The political system of Canada
Canada is independent, self-governing democracy whose form of government is a Constitutional Monarchy. Government in C. flows from 2 areas: from a written constitution(to define Canadian society) and from the monarchy(in whose name all acts, legislation and other business of government is carried out). Canada is a country with 11 governments - the federal one at the center in Ottawa and one in each of 10 provinces. Canada's constitution consists of written and unwritten conventions. The Canadian political system as it is known today was first designed by the "Fathers of Confederation" at the Quebec conference of 1864. Then it became law when the constitution act was passed in 1867. It is the key stone of the Canadian constitutional system, it’s the legal basis for the existence of the nation. This act gave the formal executive authority to Queen Victoria (Queen of Great Britain) which made Canada a governing democracy. The Canadian political system is therefore loosely based on the British system. The written constitution is embodied in the Constitution Acts (1867-1982). In 1982 the Queen signed the Canada act which gave C full responsibility for the constitution and made it completely independent. Now, Canada is an independent Federal state with the Queen still the head of state. Her powers are extremely limited however, as the Parliament passes .the laws which the Queen gives the "Royal Assent" as the final step, The Governor General of Canada is the Queens representative in Canada who carries out all the Royal obligations when the Queen is not in Canada. The Governor is always a Canadian chosen by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. The length of office is normally five years for the Governor General.
The power to make laws in areas of federal responsibility is fixed in the parliament of Canada. The Houses of Parliament are located in Canada's capital city, Ottawa. There are 3 main sections to the Canadian Parliament. The governor-general representing the sovereign, the Senate (appointed by the
Governor General on the Prime Minister's recommendations) and the elected House of Commons. The Federal Government has the power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Canada which includes International policies, Defense, Immigration, Criminal Law, Customs and Border control. All laws must be written in 2 languages (Eng & Fr) . The Senate is made up of 112 Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. These Senators are men and women from all of the Provinces and from a wide variety of backgrounds. They can serve on the senate up until age 75 and have to be a Canadian citizen, over age 30 and live in the province represented. Its powers are rather equal to those of the House of Commons, BUT: 1. it may delay resolutions of the house of commons up to 180 days but it can’t defeat them 2. it cant initiate bills dealing with money. The main role of the Senate is to read over and examine the "Bills" sent from the House of Commons though they can also initiate Bills. The real power is held by the House of Commons. Here, the members of Parliament (MP's] are elected by the general public during a Federal election - normally every 5 years. Each candidate represent a particular political party and the party with the most “seats” takes over as the Government. The leader of the political party that wins the election becomes the Prime Minister of Canada (currently Stephen Garper Conservative Party of Canada). The Prime Minister effectively runs the country with the support, and advice of his Cabinet. The Prime minister selects a Cabinet from among fellow-party members. There are ministers of Health, Finance, Defense and Immigration. If no party has a majority in the house of commons it may be necessary for the PR.M to form a coalition government by bringing members of another party into his cabinet in return for political support.
The main function of parliament islegislation (pass laws). To start with, the House of Commons members introduce a "Bill" (legislative proposal). The details of the Bill are read in the House without debate and then the Bill is printed (the first reading). During the second reading the principles of the Bill are debated followed by a vote, If successful, the Bill is then sent to the Committee stage. A committee will listen to testimony, examine the Bill and then submits a report to the House recommending it as it is, with amendments. From here it goes to the report stage. In the report phase, any amendments are debated and voted on. Then it will pass to the third reading. This is where the House finally debates and votes on the final draft -if it passes the vote it is sent to the Senate. The Senate put the Bill through the same process as the House - if it comes through all that it is given Royal Assent and becomes Canadian Law.
The Provincial Government systems are based along the same principles as the Federal system. The Provincial Government is called the Legislative Assembly and the Queens representative in the Assembly is the Lieutenant Governor - appointed by the governor-general. Normally, every 4-5 years an election is called to appoint Premier (prime minister). At the end of the election, the Lieutenant Governor asks the leader of the party with the most "seats" to become the Premier of the Province and form the Government. The Premier then chooses the Executive Council to help run the Province. They develop policies and have similar responsibilities in the Legislative Assembly as the Federal Cabinet. As mentioned in the Provincial pages, the Provincial Government is responsible for healthcare, education, driver licensing and registrations and the Provincial budget amongst other things.