Most Canadians have been indoctrinated to believe they have a democracy

To preface, as my profile states, I am not Canadian. I'll just apologize for that now. :) However, I do believe that, without producing any of the aforementioned documentation, I can effectively argue that Canada is, essentially, operating under the democratic principles which my opponent refers to. I can do this because my opponent's resolution is not "Canada is not a sovereign nation. " The resolution is simply "Most Canadians have been indoctrinated to believe they have a democracy. " First of all, we need to define a democracy in exact terms. If my opponent wishes to use the Black's Law definition, so be it: That form of government in which the sovereign power resides in and is exercised by the whole body of free citizens directly or indirectly through a system of representation, as distinguished from a monarchy, aristocracy, or oligarchy. I will assume that we are speaking in practice, rather than in label, although the monarchies to which I will refer to are now parliamentary systems of government. To the arguments! 1. Though no official notation of sovereignty exists within the BNA Acts or Hansard record from my research, neither is necessary to prove that a particular country is not living in a democratic state. Essentially, I simply need to prove that either Canada or its "parent" country, GB, uphold democratic principles of government via their nearly mutually exclusive parliamentary systems, and I'll have the debate. Let's start with GB. GB's Crown is only Crown in name; the queen is, essentially, ceremonial by all legitimate sources the inform about the nature of the British government. Parliament is bicameral, it is elected, and the PM is chosen via majority party control, which is very similar to the United States, if we may use it as an example of contemporary democratic government. So, if we assume that GB has sovereign control of Canada, then we assume that Canada lives under said parliamentary system which espouses democratic values, namely voted-in government officials or officials appointed by those who are voted in, as well as a government with sufficient checks and balances via an executive (Crown/PM), legislative, and judicial branch. Hence, Canadians who believe they live in a modern democracy are not indoctrinated. At least, no more so than a United States citizen is indoctrinated to believe that its government rests on democratic ideals. 2. Even if GB's government isn't enough, the creation of the Canadian parliament, PM, and the appointment of the only representative of the Crown, the Governor General, indicate that GB is instilling democratic rights onto a country that is only a territory by ceremony. So, Canada has its own elected parliament, entirely separate of that in GB. The catching point is the Governor General, who is appointed by the Crown to oversee its affairs in the nation. However, the acting PM in Canada advises the Crown on its choice of Governor General. His/her advice is taken as it would be a huge mark of disrespect to not do so. Now, the acting Governor General appoints the PM of Canada after a national election, but the choice is generally given to the ruling political party or a minority government with the most popularity. Never in practice does the Crown make these decisions without the express will of the Canadian majority (or minority, as it were) behind it. Hence, the same democratic principles in action within the US and the UK are being rigorously protected in Canada by the very government the affirmation accuses of deceiving the Canadian people. In conclusion, though the letter of the law does not make Canadian sovereignty explicit, all current practice within the governments of Canada & GB affirm that Canadians citizens, indeed, enjoy a democratic system of government. Now, if the Canadian people were being treated as those countries in Africa or South America during the colonial invasions of the past, the affirmation would be able to make the distinction between the Canadian government (which would be entirely supplanted by its ruling nation's government, and with no equal representation) and the GB government. As it stands, though, I don't think this can be proven. Though my opponent may try to argue that, because the semantical issue of being "free" within the Black's Law definition, the Canadian people are not living in a democracy, hence brainwashed into thinking so, I submit that, in practice, Canadians are just as free as citizens of the United States. They enjoy all of the core rights which citizens of the United States and GB enjoy with respect to controlling their own governance. I look forward to your response!