Timiskrane

Federation of Timiskrane
Flag
Motto:  "Glory to those who stand strong and free" (English)
Capital and largest city	Sudbury
Official languages	English
Recognised national languages	Joual Acadan
Ethnic groups	Laurentian
Demonym(s)	Timiskranean
Government	Unitary Parliamentary
•  Prime Minister	James Firth
Legislature	National Assembly of Timiskrane
Population
• 2023 census	64 972 061
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$2.835 Trillion
• Per capita	$44,140
Gini (2023)	27.1 low
HDI (2023)	0.831 very high
Currency	Penda (TIP)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+86
Internet TLD	.ti

Timiskrane, officially the Federation of Timiskrane is a nation on North Laurentia. It is bordered by Charville to the north, Atredies to the west, Eudaschia and The Seventh German Reich to the south, and the Arctic Ocean on both east and west. It's capital city of Sudbury is also it's most populous if the greater Sudbury region is included. Port Manatoulin has the largest metropolitan area. The official language of government is English, though the government does recognize and award special minority language status to the traditional languages of Joual and Acadan native to the region. The country terrain is filled with hills and small mountains, and the soil is generally rocky and acidic, the exception being the southmost region and the Iron Valley region, which are the only areas of the country where agriculture is viable. The Northmost end of the country flattens out as it fades into tundra. It is also noted for it's 3 large lakes in the north region. The largest, North lake, and the two smaller Kirkland Lake and Panache Lake.

Their had previously been several both internal and external attempts to unify and govern the region, but most met with failure do to the difficult geography that made it difficult to maintain unity. An attempt at federation had been discussed since as early as 2017 but it took until the 21st of January 2021 when the various local governments of the region signed the Act of Federation to establish the Nation.

It remains a nation largely dependant on natural resource extraction, though a significant arms manufacturing industry has begun to develop. The nation operates on a system similar to market socialism or libertarian socialism, where free markets, capital, and private ownership are allowed, but wealth is heavily redistributed through a system of punitive progressive taxes and very extensive welfare programs. The nation is very educated, with elementary to postsecondary studies completely government funded, but lags behind where it would be expected to be in terms of HDI simply because of it's comparatively low wages.

History

The Act of Federation

The idea of Timiskranean Nationalism can largely be associated to one man, Robert Laurier. In the early 21st century Timiskrane did not yet exist as a concept in most people's minds, who still thought of the region through it's various communities and regions rather then a unified entity. In his book Beyond the Copper Belt, he advocates for an political union of the region. He argued, that it was obvious most foreign powers held little interest in the region, and therefore, it was up to the communities of the region to assist each other, and a political union with a central government would assist this. He also appealed to the region's shared and interconnect history as motivation for unity, though several claims he made have since been show to have been of dubious accuracy. Despite this the populous latched on to this narrative, and it became and the desire for a unified regional federation grew. There was some apprehension, as previous attempts had failed, but Fred Marleau believed that the time was right. He founded an organization known as the Timiskranean National Front, it's name being a portmanteau of several important communities in the region. The organization drafted The Article of Federation, which would become the founding document of Timiskrane and effectively it's first constitution. In 2015 they began the task of going every town and every individual community in order to collect their signature and admit them into the Federation. In the end, all signatures were collected, including that of the Manatoulins, who many believed would not desire to join due to their individual economic prosperity, but after much negotiation, The Manatoulins agreed to the proposal. The Article came into effect on January 21st 2017, marking the birth of Timiskrane as a nation.

Geography

Small mountains and lakes cover most of Timiskrane's territory, with most of the population squished into the few habitable lowlands between them. The land does flatten out into more rolling hills and agriculturally rich soil to the south, and tundra in the north. In the high altitude areas, glaciers and ice fields are common.

Biodiversity

Timiskrane's environment most consists of boreal forests. The often acidic and rocky soil means most plants that grow in Tmiskrane are various types of evergreen trees, berry bushes, and ferns. Most animal life in Timiskrane consists of small animals, as that is all the ecosystem is capable of supporting, though it does have a few larger predators, most notably the polar bear and the arctic wolf. Timiskrane's rivers and lakes are fairly uninhabited due to them being glacier fed and very cold. However there are still several species of cold water fish and crustaceans that make it their home.

Climate

Average temperatures across Timiskrane depend mostly on altitude, with proximity to the ocean being a secondary factor. Mount Albert is the highest point in Timiskrane, and is also typically the coldest with summertime highs of -4 °C and lows of -47 °C. Meanwhile Manatoulin island, due to being surrounded by ocean and it's proximity to warm ocean and air currents, has the mildest temperatures, which usually range from 21 °C to -8 °C. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Timiskrane since it's founding was 27 °C while the lowest was -53 °C.

Government and Politics

Democracy

Timiskrane is governed by a Unicameral assembly known as The Timiskrane National Legislature. It is comprised of 220 seats elected via a system of mixed member proportional representation. 110 seats are allocated to ridings and elected via first-past-the-post, with the remaining 110 divided among the 9 regions based on population and are attributed proportionally based on the regional popular vote. Timiskrane politics tend to be skewed towards the left axis, with a longstanding philosophy of free market socialism. Ideals like egalitarianism and left-wing nationalism also play a big role. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the party or coalition which holds the largest plurality. The Prime Minister is free to appoint any member of the legislature to the role of Deputy Prime Minister and the various cabinet roles, though they usually come from his own party. The leader of the party or coalition with the second largest plurality becomes the Leader of the Opposition, and may similarly appoint a Deputy Leader of Opposition and Critic's Cabinet. Any member may theoretically propose a bill, though most parties dictate that the bill must be proposed and agreed upon by the caucus before it's presented to the floor. The bill can be read, debated, and modified as many times as the original proposer would like, until he either decides to retract the bill or request a vote. Once a vote is to be held, the bill passes if it receives a 50% plus one votes (so in the current structure of the legislature, it would take 111 votes to pass a bill). The most prominent Federal party is the Liberal Party, which has centrism, moderate politics, and compromise as its core values. They seek social progress, a moderately regulated economy, and a strong welfare state. The National Government and the Progress Party are also parties of major influence, which sit to the right and left of the Liberals respectively. The National Government is descended from the Timiskranean National Front, and is economically and socially balanced, while maintaining strong values of nationalism and militarism. The Progress Party sits to the Liberals left, and position themselves, as the more progressive, more left wing version of the Liberals who will stick to their values instead of compromising. They are also more libertarian then the Liberals. They have been responsible for things like the advancement of LGBT+ rights and environmental protections by brokering power during negotiations. There are also 3 more minor parties represented in government. The Commonwealth Association, which is communist, in addition to advocating for strict secularism, but is otherwise similar to the Progress Party, Society's Alliance, a fringe right wing populist party which centers themselves around values of market deregulation and lower taxes, but also advocates for more socially traditionalistic values, and United Farmers, which is a special interest party for the agricultural and rural regions of the nation. Certain responsibilities, like transport and and waste management, are handled by local authorities, like regional and municipal governments.

Law

Timiskranean courts operate under the principles of Common Law, wherein a judges interpretation of the law must not only be based on the text of the law, but previous rulings and decisions in "precedent setting cases". This also means it is a valid legal defence in Timiskrane to argue that a law under which a person is being tried is "not in active enforcement". The highest court is the Timiskrane Supreme Court, which consists of 7 justices, who are suggested by the Prime Minister but must be approved by a majority plus one vote in the National Legislature. Justices cannot be removed by the government once appointed, as they must operate independently from the legislature and political interests. They serve for life until the mandatory retirement age of 70, though they may resign before then, if they so choose. The Timiskranean constitution contains The Act on Essential Rights and Freedoms which guarantees essential human rights and protections from the government, though it does also contain the infamous Emergency Measures Clause which allows for the government to temporarily violate these rights and protections by declaring a state of emergency. However the suspension of the act must be temporary and the emergency declaration may not last longer then 365 days. Modifying the constitution requires 70% of the votes (154) and the measure must then be submitted to a referendum before it is accepted.