THE LEVELS AND BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT

Canada’s Governmental Structure

Levels of Government

There are three levels of Government in Canada: Federal Provincial Municipal

Try to list as many areas of daily life that each is in charge of.

Watch the introductory video and answer who is in charge of each and what services they are responsible for.

Federal Government

Leader: Prime Minister (Stephen Harper)Services:

Aboriginal Affairs Citizenship and Immigration Fisheries Foreign Affairs National Defence Shipping and Railways Currency Criminal Law/Public Safety

Provincial Government

Leader: Premier (Kathleen Wynne for Ontario)

Services Education Health Care Natural Resources/Environment Transportation/Highways Property and Civil Rights

Municipal Government

Leader: Mayor/Reeve ( Todd Cowan in Woolwich)

Services: Waste Removal Libraries City Transit Parks and Recreation Animal Control Emergency Services Urban Planning Water

Levels of Government: Spending

Why is Provincial spending more than Federal?

Taken from: Civics and Citizenship and Statistics Canada

Spending by all levels of Canadian Government, by level, 2009

$ (billions) %

Municipal Level 74 12%

Provincial Level 316 50%

Federal Level 243 38%

Total 631 100%

Levels of Government: Spending

Spending by all levels of Canadian government, by category, 2009

$ (billions) %

Social Services (unemployment insurance)

190 30%

Health 122 19%

Education 96 15%

Protection (police, prisons, military) 51 8%

Interest Charges on Debt 44 7%

Transportation and Communication 32 5%

Resource/Industry/Development 20 3%

Environment 17 3%

Other 59 10%

Total 631 100%•Discuss this information with a partner, do you agree with how the government is spending their government? Be ready to share your answer.•Taken from: Civics and Citizenship and Statistics Canada

Canada’s Government

Canada is a parliamentary democracy, which means we elect people to represent us in our parliament and legislatures.

Canada is also a constitutional monarchy, which means that the monarch (the Queen) is our head of state.

The powers of the monarchy in Canada are limited by the Constitution. The Queen abides by the decisions of the Canadian Government, but she continues to play important ceremonial and symbolic roles.

Major Questions in Canadian Politics: The Governor General

Is appointed by the monarch of Canada on the recommendation of the Prime Minister

Serves 4-5 years but there are no official term limits

Is unelected and can speak for all CanadiansEnsures that the Prime Minister and

government have the confidence of parliament (51% or more of the members of the House of Commons)

Q: Should the GG still have the legal power to refuse to follow the advice of an elected PM or to dismiss a PM her or she judges to be acting unconstitutionally?

How is the Canadian Government Organized

What does Canada’s government look like?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXwVaWF

41ok

BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT

Governments do three basic things:Make lawsEnsure laws are followed

Judge lawsAll are directly related to

government’s central purpose - LAWS

BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENTIn democracies no one person [or group of

persons] performs all three functions In autocratic states, one individual [or a small

group] is in control of all three functions he/she plays the role of maker, enforcer and

judge of laws Canada is divided into three branches so that no one person can become a dictator:LegislativeExecutiveJudicial

Legislative Branch of Government

Powers: Create, change and

repeal laws and regulations

Members: Parliament

Senators Members of the House of

Commons (MPs)

Example: Change the laws

defining marriage in Canada.

Major Questions in Canadian Politics: The House of Commons

Includes all elected members of parliament (308); represents the concerns and interests of the electorate

Ensures that laws benefit all CanadiansDebates government policies and actionsOpposition parties make the government accountable for

its decisions and actionsQ: Do political parties have too much control over their

members making it difficult to represent their district?Q: Are House debates more about grandstanding and

making your opponent look bad to get votes instead of being about making laws and policies to improve Canada?

Major Questions in Canadian Politics: The Senate

Provides more balanced representation of regions and provinces in parliament

Senators are appointed to serve until age 75; they are immune from political considerations, and able to reject bad laws without fear of political penalties.

Q: Senate members are unelected, yet they have the power to reject laws passed by elected members of the House of Commons. Is that undemocratic?

Q: Senators are appointed by the PM, who awards Senate seats to loyal party supporters. Does that mean senators are just as politically partisan as any politician, or can they remain neutral and objective.

Trudeau Removes Liberal Senators From Caucus

Watch the video: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/news-video/video-justin-trudeau-removes-liberal-senators-from-caucus/article16568637/

What does it mean to remove a senator from a caucus?

What ramifications could this have on the Senate if all political parties (mostly just the Conservatives) did this?

How does this benefit Trudeau?

Executive Branch of Government

Powers: Administer and carry out (enforce) laws and

plans of the government Members:

Monarch Prime Minister Cabinet Bureaucrats (or Civil Servants)

Example: Prime Minister declares a state of emergency and

directs the Canadian Armed Forces to assist in snow removal.

Major Questions in Canadian Politics: The Executive Branch

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet members are elected members of the House of Commons and reflect the concerns of citizens.

Ensure that new laws and politics are constitutional and consistent with the beliefs and values of Canadians.

Q: Have recent Prime Minister acquired too much political power? Have the role and influence of parliament been reduced too much?

Judicial Branch of Government

Powers: Interpret the laws decide who has broken the law assign appropriate penalties

Members: Courts (Supreme, Provincial, Small Claims, Family,

etc.) Judges

Example: Should Hutterites in Alberta be required to have photos on their drivers’ licenses?

Major Questions in Canadian Politics: The Judicial Branch

Judges are appointed, not elected, so that they can apply the law fairly and objectively, free from political influence.

Judges have the power to challenge laws that are unfair and unconstitutional.

Q: Unelected judges are increasingly rejecting laws and policies passed by elected members of parliament, based on the judges’ own interpretation of the Charter. Is that appropriate?

Pondering Questions

With a partner, discuss and record answers to the following questions: Is any branch of the government more

important than the others? Why or why not?

Does having separate branches of government make the government more stable, or less so? Explain your reasoning.

Sources:

http://www.studentvote.ca/on2014/the-basics/Civics and Citizenship by Canadian

Investigations