People in Parliament And the three levels of Canadian Government
The Queen
•Head of state
• Role is mainly ceremonial therefore she does not have real power
•She is responsible for summoning parliament or provincial legislature to meet, appointing senators and calling elections
Queen Elizabeth II of England
The Governor General
David Lloyd Johnston
•The Queen’s representative in Canada at the federal level
• Performs the Queen’s responsibilities in Canada on behalf of the Queen
•He is responsible for summoning parliament or provincial legislatures to meet, appointing Senators, calling elections. His role is mainly ceremonial
The Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
• Leader of a political party with the most seats in the House of Commons
• Most powerful person in Parliament
• Recommends to the Governor General the appointment of Senators, the appointment of judges to the Supreme court and determines when elections will be held
The Cabinet
Members of the Parliament selected by the Prime Minister to be responsiblefor an area of Public Policy
Minister of Defence
Peter McKay
Minister of Finance
Hon. Jim Flaherty
House of Commons
• Contains 308
(elected) Members of
Parliament
• responsibilities
include making laws,
raising or lowering
taxes and debating
issues of public policy
Senate
•Made up of 105 Senators (various legislative or governing bodies) appointed by the Prime Minister • Responsible for reviewing laws passed by the House of Commons and representing the regions of Canada
Backbencher
• An MP who does not hold governmental office •They are responsible for relaying the information back to their constitutes• They get their names from where they sit in the House of Commons (in the back benches)
Shadow Cabinet
Thomas Mulciar
• Members of the main Opposition party responsible for holding Ministers to account and for developing and disseminating the party's policy positions
•This person will shadow or mark each individual member of the government
Opposition
• Usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly
• Not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing union
• This is usually the second-largest party in a legislative house
• In certain unusual circumstances, it may be a third or fourth party or even the largest part
• Keeps the government in check
Members of Parliament (MPs)
• Representative of the voter to a parliament • They each represent a single electoral district, or riding
• They represent in the House of Commons
J. Fantino O. Chow J. Flaherty P. Kent J. McCallum
The Premier
• Head of government of a province or territory
•Not the head of state
•Head of Provincial Legislative and the head of the executive
•Hold seats in the Legislative Assembly
•Elected one of the electoral constituencies of the province
•They represent the provincial interests on the federal level of government
Kathleen WynnePremier of Ontario
Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs)
M. Chan P. Sherman F. Klees M. Kwinter
• One member of the provincial parliament (MPP) is elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in each provincial riding in Ontario
• MPPs represent the views of their constituents in the legislative assembly, and take part in committees and debates on provincial legislation
Majority vs. Minority
Municipal Governments
These consist of two categories:
•Upper Tier (regions and districts, such as Peel Region)
•Lower Tier (cities and towns, such as Mississauga and Streetsville)
Municipal Responsibilities…
• water
• sewage,
• waste collection
• public transit
• land use planning
• libraries
• emergency services (fire, police, EMT)
• animal control
• economic development
Provincial Debate • In groups (Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Green)
students will be arguing on a specific topic (Education-Provincial).
• Arguments will be based on the views of the specific parties
• 10 minutes to research party stand on the issue
• Then we will participate in an open debate/forum. Every party will have a chance to speak on the issue (2-3 minutes per group) followed by an open debate where all the parties can converse amongst one another
Links
• NDP: http://ontariondp.com/en/
• Liberal: http://www.ontarioliberal.ca/
• Conservative: http://www.ontariopc.com/
The End