of government and the MPP’s that the constituents elected to represent them, (but actually represent their party)
In 2014 the Minister of Health amended the ISPA to add 3 more designated diseases under the Act. This means parents were required vaccine records for 3 more vaccines, or sign an exemption affidavit. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/130261
In 2017, the Lieutenant Governor amended the ISPA to add a 2 page prescribed form, that includes a self incriminating section on page 1, and an affidavit that compels parents to disclose private medical information, on page 2.
These changes resulted in many parents questioning the constitutional validity of the ISPA and decline to comply with providing private medical records or signed exemption requirements.
Parents guide to ISPA and Unlawful Suspensions:
There are many options for parents who want to send their child to an Ontario school without providing their children’s private medical records to Public Health.
Option #1
Some parents decide to sign the affidavit as is and view the video. Once that’s done, they send their children to school without any problems. However, this also means parents are consenting to their child’s private medical records being collected and permanently stored in the digital ID Public Health, Panorama Database. On March 16, 2024 Panorama was moved from eHealth https://www.ehealthontario.ca to ONE Health. https://accessonehealth.ca/ History has shown us that compliance results in ever increasing requirements and unregulated-undemocratic amendments to the ISPA.
Option #2
Some parents have crossed out the self-incriminating section. Initially, Public Health refused to accept the revised affidavit, claiming parents cannot alter the prescribed document. (Prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario as outlined above) Parents argued that it’s illegal to swear a false affidavit if they disagree with the self-incriminating section. The exemption affidavit also compels parents to disclose children’s private medical records, contrary to PHIPA, that requires consent. https://www.ontario.ca/laws Specifically section 18 of PHIPA outlines consent can be withheld.
Elements of consent
18 (1) If this Act or any other Act requires the consent of an individual for the collection, use or disclosure of personal health information by a health information custodian, the consent,
(a) must be a consent of the individual;
(b) must be knowledgeable;
(c) must relate to the information; and
(d) must not be obtained through deception or coercion. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A, s. 18 (1).
Implied consent
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a consent to the collection, use or disclosure of personal health information about an individual may be express or implied. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A, s. 18 (2).
Exception
(3) A consent to the disclosure of personal health information about an individual must be express, and not implied, if,
(a) a health information custodian makes the disclosure to a person that is not a health information custodian; or
(b) a health information custodian makes the disclosure to another health information custodian and the disclosure is not for the purposes of providing health care or assisting in providing health care. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A, s. 18 (3).
Same
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to,
(a) a disclosure pursuant to an implied consent described in subsection 20 (4);
(b) a disclosure pursuant to clause 32 (1) (b); or
(c) a prescribed type of disclosure that does not include information about an individual’s state of health. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A, s. 18 (4).
Knowledgeable consent
(5) A consent to the collection, use or disclosure of personal health information about an individual is knowledgeable if it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the individual knows,
(a) the purposes of the collection, use or disclosure, as the case may be; and
(b) that the individual may give or withhold consent. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A, s. 18 (5).
Disclaimer: If you have concerns about signing the Affidavit, it is advisable to consult with a legal professional.
Option #3
If a parent receives a suspension notice from Public Health or school, they may decide to politely contact the principal, (the only person that has the authority to legally suspend a student) and request the suspension be provided in writing, including:
1) The Act being used to suspend the student.
2) The section of that Act being used to suspend the student.
If the principal cannot provide you, in writing, which act and which section of that act they are using to suspend your child, the suspension is unlawful and cannot be enforced. Alarmingly, not a singe principal in Ontario has been able to provide this information, to date.
If this is the case, many parents have simply informed the principal they will continue sending their child to school, until they receive a lawful suspension order.
Option #4
Parents can file an appeal through the Health Service Appeal and Review Board tribunal (HSARB) The process is easy, quick, and the entire is completely done online. However, the HSARB process is also extremely biased, the tribunal does not have the jurisdiction to decide education cases and this is clearly an education matter since the right to education is being unlawfully removed from a child, and since the suspension is coming from a principal, and a principal can only suspend using the Education Act.
The education Act outlines that a principal cannot refuse to admit a student into a school if the student is enrolled as a pupil at that school. To be clear, it is illegal for a principal to refuse to admit a student into the school at which that student is enrolled. Especially if the child does not have a lawful suspension, in writing, that states which Act and which section of that Act used to suspend the student.
Education Act Regulation Act 474/00:
2. (1) Subject to any restrictions set out in this regulation, the following persons are permitted to be on school premises when the premises are being used for a purpose authorized by the board:
1. A person enrolled as a pupil in the school.
2. A parent or guardian of such a pupil.
The Ontario government safe-schools legislation states that the principal will not consider suspension for children from JK to grade 3. The child being ordered suspended is 4 years old in junior kindergarten. Which is contrary to the Ontario government directive.
In so far as public health orders a principal to suspend a child in JK to grade 3, it is in conflict with the clear statutory provision of the Education Act and of no force or effect as the Education Act must supersede the direction and discretion of the public health official.
Children in grades 4 to 12 may be suspended under the Education Act for very specific and serious behaviors including:
- uttering a threat to inflict serious bodily harm on another person
- possessing alcohol, cannabis (unless the student is authorized to use cannabis for medical purposes), or illegal drugs
- being under the influence of alcohol or cannabis (unless the student is authorized to use cannabis for medical purposes)
- swearing at a teacher or at any person in a position of authority
- committing an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property at the student’s school or on school premises
- bullying, including cyberbullying
- any other activities identified in school board policy
If a student in junior kindergarten to Grade 3 has engaged in any of the activities listed above, the principal will not consider suspension.
Source: https://www.ontario.ca/page/school-suspensions-and-expulsions
The suspension further violates this child’s rights to education, as the education act states that during a 20 day suspension the child must be given alternative access to education and they have been suspended without such supports in place but the public health directed suspension respects no such rights.
Students can be suspended for up to 20 days. Students who are suspended for:
- one to five school days will receive a homework package from the school
- six to 10 school days must be offered an academic program that will help them continue learning
- 11 to 20 school days must be offered a program with an academic component and a non-academic component to promote positive behaviour, such as anger management, substance-abuse counselling or life skills coaching
Source: Education Act 310 (4) https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s07014
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