Branches of Canadian Government PDF

THE BRANCHES OF THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH Who? The Prime Minister: Head of the government Currently, Justin Trudeau The Cabinet: Leaders of different government departments or agencies. These are also called portfolios The Governor General: Mary Simon Canad...

THE BRANCHES OF THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH Who? The Prime Minister: Head of the government Currently, Justin Trudeau The Cabinet: Leaders of different government departments or agencies. These are also called portfolios The Governor General: Mary Simon Canada is a Constitutional Monarchy How are they selected? Prime Minister: Elected as leader of his/her political party Elected as MP in his/her riding Party must win the most seats in the House of Commons in the election Cabinet Ministers: Appointed by the Prime Minister Governor General: Appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister The King is our Head of State 🡪 The GG is his Representative Role of the Executive Branch Proposes most laws Puts laws into action Runs the day-to-day business of government Enact, apply, and enforce federal laws Provides a forum for debate How does it fulfill its role? PM assigns ministers a ministerial role as head of government department They receive confidential advice from the public and are held accountable to both Parliament and their constituents They are expected to defend their decisions publicly Ensure policies are implemented WHAT IS THEIR ROLE? Prime Minister Forms the Cabinet Appoints Public Servants Supreme Court Judges Heads of Government WHAT IS THEIR ROLE? Corporations Senators Cabinet Minister Member to the Organizes Government Government in Power Can create new departments Each have a portfolio: Senior Diplomat Ex: Minister of Finance Ex: Minister of Defense Propose most of the bills that become law THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Who? Made up of the House of Commons, Senate, and Governor General Governor General is in both Executive and Legislative, like the Prime Minister Bills cannot become laws without Royal Assent given by the Governor General THE HOUSE OF COMMONS Who? Members of Parliament (MPs): There are currently 338 Note: Your textbook is outdated and says 308. 30 seats were added in the 2015 Federal Election The Prime Minister: Justin Trudeau MP for Calgary Rocky Ridge(includes Sherwood) Pat Kelly How are they selected? Prime Minister: Elected as leader of his/her political party Elected as MP in his/her riding Party must win the most seats in the House of Commons in the election Members of Parliament (MPs): Elected by voters. Each MP represents the voter of one riding (representation by population). Role of the House of Commons To make laws!! Debate, study, and vote on bills proposed by Cabinet Represent Constituents Can introduce legislation concerning the raising or spending of funds (can pass money $$ bills) Discuss & debate national issues How does it fulfill its role? Debate and modify bills/laws First responsibility is to represent the constituents in their riding What about the MPs who aren’t in the party in power? Members who are elected to parliament but are not part of the largest party form the opposition. The political party with the second largest number of MPs elected during an election form the Official Opposition. It is the job of all opposing MPs to challenge and criticize the government to ensure they acting in the best interests of all Canadians. Most of these challenges occur each day during a 1 or 2 hour session known as “Question Period” THE SENATE Who? Senators! There are currently 105 senators How are they selected? Appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, based on regions and minority groups They remain in office until they are age 75 When a seat is available, the current Prime Minister will appoint a new Senator, thus, senators in office are from both the Liberal and Conservative parties Role of the Senate To represent the interests and rights of Canada’s regions and minorities as they may not be accurately represented in the House of Commons How does it fulfill its role? Can propose bills but only those unrelated to money (rarely occurs) “Sober Second Thought” to bills passed through the House of Commons Can reject bills, though they rarely do Bring different perspectives to issues Uses the considerable legal, business, and administrative knowledge of Senators to examined proposed laws to ensure they protect citizen’s rights THE JUDICIAL BRANCH Who? Supreme Court Judges There are 9 from the 4 regions of Canada: 3 Quebec 3 Ontario 2 Western Canada 1 Maritimes How are they selected? 9 judges from 4 regions Nominated by the Cabinet but appointed by the Governor General 🡪 then subjected to a review process by MPs Mandatory retirement at age 75 Role of the Judicial Branch It is the final word on all legal questions, including rules for making and applying laws Also makes judgments about the rules for making and applying laws (the law-making process) Protects the rights of citizens How does it fulfill its role? Uneven number to prevent tie decisions Kept separate from the other branches (“Separation of Powers”) and therefore acts as a “check” on the executive and legislative branches Interprets all laws, including citizen’s rights, ensuring their rights are respected and upheld Court Systems - Characteristics All cases, criminal or civil, start with the provincial courts and may be appealed higher. The Federal Court System is quite small and deals only with Federal issues Ex: Immigration Have the exclusive right to introduce and amend criminal law **All cases can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, IF THE COURT CHOOSES TO HEAR THE CASE**