Parliament versus President

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Recommended: Difference between parliamentary and presidential systems of government

In this paper I will compare and contrast the presidential and parliamentary institutional structures. I will also explain how they differ in the relationship of the executive, legislature and judiciary. I will discuss how the Canadian system should be identified and if its organization changed over time. The impact of the constitutional changes of 1982 with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and if it improved or eroded the quality of Canadian democracy will also be explained and in this paper.
A parliamentary system is “a system of governing in which there is a close interrelationship between the political executive (prime minister and Cabinet) and Parliament (the legislative or law-making body). He executive is generally composed of members of the House of Commons (the elected parliamentary body) and must maintain the support of the House of Commons.” (Mintz, 2012).
In a parliamentary system there is a responsible government which means that both the Cabinet and the prime minister who is the political executive are held accountable for the actions of the Parliament. For the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to remain in office must gain the support of the elected members of the Parliament. The Parliament in Britain is referred to as the Westminster system and the rule in this particular Parliament is a single party majority rule, executive dominance of Parliament, and an adversarial relationship between the governing party and the opposition (Mintz, 2012). India, Canada, Australia, and several Caribbean countries are made up based on the Westminster system of Britain but have a few differences. (Mintz, 2012).
Parliamentary systems usually have tight relationships of both legislative and executive powers. The power that the Cabin...

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...012). The fourth formula is responsible for the changes of the House of Commons and the Senate (A. Forsey, 2012). The Charter of Rights guarantees the following: democratic rights, freedom rights, legal rights, nobility rights, and minority language education (A. Forsey, 2012).

Bibliography/Work cited
1) Mintz, Eric, Osvaldo Croci, and David Close. Politics, power and the common good: an introduction to political science. 2nd ed. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.
2) Haggard, S., & McCubbins, M. D. (2001). Presidents, parliaments, and policy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
3) Cheibub, J. A. (2007). Presidentialism, parliamentarism, and democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4) A. Forsey, E. (2012, 03). How Canadians govern themselves. Retrieved from http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/parliament/senatoreugeneforsey/book/chapter_2-e.html

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