Canadian Politics: Difference between revisions
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* The House of Commons has 338 members, all elected to represent districts known as "ridings"<ref>From the Old Norse term "þriðing", used when they occupied Yorkshire.</ref> for a variable term constitutionally not to exceed five years - in practice, it's legislated at four for a majority government and usually two for a minority. There is no limit on how often a Member of Parliament may be re-elected. The size of this body varies, and in practice increases size every 10 years after each census. The majority of the Cabinet is drawn from the Members of Parliament, usually from the members of the party with the most seats. Members of Parliament who are not members of the party in power are known as the [[wikipedia:Loyal opposition|Loyal Opposition]] - they're loyal to the State but not to the Government. |
* The House of Commons has 338 members, all elected to represent districts known as "ridings"<ref>From the Old Norse term "þriðing", used when they occupied Yorkshire.</ref> for a variable term constitutionally not to exceed five years - in practice, it's legislated at four for a majority government and usually two for a minority. There is no limit on how often a Member of Parliament may be re-elected. The size of this body varies, and in practice increases size every 10 years after each census. The majority of the Cabinet is drawn from the Members of Parliament, usually from the members of the party with the most seats. Members of Parliament who are not members of the party in power are known as the [[wikipedia:Loyal opposition|Loyal Opposition]] - they're loyal to the State but not to the Government. |
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* The [http://sen.parl.gc.ca/portal/home-e.htm Senate] has 105 members, all appointed (though in one case the appointed Senator was chosen in a special election by the province he represents) and serving until age 75. For decades, it essentially did nothing. (Well, okay, it's more complicated than that, but the Senate, being appointed rather than elected in most cases, has rubber-stamped legislation from the House of Commons for decades. They are not allowed to introduce financial legislation.) Technically, the Senate is the place for "sober second thought", where the mobbish tendencies of democracy can be curbed and where legislation can be considered away from public pressure. The Senate can suggest changes to the bills, or delay a bill until it expires on the table, but it has almost never defeated one outright. The Senate -- following a bit from the [[American Political System]] -- also allows for some regional representation, where the number of senators from each province is much more equalized. Due to the fact that the senator's seat is usually employed as a way to reward cronies or as a way to get troublesome allies out of the way, and due to a scandal where some senators seem to have spent most of their terms in Mexico on vacation, there as been a call for elections for senators, although the notion was discarded after the Conservative government of the 2000s realized it could stack the deck with its own cronies. Because of a decision taken while he was in the Opposition, Justin Trudeau's government officially includes no Senators; this didn't seem to change anything until 2017, when the Senate started actually giving legislation that "sober second thought" when the independent senators - now a slim majority - realized they were no longer answerable to any party whip. |
* The [http://sen.parl.gc.ca/portal/home-e.htm Senate] has 105 members, all appointed (though in one case the appointed Senator was chosen in a special election by the province he represents) and serving until age 75. For decades, it essentially did nothing. (Well, okay, it's more complicated than that, but the Senate, being appointed rather than elected in most cases, has rubber-stamped legislation from the House of Commons for decades. They are not allowed to introduce financial legislation.) Technically, the Senate is the place for "sober second thought", where the mobbish tendencies of democracy can be curbed and where legislation can be considered away from public pressure. The Senate can suggest changes to the bills, or delay a bill until it expires on the table, but it has almost never defeated one outright. The Senate -- following a bit from the [[American Political System]] -- also allows for some regional representation, where the number of senators from each province is much more equalized. Due to the fact that the senator's seat is usually employed as a way to reward cronies or as a way to get troublesome allies out of the way, and due to a scandal where some senators seem to have spent most of their terms in Mexico on vacation, there as been a call for elections for senators, although the notion was discarded after the Conservative government of the 2000s realized it could stack the deck with its own cronies. Because of a decision taken while he was in the Opposition, Justin Trudeau's government officially includes no Senators; this didn't seem to change anything until 2017, when the Senate started actually giving legislation that "sober second thought" when the independent senators - now a slim majority - realized they were no longer answerable to any party whip. |
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* The [http://www.gg.ca/ Governor General], currently [[w: |
* The [http://www.gg.ca/ Governor General], currently [[w:Mary Simon|Mary Simon]], is the Head of State -- representative of the Sovereign, appointed in theory by the Sovereign and in practice by the Prime Minister, and with a mammoth assortment of powers including the ability to dissolve Parliament, appoint Senators, Supreme Court Justices, all high-ranking bureaucrats, and the Prime Minister and Cabinet (though they must keep the approval of the House of Commons). She is also Commander-in-Chief of the military. However, these powers are bound by a large amount of unwritten convention, and are almost never used except on instruction from the Prime Minister -- the last time they were, in 1926, the resulting "King-Byng Affair" resulted in a massive public outcry that ended in the re-election of the Prime Minister who had been rejected by the Governor General. (The Governor General is supposed to be chosen by the sovereign from a list of candidates chosen by the Prime Minister. For quite some time now, the Prime Minister's list of Governor General appointees has been [[Short List|exactly one name long]].) |
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** An event in which the GG can become useful is when the Prime Minister starts to show signs of getting dictatorial; at which point, the Governor General (as the Commander-in-Chief) can order the army to forcibly depose the PM. |
** An event in which the GG can become useful is when the Prime Minister starts to show signs of getting dictatorial; at which point, the Governor General (as the Commander-in-Chief) can order the army to forcibly depose the PM. |
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*** This is taken directly from the Westminster System used by the British Parliament and Monarchy, that serves as the basis for ''all'' Commonwealth Countries. Basically, they're ''meant'' to keep each other in line. |
*** This is taken directly from the Westminster System used by the British Parliament and Monarchy, that serves as the basis for ''all'' Commonwealth Countries. Basically, they're ''meant'' to keep each other in line. |
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