WHAT HAPPENS HERE CANADA S PARLIAMENT in Ottawa

WHAT HAPPENS HERE? CANADA’S PARLIAMENT (in Ottawa)

Parliamentary Library Located at the back of the Parliament building

Parliament Do Not Copy…YET!!! Our Parliament builds are located in Ottawa. Our first Parliament buildings were built in 1859. Fire destroyed the center block in 1916. It was rebuilt and named the peace tower dedicated to Canadian soldiers who died in WW 1 The Parliament consists of two houses (House of Commons and Senate) and the Crown. The H of C (Lower House) is elected and the Senate (Upper House) is appointed. The word Parliament comes from French roots meaning “discussing”. The legislative branch in Canadian Politics debates policy and legislation

FUNCTIONS OF CANADA’S PARLIAMENT Policy making – it passes legislation (very lengthy process) Representative function – interests, opinions and concerns of the electorate are to be discussed. System maintenance – Makes sure Canada’s political system runs smoothly.

Parliamentary Executive Made up of the Prime Minister, the Ministry, and the Cabinet. The PM and Cabinet are accountable to Parliament and may govern only as long as they have the confidence of the majority in the H of C. Parliament is the main machine for representative democracy a place for political leaders to debate major issues of the day.

Operations of Parliament operates in “sessions”. Here the Governor General will call Senators and MPs to the Senate where the Speech from the throne will be read. Sessions end when the PM approached the Gov. Gen and asks him/her to end it. This is called “prorogation”. If the session ends with an election call the PM will ask the Gov. Gen to dissolve Parliament.

The Legislative Branch (FEDERAL GOV’T) COPY What is it? ? ?

Parliament has three components: 1) Governor General 2) House of Commons 3) Senate

The ultimate source of legislative authority is the Monarch (Queen or King) The Governor General is the representative of the monarch in Canada (always recommended by the Prime Minister) Governor General David Johnston

A government is formed by the political party which wins a federal election by having the greatest number of representatives elected to the H. of C.

Prime Minister Leader of the party which forms the government (known as the gov’t party)

House of Commons

House of Commons The House of Commons is our major law making body. It consists of all 308 representatives elected to the house. Called ‘Members of Parliament’ (MP’s)

Political Parties Political parties are organizations of individuals who share common beliefs about public policy. The political party that wins the largest number of seats in an election forms government. The second largest party becomes the Official Opposition.

CABINET From MP’s of his own party, the PM chooses certain members to form a body known as the CABINET Members of the CABINET, called ministers are responsible for various gov’t departments or ministries (Finance, Fisheries, Environment) Steven Harper’s Cabinet

Layout

The Senate

The Senate The Senate is appointed by the Gov Gen on the advice of the Prime Minister Gives second thought to HOC legislation Have a veto (rarely used)

Senators DO NOT COPY Are appointed rather than elected. Before 1965 Senators were appointed for life but now they retire at age 75. One major difference between Senators and MP’s is they can and do vote across party lines

Qualifications of a Senator Must be 30 yrs old. Own $4000 dollars in property Live in the province they represent. Canadian citizen Can a Senator be fired? Yes, if he/she fails to attend two consecutive sessions, if he/she loses Canadian citizenship (sweat allegiance to another country) ceases to meet residence and property qualifications Convicted of a criminal offence.

The PM and Cabinet are not directly responsible to the Senate therefore if a government bill is defeated in the Senate the government could remain in power. The Fathers of Confederation believed the Senate would act as a “sober second thought” on legislation created in the H of C. Although the Senate can refuse to pass bills they rarely ever exercise this authority.