Chapter 1: How Effectively Does Canada s Federal Political System Govern Canada for all Canadians?

Chapter 1: How Effectively Does Canada s Federal Political System Govern Canada for all Canadians?

In this section you will be looking for: 1) How governance* in Canada creates opportunities and challenges for responding to multiple views and perspectives of Canadians 2) The ways that the federal political structure involves citizens in government decision making *This is a vocab word!

The constitution is the law that describes governance (the process of governing) in Canada It sets out the role of the governor general and the 3 main branches of government It describes how the 3 branches of government work together to exercise the decision-making authority of government

Canada is considered a Representative Democracy. This means that each voter elects the person/ candidate they feel will best represent their interests in government. In this way, constituents are a part of the decision-making process of government.

Represented in Canada by the governor general The Queen or King of Britain is the formal head of state but plays NO active role in Canada s government The governor general represents Britain s monarch in Canada and is a member of the Executive and Legislative branches of government

Includes the Prime Minister (PM) and the cabinet The PM is the head of Canada s government and has to be elected as the leader of a federal political party The party that the PM leads must win the most seats in the House of Commons The cabinet includes the people with the responsibility for different departments/ agencies ex. Health, finance, the environment

The members of cabinet are all cabinet ministers The PM decides what department portfolios to include in the cabinet and selects the cabinet ministers The cabinet proposes most of the ideas that become laws The PM and cabinet run the day-to-day business of the government Ex. Minister of Environment will report and conduct research on air quality

Includes the House of Commons, Senate, and the governor general (also called Canada s parliament)

The major law-making body in Canada s political system The members of parliament (MPs) are the members of the House of Commons Voters elect MPs into the house of commons and each MP represents the voters of one riding Most MPs belong to political parties and the party with the most MPs forms the government The other parties are the opposition

Each riding has a seat in the House of Commons where the elected MP sits If a political party wins the majority (over 50%) of the seats, it always forms the government If a political party wins the most seats but less than 50%, it usually forms the government The winning party must negotiate support from at least one other party in the House of Commons to ensure that over 50% of the House s MPs would vote in favour of the governing party

The representation in the House of Commons is by population All proceedings are read in English and French Question Period is the liveliest part of the day in the House of Commons- Members of opposition parties question the PM and cabinet ministers on government decisions

Opposition parties question the ideas and proposed laws of the governing parties This is a way to create debate, act as a watchdog / check on powers, and speak on behalf of the Canadian public

2015 2011

MPs have 2 key responsibilities: 1) Represent their constituents 2) Create legislation for the peace, order and good government of all Canadians

Members of the Senate are senators The Prime Minister appoints the senators and tends to appoint those who support the PM s party Senators can remain in office until they are 75 years old, so there may be senators from many political parties from past elections

Senators represent the interests of Canada s regions and minorities Senators are appointed by region- in 1867, the constitution identified 3 regions : the Maritimes, Ontario, and Quebec The idea was to give equal voice for these regions in the Senate As new provinces and territories were added, more seats were opened in the Senate

The Senate can propose laws, but usually only considers bills that have been passed first by the House of Commons The Senate has the power to reject the bills proposed from the House of Commons but rarely rejects the bill Why might the role of the Senate to represent minorities be important to governance in Canada?

Why might Canadians have different views and perspectives on the role of the Senate in Canada s political system? What evidence can you gather from page 32 in the text book?

The judicial branch includes Canada s courts of laws and all members come from the legal profession The Supreme Court in Canada is the highest court in Canada In 2006, Stephen Harper changed the appointment process for selecting Supreme Court Judges. The PM and the cabinet now nominate judges, who are then appointed by a committee of MPs The Supreme Court always has an odd number of judges to prevent tie decisions.

It is the final word on all legal questions in the country, including questions about applying laws The judicial branch is separate from all other branches and acts as a check on their powers The main responsibility of the judicial branch is making sure that the rights of Canadians are respected

Are people hired by groups and organizations to influence Members of Parliament. Lobbyists must document all MPs and government officials they meet with Lobbyists may be a part of the Committee Stage of the bill-to-law process Lobbyists may meet formally with MPs to advance their priorities.

Chicken Farmers of Canada At any given time, there are over 5000 active lobby groups registered with the Commissioner of Lobbyists in Canada.

Lobbyists / Lobby groups feel they bring important information to the attention of our lawmakers Facts Statistics Studies Lobbyists feel they represent the interests of all Canadians Lobby groups feel passionate about their cause. They assume other Canadians feel the same way

Lobbyists / Lobby groups are not elected, yet they have a large influence on the laws being made / amended in Canada. They may also lobby for use of taxpayers money in a way that constituents may not approve of They often have profit (or other gain) as motivation. This motivation may not represent all Canadians.