Political System And Governance In Canada

Answer three of the following questions using the short essay format. Be certain to include an introduction and conclusion for each answer.  Make certain to answer all parts of each question.

1. Internal and external geography is important when considering Canada’s Parliament.   Describe this concept with as much detail as possible.  What is meant by the notion that Parliament is supreme in the Canadian case?  Describe the central agencies of the executive, what is their primary function?

2. Describe the powers of the Prime Minister and federal Cabinet in the Canadian Executive.  Compare and contrast the executive powers of the PM with those of the American President.  Do you think the PM is more powerful in the Canadian system than the American President in the U.S. system?  Why or why not?  

3. Discuss the evolution of Aboriginal rights in Canada. Why is it that the processes of settling land and treaty claims have improved in contemporary times? Give an example of litigation that has moved the notion of Aboriginal rights in Canada forward.  Describe the British Columbia Treaty process and analyze its successes and failures. Why is the Williams case so important?

4. How is Canada’s judiciary integrated?  Describe how the decision-making process of the Supreme Court has evolved from 1875 to 1949 to 1960/61 and post 1982 – use examples.  Describe how Supreme Court justices are selected – what are the priorities for that selection?

5. What is meant by the concept of multi-level governance?  Would Canada benefit from constitutional recognition of the local level of government? Why or why not? How does the province relate to British Columbia’s municipalities and, in particular, Metro Vancouver? Discuss the role of the federal and provincial governments in how municipal governments function in the country. Do you think that municipal government should be constitutionally recognized or not, why or why not?

6. Describe Canada’s place in the world with respect to military, security, trade and development issues. How has Canada’s place evolved, what were the influences that motivated those changes?  Discuss the linkage between Canadian foreign policy and trade, is this an effective approach – why or why not?

7. Describe Canada’s international profile as a member of several multi-lateral organizations. Do you favour Canada as a peacekeeper or peacemaker? Why?

Do you agree with the connection between international trade and foreign policy in Canada. What is the role of CSIS today?

Internal and External Geography of Parliament and Canadian Supreme Power

1. Canada follows a parliamentary system of governance in its government. When thinking about the parliament of Canada, it is necessary for one to look keenly at its internal and external structure. The National Parliament of Canada is composed of the Monarch, House of Commons and the Senate. This structure of parliament is known as the Westminster Model and was adopted from Britain.

The Monarchy in Canada plays the role of being a symbol of the state. The Monarchy is represented by the Governor General. Before any enacted law becomes operational, the monarch must assent to it. The monarch has the power to appoint the prime minister and to dissolve the parliament. However, it is noteworthy to say that all this power is in most cases exercised in consultation with the legislature and the prime minister.

The house of commons and the Senate makes up the legislative organ. All legislations are first discussed in the House of Commons before they can proceed to the Senate. The executive part of the government is drawn from the House of Commons. For a government to succeed in its operations, it must have a majority support in the House of Commons. Members of these houses are usually elected by citizens. The Senate is composed of members appointed by the government. The Senate also participate in legislation but it is seen to be less powerful compared to the House of Commons.

The parliament is the highest political institution in Canada. Whatever that is decided by the parliament is final and should, therefore, be adhered by everybody. The parliament has the power to enact laws and to scrap the existing ones. The supremacy of the Canadian parliament is not absolute. There is some limitation to the supremacy. First, Canada is a federal state, some of the powers to enact laws have been devolved to the provincial legislature. Some laws are made at the provincial level which cannot be altered by the national legislature.

Lastly, the inclusion of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom in the constitution curtailed the supremacy of the legislature. The charter protects the citizens and gives them the freedom that cannot be interfered with by the legislature. Also, the judiciary plays a significant role in ensuring that the laws passed in the legislature are in harmony with the requirement of the charter. The judiciary also acts as a check on the powers of the legislature and ensures that the laws do not violate the constitution.

There are three central agencies in the Canadian executive. They include the Privy Council Office (PCO), Treasury Board Secretariat and the Department of Finance. These agencies together with departments in the executive help the Prime Minister and the Cabinet in the execution of their powers. The PCO is directly answerable to the Prime Minister through its head, that is, the clerk. The PCO has three primary functions. To begin with, they are responsible for giving a neutral advice to the prime minister in matters such as the coordination of the government’s objectives and the planning of strategic policy. The other function of PCO is to support the cabinet in the proper execution of its activities. This is done through planning for cabinets meetings and ensuring that the meetings run smoothly. They generally act as the cabinet's and the committees’ secretariat. Lastly, the PCO is the point of contact between the prime minister and public service. PCO ensures that the public service is advancing the government plans.

Powers of Prime Minister and Federal Cabinet in Canada's Executive

The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) is tasking with the responsibility of helping the Treasury Board in carrying out their duties. TBS is usually led by the Treasury Board secretary. Within it, the composition is the Controller General of the government. The primary role of the Department of Finance is the preparation of the yearly budget for the government. Generally, it is through the central agencies that the executive accomplishes much of their duties.

2. The Prime Minister, the Governor General, and the federal cabinet form the executive part of the Canadian government. The Prime Minister is appointed from among the elected members in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the head of government. He is responsible for day to day running of the government. Several powers have been bestowed to the Prime Minister by the constitution. To begin with, the Prime Minister has powers to influence major decisions of the Governor General through his advice. Duties assigned to the Monarch are practically performed by the Prime Minister. These duties include the decision on when to dissolve the parliament and when a general election should be conducted.

The Prime Minister also has the power to appoint the cabinet ministers. The ministers are directly answerable to the Prime Minister. He has the power to appoint and demote any minister. They can also be asked to step down without questioning anything.  This power makes the ministers responsible in their positions. The Prime Minister has the power to appoint the public servants such as the senators, head of different government agencies and corporation. He also chooses judges of the Supreme Court. These powers give the Prime an opportunity to further his visions and goals. This is achieved through the appointment of people of like mind. Another power possessed by the Prime Minister is power to reorganize and to restructure the government. This can be done through the transfer of duties from one department to another and the creation of new departments. Finally, the Prime Minister has the privilege of meeting with other heads of states in diplomatic meetings.

Apart from the Prime Minister, the cabinet also has a number of powers which enables it to execute its duties effectively. One of the powers of the cabinet is the power that is assigned to the Monarch. The Monarch excises his powers as per the dictates of the cabinet. These powers include dissolution of the parliament and key officers of the state. Another power of the cabinet is the power to contribute to the laws of the country. This is done through the formulation of legislation which is then submitted to the legislature for approval. The third power of the cabinet is power to head state departments. This gives the ministers an opportunity to inject their ideas on how the state department should be run. They also determine the human resource composition of those departments. Lastly, the cabinet has powers to receive appeals from a conflict that may arise between individual or companies and regulatory bodies.

Evolution of Aboriginal Rights in Canada, British Columbia Treaty Process, and Land Claims

The United States of America has a presidential system of government while Canada uses the parliamentary system of government. Despite the differences in the system of government, these two countries have some similarities with regard to the powers bestowed to the president and the prime minister. One of the similarities is that both of them are head of governments in their respective countries. Another similarity is that both leaders are diplomatic leaders of their respective countries. They represent their countries internationally. They can also sign agreements on behalf of their countries.

Despite the above similarities, a number of differences can be noted in the powers possessed by the US president and the Canadian prime minister. One of the notable differences is that the USA president is the head of the state while the Canadian prime mister is not. This position gives the president more powers. The president of the United States is the commander in chief of the armed forces but the Canadian prime minister only gives advice to the monarch. By being the commander in chief, the USA president has more military power. The Canadian prime minister can be forced to resign in case he loses popularity in the legislature thus lacking job security. On the other hand, in the USA, although there is the provision of impeaching the president, the process is rarely successful. With this, the president enjoys his four-year term.  

Unlike in the USA where all the presidential appointments are subject to the Senate's approval, the prime minister's approval in Canada are final and requires no approval. The Canadian prime minister has powers to declare war in consultation with the monarch a power that the USA president lacks. Finally, the Canadian prime minister, having been appointed from among the elected members, have a higher influence of convincing parliamentarians to support his legislation. On the other hand, the USA president may have some influence in the Congress but he may not be able to control its operations. Having highlighted the above similarities and differences, it can be concluded that the Canadian prime minister appears to be more powerful than the USA president.

4. The judiciary arm of government in Canada is tasked with the responsibility of interpreting the law and statutes formulated by the legislature. The judiciary is composed of judges and the law courts in which they execute their duties from. The judiciary makes their decision independently without interference from the other arms of government. There exist four level of courts in the Canadian judiciary. The highest court in Canada is the Supreme Court followed by the federal court of Appeal. The third level court is the provincial superior court and the lowest level court is composed of the provincial courts. All the judges in Canada are appointed by the government at the national level with the exception of those who preside in the lower provincial courts who are appointed by their respective province.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in Canada. The court receives appeals from both courts in the provincial government and the federal government. It is composed of nine justices, that is, the chief justice who acts as the head of the Supreme Court and eight other justices. The Supreme Court judges are appointed by the Governor in Council after meeting the set criteria or qualification. The qualification for Supreme Court judges is clearly highlighted in the Supreme Court Act. One of the qualifications of a Supreme Court judge is that he must be a serving judge in a provincial superior court and the court of appeal. The candidate must have served as a judge in a superior court. The candidate must have a minimum of ten years of practicing experience as an advocate. Any candidate who wishes to be a Supreme Court judge must have the ability to communicate both in English and French language. This is because both languages are official languages of the court.It is also a requirement of the Act that three judges of the Supreme Court should be drawn from the province of Quebec.

Integration of Canada's Judiciary and Selection of Supreme Court Justices

The Canadian supreme court was first established in 1875 under the leadership of the then Prime Minister. This happened after several struggles from different opposing parties. The decision-making ability of the Supreme Court has improved over the year since when it was found. During the period between 1875 and 1945, the decisions of the Supreme Court was not final. It was subject to further interpretation by the judicial committee of the Privy Council. The judicial committee was not conversant with the laws in Canada and would find it difficult to make a decision relating to Canada.

In 1933 and 1945 respectively, the Supreme Court was given the ability to have a final decision on criminal and civil cases respectively. The enactment of the Canadian Bill of Right gave the judiciary power to check whether the laws passed by the legislature was in harmony with human rights. Despite this powers, the Bill of Rights lacked constitutional support and did not get proper attention. To address the above problem, the constitution was amended in 1982. This amendment led to the inclusion of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter gave the Supreme Court more powers of interpreting the law with regard to human rights freedom. The period after 1982 has seen judges exercise their full powers bestowed to them by the constitution without interference. It noteworthy to say that the Supreme Court decision making ability has really advanced since when it was first formed.

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