week 5: Parliament Flashcards
parliament
Types of legislatures
Arena legislatures: policy initiatives come from outside and legislative serve primarily as a vehicle of representation and debate
Transformative legislatures: policy is created within the legilsature
Functions of Parliament
Legislative: they pass bills that originate typically in cabinet
Representation
Government oversight
Legitimation
Service representation
A big part of the job of any MP is to act as a representative of their constituents in interactions with the government
Involved helping their constituents navigate the
government bureaucracy
MPs get large budget for the management of a constiuency office for this purpose
42% of MP time devoted to constituency work
Constituency Representation
Expectation that politicians deliver benefits to their constituency
Money bills often feature pork barrel benefits to attract votes for individual MPs and aid their re-election bids
This feature of representation is less apparent in Canada than in the US
Symbolic Representation
Legislatures also have a role in symbolically representing social groups
15% visible minority; 29% women in the house of commons
Lawyers and business owner heavily represented
Policy Representation
Policy representation can mean different things
Party interests
Ideological interests
Special interests
Constituency interests
Party discipline ensures representation is dominated by partisan interests
Government oversight
Parliament serves as a crucial venue for debate
Can spark changes in media coverage and public opinion that may get governments to change course
Also, reinforce the open and competitive qualities of Canadian democracy
It institutionalizes doubt by forcing governments to respond to opposition
Question period: provides a critical venue to hold the government to account, which has a major influence on news coverage (45 minutes)
Committees can serve as a venue to ask deeper questions about legislation and provide an avenue for amendments
Opposition days allow opposition parties the ability to set the agenda
Perhaps most important are the politically independent officers of parliament
Auditor general
Ethics commissioner
Public sector integrity
commissioner
Parliamentary budget officer
Privacy commissioner
Information Commissioner
Legitimation
The procedures of parliament to provide openness, transparency, and accountability contribute to the democratic legitimization
Bills are given the opportunity for debate and passage by a democratically-elected body
Mobilization of consent
Structure
Bills must be passed by two co equal on paper chambers of parliament, but by convention senate can only delay passage or recommend minor revisions
House of commons: MPs elected by voters using a first past the post electoral system (single members districts, plurality winner) rep by pop
Senate: senators appointed by PM; equal regional representation
Legislative Process: How Bills Become Law
- First reading: introducing the bill
- Second reading: debating the idea
- Committee stage: discussion and hearing witnesses
- Report stage: back to the chamber
- Third reading: debate and vote
- Sent to another chamber
- Royal assent: becoming a law
FISH SEASONING CAN REALLY TURN SEAWEED RED
Significance:
How Bills Become Laws significant due to their constitutional purpose of maintaining order
It is effective due to the number of steps
Question of confidence
Promotes transparency
The parliamentary session
A few key moments in every parliamentary session (historically these last a year)
Speech from the throne: outlines government priorities
Budget: overview of government spending and tax changes
Main estimates: annual spending plans for departments
All three are automatic votes of confidence
A new session can be called through the power of prorogation
New throne speech and budget occurs
Parliament is terminated and elections are called via dissolution
Both acts terminate existing bills that have not secured royal assent
The Parliamentary Day
Most time is reserved for government business (ex: debates on bills)
5 hours per week on private members business
Oral questions or question period the most prominent part of the day (45 min) focus on media ettention
Question period is well attended, but the rest of the parliamentary day, not so much
Parliamentary Roles (Speaker)
The speaker is the presiding officer
Enforces the written rules of the commons, the standing orders and unwritten conventions
Historically chosen by PM, now by a secret ballot in commons
Tasked with breaking ties (very rare)
Other parliamentary roles
House leaders are selected by parties to manage parliamentary business in consultation with other parties
Speak for leader when they are absent
Party Whips are in charge of ensuring everyone votes and votes correctly
They implement party discipline by assigning offices, committee assignments, and speaking time
Committees
Offer the best opportunity for MPs to influence policy
Reforms to the committee system have allowed for smaller, more stable membership
Permanent standing committees can scrutinize their related government department
Furnished with non partisan staff from the house of commons and the library of parliament
Limits of Committees
Majority governments still control majority of seats
In minority governments, powerlessness can follow
Committees can offer amendments to improve legislation, call expert witnesses to testify
Amendments are usually minor
Unlike U.S congressional committees, they don’t kill legislation
Function of the Senate
Created as a compromise at the time of confederation for
Protection of minorities and the rich from the masses
Regional representation (24 per region, 6 for NL and 3 for the territories)
Chamber of a sober second thought
Powers of the Senate
Has almost identical power to the house of commons
Can veto amend legislation
Money bills cannot originate in the senate
Amendments cannot increase expenditure
Composition of the senate
Prime ministers have historically made partisan appointments
Rewarded party loyalists and fundraisers “party hacks”
Many had close ties to big business
Not a great look
PM Trudeau’s change to non-partisan recommendations for appointments has changed Senate’s complexion
The senate in practice
Powers usually aren’t exercised because of a lack of democratic legitimacy
Senators don’t see their job as regional representation
The chamber focused on making technical improvements to bills
Often launch social investigations that the Commons doesn’t have time for
Senate commons conflict
Sometimes the Senate flexes its muscles when its partisan balance is different than the commons
Peak between 1984-1991 altered Meech Lake Accord, help us the Canada-US Free
Trade Agreement, and the Goods and Services Tax
The deadlock was only broken when Mulroney used constitutional power to appoint extra senators
PC-controlled senate caused headaches for Chretien Liberals after 1993
Senate Reform
NDP favors abolition due to class bias in the chamber
Western populists have argued for a “EEE” Senate featured in the Charlottetown Accord
Conservative PM Harper pushed for term limits and provincial consultative elections through ordinary legislation
In a reference decision, the court ruled these bills were unconstitutional and needed a constitutional amendment
Senate reform middle ground
PM Trudeau sought a middle ground
Expelled liberal senators from caucus
Set up an independent advisory board to consider candidates based on merit and diversity
Senate is now more active in amending legislation led by the independent senator’s group
But other research has found independent senators to be just as partisan as expelled former liberal senators
Unresolved issues
What should a reformed Senate look like?
What should its function be
Elected or unelected
What forms of representation should be prioritized
Is it worth amending the constitution
Sources of Parliamentary Weakness
The tremendous concentration of power in the hands of the PM but this came at the expense of the cabinet: Parliament has always been weak
Why?
Lacks of resources
Limits of private members
Senate
Party unity and party discipline
Limited Resources
Unlike the American Congress, individual parliamentarians have limited to no staff available for policy-related matters
Staff time is monopolized by constituency service and parliamentary obligations
MPs are also policy generalists
Limited time or ability to push back against bills or estimates provided by cabinet
Limits of private members
Government time monopolizes the parliamentary calendar, and time for private members’ business has fallen over time
Private member bills, for their part, can not involve money, which dramatically limits their scope
Major parties are given first dibs on speaking time, and independents are hugely disadvantaged
Senate
Other countries have strong upper houses of the legislature
Canadian Senate is unelected, limited by convention to rejecting legislation passed by the house
Typically dominated by partisans of the governing party
Usually limited to making small amendments to legislation
Party unit
The observable fact that MPs rarely vote against their party dramatically limits the power of parliament
Majority governments automatically uphold confidence convention (responsible government)
Parliamentary committees rubber stamp government bills
Government backbenchers rarely challenge the cabinet in question period
Limited portfolio
Focuses on legislation and department activities
Subject to party discipline
Limited access to the party leader
Can get removed from caucus and gain independence (the bad kind)
Party cohesion or discipline?
Rewards:
1. Cabinet or critic positions
2. Projects for local constituencies
3. Party brand and electoral support
4. Plum committee assignments
5. Access to PM or party leader
Punishments
1. Losing committee, cabinet, or critic positions
2. Damaging party brand and electoral support
3. Being removed as a candidate for the next election
4. Expulsion from caucus
Why so much discipline?
Canada has by far the highest level of party unity compared to the UK or Australia
Party leadership races and
American influence
Weak party organization
Size of cabinet relative to parliament
Presidentialization of politics
Electoral system
Reform
Sporadic efforts at reform have been met with mixed success
Increasing time for private members’ business
Removing party leader control over nominations
Allow MPs to review and remove party leaders
Require caucus vote to remove colleagues
Allow more free votes in parliament
Elected senate or independent senate
Critics of reform
Some argue that there isn’t a problem: Canadian parliament is simply not intended to be a serious policymaker like US congress
Reform efforts may undermine the foundations of the Canadian system and limit the clarity of responsibility
Most voters vote based on party and leader, not the local MP
The weakness of parliament may be overstated; a lot of MP influence on policy is found behind the scenes
