The Branches of Government

The Branches of Government

The Branches of Government • The Executive Branch • The Legislative Branch • The Judicial Branch The House of Commons

The Executive Branch • The Executive Branch: The branch that carries out the business of government • Examples of the Executive Branch include: • The Queen Queen Elizabeth the Second

The Executive Branch • The Governor General (Queen’s Representative at the Federal level) • The Lieutenant Governor (Queen’s Representative at the provincial level) Canada’s Governor General Michaelle Jean Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor General James Bartleman

The Role of the Governor General • Signs bills into Laws (giving them “Royal Assent” • Officially welcomes representatives of Foreign Governments to Canada • Reads the Speech from the Throne • Promotes Awareness of Canada around the world and across the Nation • Acts as a Figurehead of the Queen in Canada. Her power is symbolic Governor General Michaelle Jean

The Role of the Lieutenant Governor • The Lieutenant Governor Represents the Queen at the Provincial Level • The Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the Premier for a term of 5 years. • Their role is to sign bills into law, reading the speech from the throne and promoting the Province across Canada and around the world.

The Executive Branch • The Prime Minister of Canada • The Premier of Ontario Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty

The Role of the Prime Minister • In the Executive Branch, it is the Prime Minister and the Cabinet that hold the real power. • The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party in the House of Commons that has the most elected Members of Parliament (MPs). • The Prime Minister chooses who is in the cabinet. • The Prime Minister is the leader of the country and represents Canada on the international stage.

The role of the Cabinet • The members of the cabinet are usually MPs who are in the same political party as the Prime Minister. • They are the “star players” in the Prime Minister’s political party. • Cabinet ministers are picked to represent a series of Portfolios such as: • Minister of Finance • Minister of Justice • Minister of National Defense The Federal Cabinet

The Cabinet The various ministers of the cabinet should: • come from the various provinces of Canada • speak both official languages • represent Canada’s multicultural heritage • have a lot of experience for their portfolios (e.g. the Minister of Justice is usually a lawyer, Minister of Finance has financial experience)

The Role of the Premier • The Premier of Ontario (or any other province) leads the executive branch at the provincial level • Like the Prime Minister, the Premier leads the political party that has won the most recent election • Similar to the Prime Minister, the Premier selects a series of cabinet ministers. However, there are some cabinet ministers that he does not choose (e.g. minister of defense). Why is this the case? • Defense is Federal responsibility! Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty

The Executive Branch • Members of the Cabinet (Federal or Provincial Level) The Cabinet at the Federal Level How Many Cabinet Ministers? 26

The Legislative Branch • The House of Commons represents Canada’s legislative branch at the national level. • It is composed of 308 members. Each member represents a riding, or geographical area (e.g. the riding of Halton Hills/Wellington) • The citizens of a riding are called Constituents. We are the Constituents of Georgetown! • The MPs in the House of Commons are elected by the constituents of the ridings to represent their interests at the federal level. • The political party with the most number of MPs wins the election! The Federal Legislature: The House of Commons

Majority and Minority Governments • In order for a bill to pass and become law, half of the members of the legislature plus one needs to say “yea” (yes). • In other words 308/2 = 154 + 1 = 155 votes. • If a political party in the House of Commons has 155 or more seats, they are said to have a majority government. If they have less, they have a minority government. • The current Conservative government of Stephen Harper has less than 155 seats. As a result, they needed the help of the other political parties to pass their Federal Budget Conservative Environment Minister John Baird

The Legislative Branch • Elected Representatives of the Parliament of Canada. Sometimes called “Backbenchers”. They are not in the Cabinet (executive branch). Their job is to vote in accordance with the wishes of their political parties. • Is this democracy? Halton Hills MP Michael Chong Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott

The Role of the Backbencher • The role of the backbencher is to represent the interests of both the constituents in the ridings and the political parties that they represent. • However, what happens when they clash? If Stephen Harper asks Michael Chong to vote “yea” and the citizens of Georgetown tell him to vote “nea”, what should he do? What will happen to him if he votes “nea”? • He will probably get kicked out of his party and become an independent MP like Chuck Cadman. • Is this Democracy? Independent MP Chuck Cadman

The Official Opposition • The leader of the political party with the second highest number of seats is the Leader of the Opposition. • During Question Period, his role is to challenge the Prime Minister. His ministers are responsible for asking tough questions for the government and “keeping them on their toes”. • The other political parties in the House of Commons also ask tough questions. If they are effective in Question Period, they can make the government look bad and increase their own chances of gaining power. Leader of the Opposition: Stephane Dion

The Opposition • If the government loses a vote on an important bill (e.g. the Federal Budget), it is considered to be a confidence vote. • In this case, either the official opposition forms a new government, or an election is called. NDP leader Jack Layton asks Tough questions in the House

The Commons Mace • The Commons Mace is held by the Sergeant of Arms and is used to open and close every session of Parliament. • The Mace is used to symbolize the authority given to the House of Commons by the British Monarchy • Initially, the Mace was a weapon of War (hence it’s shaped like a club) The Sergeant Of Arms carries The Commons Mace

The Speaker of the House • The Speaker of the House is responsible for keeping the discussion “civil” in the House of Commons. • Peter Milliken, is non-partisan. In other words, he does not favour one party over the other. Sometimes, MPs will be removed by the Speaker of the House if their comments are “out of order” Peter Milliken The Speaker’s Chair

The Legislative Branch • In Canada’s democracy, the Legislative Branch is composed of: • The House of Commons • The Senate House of Commons The Senate

The Senate • The “upper” house of the Legislative branch is the Senate. • It was designed to Veto (block) bills passed by the House that were irresponsible. In essence, the Senate was designed to be the House of “sober second thought” Canada’s Senate Chamber. Nice Eh?

Patronage • In order to be a senator, you need to be appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada. • Since you need to be a friend of the Prime Minister to be a senator, many feel that the senate is corrupt and undemocratic. Senators are not elected. • Although many senators are highly respected and do honourable work, others hardly ever show up to vote! • Georges-Casimir Dessaulles served in the senate for 23 years and spoke twice; once to deny that his appointment was an example of political corruption and the other for thanking members for remembering his birthday! Georges-Casimir Dessaulles

The Provincial Legislative Assembly • The legislative branch of the 10 provinces of Canada is very similar to the House of Commons. • However, the elected members are called MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly). • In Quebec, they are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly) • In Ontario, they are called MPPs (Members of Provincial Parliament) • In Ontario, there are 103 ridings. As a result, how many seats are their in Ontario’s Legislative Assembly? • 103 The Ontario Legislature

The Judicial Branch • The Judicial branch of Canada deals with the administration of Justice at the various levels of government • Their role is to interpret the laws of Canada (e.g. the Charter of Rights) • There are 9 judges. Why 9? Why not 8 or 10? • All judges are appointed by the Prime Minister. • 3 judges must come from Quebec The Supreme Court of Canada

The Judicial Branch • The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court in the nation. • The verdict of the Supreme Court is final (e.g. the Person’s case, the abortion law, the euthanasia case of Robert Latimer, same sex marriage) The Supreme Court of Canada

What did we learn? • The role of the executive Branch: The Federal and Provincial Levels • The role of the Legislative Branch: The Federal and Provincial Branch • The role of the Judicial Branch: The Federal and Provincial Branch • Key Terms • Diagram of the House of Commons

The Branches of Government