Dividing up the Pie

The Story of Everyone Else Involved in the Government

Federal Government

• The Prime Minister is the the head of the Federal Government

• The Federal Government is the national government, it is located in Ottawa, Ontario

• It has the most power but shares it with the other governments

3 Minor Forms of Government• Provinces and Territories – the federal government

gives them money• Municipal – the provincial governments give them

money• First Nation Self Government – the federal government

gives them money

Provincial and Territorial Governments

• Same basic form as the Federal government• 3 branches: • Executive Branch – Premier and their Cabinet • Legislative Branch – Legislative Assembly

(Same as House of commons)• Judicial Branch – Courts and Judges• Governments meet in the Provincial Capital

Provincial and Territorial Governments

• Premier is same as Prime Minister• Lieutenant Governor is same as the

Governor General• Member of the Legislative Assembly is

the same as Member of Parliament• Main difference no Senate in the

Provincial Government

5 Main Roles of Provincial and Territorial Governments

• Education

• Environment

• Health Care and Social Welfare

• Transportation

• Negotiations with The Federal Government

Education

• Largest role is budgeting and deciding how much money schools will be given,

• Government has some role in deciding what they spend it on

• Also has some role in deciding what is learnt and how

• Education is the purview of the Ministry of Education

Environment• Provincial governments are responsible

for the resources in their provinces and how they are collected

• Try to balance the needs of industry with the needs of the environment

• Very important responsibility because big changes in the way resources are used can hurt or help the economy

Health Care and Social Welfare

• Health Care is a shared responsibility between the Federal and Provincial governments; Feds give the provinces money and the provinces decide how the money is spent

• Health Care takes up the largest portion of a provinces budget

Transportation• Roads, highways, etc. are the

responsibility of the provincial government

• Airports, railways, seaports, and public transportation are generally projects worked on by both governments.

Negotiations with the Federal Governments

• Arguments occur frequently between the Federal and Provincial governments, most of the time over money

• Some other reasons for the arguments are Quebec’s desire for sovereignty, Western alienation, and arguments over resource management

Local Governments

• Normally very basic structure• Typically have an elected Mayor and a

body of councilors, who advise the mayor and help him/her work on legislation

• Vancouver and Toronto are as large as some provinces, and are demanding more power

Vancouver’s Government• Vancouver’s city council consists of ten

councilors, and a mayor elected to serve a three year term

• Powers of the Vancouver council include:pass by-laws to regulate such things as noise and land use

buy and sell propertycollect certain taxes

approve expenditurestake on debtsgive grants

hire and discharge employees

First Nation Self Government

• Most First Nation communities in Canada have their own government to meet their own specialized needs

• Many First Nation communities in Canada want more say in the government and have begun to fight for a say in how Canada is run

Review

• Federal government is the government of the entire country

• Provincial government is the government for a single province

• Municipal governments are the government for a single city

• Most First Nations have their own government to represent their needs

Review 2• Federal government is lead by the Prime

Minister

• Members of Parliament (MP) are elected to the House of Commons

• Provincial governments are lead by the Premier

• Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) are elected to the Legislative Assembly

• Provincial Government has no senate