how canadian government is organized. the basics weve already covered: canada is an indirect...
TRANSCRIPT
How Canadian Government Is Organized
How Canadian Government Is Organized
How Canadian Government Is Organized
The Basics We’ve Already Covered:
Canada is an indirect democracy representative government
Citizens freely choose representatives to govern them
How Canadian Government Is Organized
What Kind of Representative Democracy Are We?
Canada is both a constitutional monarchy and also a parliamentary democracy. We are now a country with a constitution, and no longer a dominion or colony of Britain.
• o In a purely ceremonial way, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state and commander-in-chief of our army
• o It is said that the Queen “reigns but does not rule”
How Canadian Government Is Organized
The Queen’s Representative
The Queen is represented in Canada by the Governor General, her Excellency the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean
How Canadian Government Is Organized
What’s a Constitutional Monarchy?
• We are a monarchy in the sense that we have a Queen, though she is not in charge of our governing.
• Since 1982, we have had a constitution which defines how exactly our country is run.
• The first part of the Canadian Constitution (signed in 1982) is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
How Canadian Government Is Organized
What’s a Parliamentary Democracy?
A parliamentary democracy is a representative democracy which has the power to make its own laws. Parliament comes from the French word “parler” (to talk)
• It has a Head of state (Queen Elizabeth, in our case)
• It has special Senior members who make up Cabinets (which have more authority)
• It has opposition parties
• It has one elected body (the MPs in the House of Commons) and one appointed group (senators in the senate)
How Canadian Government Is Organized
Three Levels of Government: Federal
• Canada is structured so that the power balance between federal and provincial levels to make laws is more or less equal
• Federal law-making for all of Canada happens on Parliament Hill in Ottawa
How Canadian Government Is Organized
Top Elected Official• The head elected official is the
Prime Minister. Right now our prime minister is Stephen Harper (Conservative party)
• Harper is the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada
How Canadian Government Is Organized
Three Levels of Government: Federal
• Because we are in Lanark country, our Member of Parliament in Ottawa is Scott Reid (Conservative Party), whose office many of you walk by on Lake Avenue each day on your way to school
How Canadian Government Is Organized
Three Levels of Government: Provincial
the Lieutenant Governor of each province is appointed by the Governor General to represent the Queen at a provincial level.
A legislature is a group which makes laws.
• The Provincial legislature has:• o MPPs (members of provincial
parliament)• o MLAs (members of legislative
assembly)• Each provincial legislature has a Premier:
s/he is head of provincial government and also leader of a majority party
How Canadian Government Is Organized
Provincial Leadership in Ontario
Our Lieutenant Governor is David C. Onley.
Our Provincial Premier is Dalton McGuinty (Liberal Party)
How Canadian Government Is Organized
Ontario’s Seat of Government
The provincial legislature sits in this building in Queen’s Park, Toronto(the capital city of the province is Toronto, while the capital city of the whole country is Ottawa)
Because we are in Lanark country, our MPP is Randy Hillier (Conservative Party.)
As stated before, the premier of the whole province of Ontario is Dalton McGuinty (Liberal Party)
How Canadian Government Is Organized
Three Levels of Government: Municipal
• The head of a municipal government is the mayor.
• Town (or City) Council represents the people of a given community. Carleton Place has seven people elected to town council, including our mayor.
• Municipal government can pass laws that relate to what goes on in the town or city
How Canadian Government Is Organized
Carleton Place’s Municipal Government
• Our mayor is Paul Dulmage• In this picture he is standing in
front of town hall, where municipal business takes place
• His email is [email protected]
How Canadian Government Is Organized
Know Your Leaders
Because we live in the Information Age, it is very easy for us to find out a great deal about our leaders using the Internet. To know both sides, it is important not to just read people’s official websites, which are designed to make them look good:
• Stephen Harper’s official website http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/default.asp
• Dalton McGuinty’s official website: http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/home/default.asp?lang=EN
• Scott Reid’s official website: http://www.scottreid.ca/
• Randy Hillier’s official website: http://www.randyhillier.com/site/
• Carleton Place town council website: http://carletonplace.ca/Local_Gov/viewPage.aro?pageid=237