Alot of people have different opinions on our government, and how well do political and legislative processes meet the needs of all Canadians? Some may argue that the system is terrible and corrupt and that it isn't in favor of Canada's citizens. I beg to differ, given that there are a lot of aspects of our government that serve to the needs of all Canadians. Specifically the cabinet, the media, the members of parliament, and the process in which laws are passed.
The Cabinet is a group of officials with different responsibility for government. Their duties are called portfolios, and they become a part of the cabinet by being appointed by the prime minister. The Cabinet is very important in many ways. Not only does it propose most of the ideas
…show more content…
But, the most important role of the media in the government is to find the truth, to go through credible sources with credible information to find the truth for the general public, so that they can make informed decisions. The media meets the needs of all Canadians because the media, gives an unbiased opinion of government related issued and exposes flaws in the government and makes sure all decisions are shown to the public, it also give the public a voice, a way to express their concerns, and have their issues be heard by the government so that their needs are …show more content…
A bill becomes a law only after going through a certain process to make sure that it is beneficial to the majority if not all of Canada's population.
After the executive branch comes up with an idea for a bill, that they think will make the live of canadians better, it goes into the House of Commons, where members of parliament would review the bill to make sure it serves well to their constituency.
There it is first read, and not debated or voted on
Then it goes into the second reading where there is Debate and vote on the principles of the Bill. Members of Parliament (MP’s) debate whether or not the bill serves to the best interests of Canadians. Its either rejected or studied.
If accepted it goes onto the Committee stage where a committee of MP's from all political parties review the bill with the help of witnesses, including experts and citizens who would have vested interest in the bill. The committee issues a report with a recommendation that the House usually accepts. Here it is rejected, amended, or accepted.
After comes the report stage, when there is debate and vote on the amendments to the
The procedure for approving a bill and making it a law involves many steps. The following description is a short summary from “How Our Laws are Made”, an in depth description of the legislative process that can found on the website of the Library of Congress. After a bill is drafted, a member...
...r votes elect individuals who will represent their values and interests. While many will argue between whether a minority or majority government better represents Canadians, this essay has shown that regardless of the type of government, the Prime Minister is able to use his power to control his MP’s, media, and opposition members in order to fulfill a personal or hidden agenda. The sheer manipulation that is possible by a Prime Minister completely undermines the transparency and accountability of true democracy.
Firstly, the bicameral system started in the 17th century and has been set up in many countries since. This system is justified on its standard of checks and balances on the governing party. The members of the two houses are elected or appointed to their positions depending on what method the country decides on. Canada is one of the countries with a bicameral parliamentary democracy, which was modeled off of England’s House of Lords. (Supreme Court 2014, pg. 720) One of the important factors of the bicameral system is the upper house of Parliament called the Senate, which has a long history and distinctive structure within Canada.
There are Canadian citizens who thought that the Canadian government we have is perfect, citizens who believed that every aspect of the government was truly democratic, and citizens who believe that government could do no wrong. Truly this group of believers has been living a lie. In our Canadian system of government, large aspects within are far from democratic and need to be changed. Liberal-minded people will cry out for a change in order for government to serve the people better, and on the other hand the more conservative thinkers will argue that no change is needed because our government is efficient and considerate. However, our voting system, our Senate, and the power vested to the Prime Minister are far from democratic, do not meet the actual needs of the people and definitely need to be addressed.
First, some background on the subject. Canada is divided into 308 ridings, and each riding elects one person to represent all the citizens in that riding. The party that wins the most ridings forms the government, and if that party has gained more than half the seats, as is usually the case, they form a majority and have the ability to pass any bill in the House of Commons that they wish, regardless of the opinions that other representatives have. This SMP system has remained unchanged in Canada since Confederation in 1867. On the other hand there is proportional representation, which is broken down into two main forms: Mixed Member Proportionality (MMP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV). MMP was first put into use ...
Too most the British Monarchy in Canada’s government is merely regarded as ceremonial, symbolic and not something that actually holds power. Firstly, the British Monarchy’s power’s consists of just watching over traditions and seeing if there is an abuse in power. There powers do not affect the Canadian citizen’s life in any way. Secondly, in Canada the Monarchy’s biggest symbol is the royal family but most people consider more than 6 other Canadian symbols more important than the royal family. This sh...
Canada is a society built on the promise of democracy; democracy being defined as “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.” In order to operate at full potential, the people of Canada must voice their opinions and participate fully in the political system. This is why it’s shocking to see that people are becoming less engaged in politics and the voter turnout has steadily been declining over the last 20 years. This lack of participation by Canadians is creating a government that is influenced by fewer people, which is detrimental to the democratic system Canada is built on.
The federal level ensures public safety for all Canadian citizens during times of terrorism and natural disasters, reassuring individuals that their safety is a top priority. The provincial government provides an organized foundation for the education systems as they are able to assist and encourage individuals who are of age to attend school. At the same time, they ensure the health care system is being funded appropriately and is sustaining all necessary health related needs for citizens. Finally, the municipal government guarantees that waste management is taken into account and is being done so in a societal and environmentally cautions manor. The municipal level as well is sufficient when it comes to water regulation and treating and distributing water to households amongst a city. Overall, the Canadian government not only meets, but exceeds my expectations when putting into account the most important issues I believe they are
Canada runs on a democratic model of governing based on the British parliamentary system. Its parliament is thus divided into two chambers: the House of Commons and the Senate. Elected politicians are seated within The House of Commons while the Senate occupies qualified citizens which are appointed by the Prime Minister. Parliament’s purpose is to hold responsibility for passing legislations and the choosing of government, referring to the political party with the largest amount of seats. Depending on the results of the election, Canada has the potential of having either a majority, minority or in the rare case a coalition government. Customarily, an election in Canada usually ends up forming a majority government. The party with more than
Canada has a central government designed to deal with the country as a whole. Things like national defense, banking, currency, and commerce are controlled by the central government. All other matters are left to the provinces to deal with. Such as education, hospitals, and civil rights are responsibilities of the states. The Canadian Parliament consists of two houses. Their Senate is made up of 104 members who serve until the age of seventy-five.
Twelve members of the cabinet preside over departments or ministries of the government, which include the ministries of justice, foreign affairs, finance, education, health and welfare, agriculture and forestry, and labor. The remaining cabinet members are the so-called "ministers of the state," which include the deputy prime minister and heads of various agencies such as the economic planning agency and the science and technology agency.
...n of their cabinet, while others may choose to create a new political path without consulting the views of their party. Mellon thinks that the Canadian government is under dictatorial scrutiny, whereas Barker contradicts this belief. The idea of a prime-ministerial government is certainly an over exaggeration of the current state of Canada. There are too many outside and inside forces that can control the powers the Prime Minister of Canada. Furthermore, there are several outside sources that indicate a good government in Canada. The United Nations annually places Canada at the top, or near the top of the list of the world’s best countries in which to live. These outcomes are not consistent with the idea of a one ruler power. Canada is not ruled by one person’s ideas, suggestions, and decisions, but by government approved and provincially manipulated decisions.
In our countries government, Congress plays a major role in decision making. They’re primary role is to pass laws. These laws start off as bills. Bills can only be introduced by members of Congress. Although these bills only come from Congressman, there are many people who influence these bills. Such as the president, regular citizens, offices in the executive branch, and many others. The bills right off the bat do not have a very good chance of passage. Only one out of every ten bills even gets any attention at all. This is because they must go through many tests and hearings before they even have a chance of landing on the president’s desk. These steps in a bill becoming a law are very important, and make sure that all bills passed into law are the best of the best.
Since federalism was introduced as an aspect of Canadian political identity, the country has undergone multiple changes as to how federalism works; in other words, over the decades the federal and provincial governments have not always acted in the same way as they do now. Canada, for example, once experienced quasi-federalism, where the provinces are made subordinate to Ottawa. Currently we are in an era of what has been coined “collaborative federalism”. Essentially, as the title would suggest, it implies that the federal and provincial levels of government work together more closely to enact and make policy changes. Unfortunately, this era of collaborative federalism may be ending sooner rather than later – in the past couple decades, the federal and provincial governments have been known to squabble over any and all policy changes in sectors such as health, the environment and fiscal issues. Generally, one would assume that in a regime employing collaborative federalism there would be a certain amount of collaboration. Lately, it seems as though the only time policy changes can take place the federal government is needed to work unilaterally. One area in which collaborative federalism has been nonexistent and unilateral federalism has prevailed and positively affected policy changes is in the Post-Secondary Education (PSE) sector.
Let 's first take a look at the media 's most obvious role. We all use the media to inform us. Here, the media report news and information to the general public. This is the most significant role of the media in a democracy because citizens play a crucial role in the political process and must be informed in order to make educated political choices. The media, therefore, must do a thorough and impartial job when informing the public on all government activities and political events. Elections pose a special challenge for