Ch 21 - Parliament Flashcards
Who makes up parliament?
- The King
- The House of Commons
- The Senate
What branches are in parliament?
- Executive
- Legislative
Who approves laws?
- Executive and Legislative Branches
What is the role of members of parliament?
- Create laws
- Help constituents with problems
Why is a member of parliaments job varied?
- Many regions in Canada with different needs
What are the different theories of representation?
- PArty Delagate
- Trustee
- Constituency Delegate
- Descriptive / Microcosmic Representation
What is a Party Delegate?
- MPs vote according to their party
What is a Trustee?
- MP vote according to personal conscience
What is a Constituency Delegate?
- MPs vote according to the will of people in their constituency
What is descriptive / microcosmic representation theory?
Legislature should be microcosm of society
- MPs should reflect demographic/experience of people in general population
What is the arguement for the declining role of non-cabinet MPs?
- Executive dominated
- Harsh party discipline
- Limited role of ordinary individual
What does party discipline require?
- MPs to vote according to their party’s position
Why do people argue party discipline is important to the functioning of a parliamentary government?
- Government could fall
- Connected to majority rule, responsible government, and votes of confidence
What does it mean to ‘toe the line’?
- Members of same caucus expected to vote with their party on whipped votes
What is a whipped vote?
- A vote that all party members are supposed to vote the same on
What is a Free Vote?
- MPs allowed to vote in whatever way they want
What do free votes provide party members with?
- An opportunity to speak their mind
What doesnt happen in a free vote?
- Votes are not whipped
When do MPs get an opportunity to speak their mind, aside from free votes?
- Committees
- Private Meetings
- Open Debates
- Question Period
What are the critics of party discipline?
- Gives to much power to PM and Cabinet
Can the speaker rule on a free vote?
- NO
What does a free vote do to party discipline?
- Loosens it
When might a free vote occur?
- on votes of morality or conscience
- Divisions across party lines
What does the supremacy of parliament mean?
- No other organ of government can overrule parliament or its laws
What modification occured in 1982 that reduced the supremacy of the parliament?
- CA 1982
- Expanded power of the judiciary
What is the function of the house of commons?
- Hold Government Accountable
- Pass Legislation
- Correct legislation
- Show public alternative to government
- Political recruitment
What does it mean for the house of commons to hold government accountable?
- No confidence motion
How does the house of commons correct legislation?
- Reading of bills
- Committee work
Who shows the public an alternative to the government within the house of commons?
- The official opposition
When might it be difficult for the house of commons to hold the government accountable?
- Majority government
- No opposition holds balance of power
- Weak informal coalition
- Party Discipline
Who is the presiding officer of the commons?
- The Speaker
What does the speaker do in the house of commons?
- Interpret and enforce the standing orders
- break ties
What are the standing orders of the house of commons?
- Written and unwritten rules of the commons
What do house leaders do in the house of commons?
- Manage party business in the commons
What do party whips do?
- Ensure members are present for important votes
- Ensure members vote the right way
What does Toe the Party line mean?
- MPs of a party vote the party position
What are parliamentary privileges?
- Protection from libel action for anything said in the chamber
How long does parliament sit?
- 25 weeks / year
How many times does parliament meet?
- At least once a year
When does the speech from the throne occur?
- Beginning of parliament
- After election of Speaker
Where does the speech from the throne occur?
- The senate chamber
Who gives the speech from the throne?
- The Governor General
What is the throne debates?
- 6 days of debate
- Speech voted on
How many opposition days are there in a session?
- 21 days
What is an opposition day?
- When opposition gets to decide the agenda for parliament
What is most the the parliamentary session made up of?
- Days of considering government bills
What does it mean to adjourn the house??
- Gov’t decides to take breaks
What does it mean to prorogue the house?
- Gov’t decides to end session
What happens after a prorogue?
- All bills not passed cease
What does the dissolving of parliament mean?
- When an election is called
What does a typical workweek look like for an MP?
- Members statements
- Question Period (45min/day)
- Introduce and discuss government bill
- Private member’s bills
- Routine proceedings
- Constituency work
What type of committees are there?
- Standing
- Public Account
- Special
- Joint
What is a standing committee?
- A permanent committee
- Set by standing order from house of commons
- Runs from one session to the next
What is a public accounts committee?
- Scrutinize financial expenditure
What are special committees?
- Reviews specific topic
- Temporary
What is a Joint Committee?
- Joint between both house of commons and senate
What are the three types of legilsation?
- Public / Government Bill
- Private Members Bill
- Private Bill
What are government bills numbered?
- C1 - C200
Who introduces government bills?
- The Cabinet Ministers
Who sponsors the government bills?
- Prime Minister
What are government bills on?
- General policy matters
Who introduces and sponsors private members’ bills?
- Non-cabinet MPs
What are Private Members’ Bills Numbered?
- C-201 and upward
What can’t Private Members’ Bills include?
- Expenditure from public funds
When do private members bills not usually become statues?
- When they do not have government support
What kind of votes arent always whipped?
- Private Members Bill
What are Private Bills?
- Specific Person/Corporation Bill
Who usually introduces Private Bills?
- The Senate
How does a bill become law?
- Passes both House of Commons and Senate
- Receives Royal Assent
How many times are bills read in each house?
- 3 Times
What happens at the first reading of a bill?
- Bill Introduced
- Bill Tabled, Printed, and Made Public
- Bill Explained
- MPs Vote
What happens at the second reading?
- Debate on principles
- MPs vote
- Bill sent to committee if approved for review
What happens at the third reading of a bill?
- Appraised one last time
- Then goes to the senate
What happens in the senate regarding bills?
- Same as the House, but quicker
What happens if the senate suggest amended changes to a bill that has already passed through the house of commons?
- Must be accepted by the commons
When does a bill receive royal assent?
- After both House and Senate have agreed to bill
What happens after a bill receives royal assent?
- It becomes law
What is the senate considered as?
- the chamber for sober second thought
What does the senate do against the government?
- It checks the government
How is the senate represenation made up?
- Regional representation
Does the Senate effectively represent provincial interests?
- No
What does the senate improve?
- Technical bits of legislation
What is the senate in theory?
- Non-ideological
- Non-partisan
Who chooses the senators?
- The Prime Minister
What is the job of the senate?
- Amend and veto lawas
What kind of laws can the senate not veto or amend?
- Money Bills
What percentage of bills are ammended in the senate?
- 5%
What is a triple-e senate?
- Elected
- Efficient
- Equal (provincially)
Who wants a triple-e senate?
- Conservatives
Who wants the senate abolished?
- NDP
Who wants to see more independent senators?
- Liberals
What did Trudeau do in 2014 regarding the senate?
- Eliminated the Senate Liberal Caucus
- Made them all Independent
