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Levels of GovernmentCANADIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM
Contents Introduction Levels of Government 2. The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The House of Commons The Senate Making the Laws The Judicial Branch The Political Parties The Provinces Conclusion INTRODUCTION In one sense, the Constitution of Canada is very old and, in another sense, it is very new. The Constitution Act of 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act 1867 and still known informally as the BNA Act), is a major part of Canada's Constitution. The Act created a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the government of the country including its federal structure, its bicameral legislature, the justice system, and the taxation system. The British North America Acts, including the 1867 Act, were renamed in 1982. In the past, only the British sovereign could amend the Constitution. In 1982, Canada patriated its Constitution, which means it adopted mechanisms to amend it itself, following an agreement between the federal government and nine of the provinces. Quebec refused to sign the agreement, primarily because it wasn’t granted special constitutional status. Furthermore, since 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is entrenched in the Constitution. Despite these changes, Canada remains a constitutional monarchy and the Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, is still the Queen of Canada. A key feature of the Canadian political system is the difference between the largely French-speaking province of Québec which has a large measure of autonomy and the rest of Canada which is overwhelmingly English-speaking. At times, the political pressures inside Québec for the province to secede from the remainder of Canada have been very powerful but currently seem to be more dormant. Descriptions of Canada's Government Canada's government can be very difficult to understand. It is a complex system that can be described in four ways. The government can be called a Constitutional Monarchy, a Federal System, a Party System, and a Representative Democracy. The term constitutional monarchy means that the country is associated with some sort of Monarch (royal figure), while the actual governing of the country is done by an elected body. Canada has a federal structure because of its vast size. This system of government was created to ensure that the needs of the country as a whole were not jeopardized by the needs of its distinct regions. People elected to positions in the government are members of a political party. A political party is a group of people that have common goals and beliefs about how the government should run the country, province, or town. The major political parties in Canada are the Liberals, the Progressive Conservatives, the New Democratic Party, the Reform party, and the Bloc Quebecois. A democracy is country that is ultimately run by its people. Canada falls into this category because they elect representatives to do the governing for us. This makes Canada a representative democracy. Levels of Government In Canada, there are 3 levels of government. Each level of government has different responsibilities.
Federal Government At the federal level, there are 3 parts of government:
Provincial Government At the provincial level:
The political party that has the largest number of MPPs forms the government, and its leader becomes premier. The premier is the head of government in Ontario. The premier leads the government and chooses MPPs to serve as ministers in the cabinet. The cabinet sets government policy and introduces laws for the Legislative Assembly to consider. Visit Civics 101 for more information about how the provincial government works. Watch videos and interviews with politicians, ask an MPP your questions, use a budget simulator and more. Municipal (Local) Government At the municipal level:
The Federal Government The federal parliament has power over many areas of the country. Some of these areas are international trade, taxation, national defence, shipping, currency, banking, citizenship, and criminal law.There are three main branches to the federal government, and each one of these branches has special components. ExecutiveLegislativeJudiciary - Queen - House of Commons - Supreme Court of - Prime Minister - Senate Canada - CabinetExecutive power is the power to run the country and carry out the laws. Legislative power is the power to make laws. Judicial power deals with deciding who has broken the law, and what penalties they should receive.
Date: 2015-12-11; view: 2009
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