MQM Canada urges all
Pakistani Canadians to take part in Election Canada 2008
MQM Canada urges all Pakistani Canadians to take part in Election Canada
2008 and play their active role in the Canadian Society using their right of
votes. MQM Canada believes that all Canadian Pakistanis will cast vote on
Election Day for able and deserving candidates of their choice. MQM Canada feels
proud for Pakistani Community who is flourishing the Canadian Culture and
Society by their dedication, loyalty and hard work and volunteering in many
areas.
Canadian Political System
The Canadian political system as it is known today was first drafted by the
"Fathers of Confederation" at the Quebec conference of 1864. This then became
law when the constitution act was passed in 1867. This act gave the formal
executive authority to Queen Victoria (Queen of Great Britain) which made Canada
a sovereign democracy. The Canadian political system is therefore loosely based
on the British system.
Now, Canada is an independent Federal state with the Queen still the head of
state. Her powers are extremely limited however, as the Parliament passes the
laws which the Queen gives the "Royal Assent" as the final step. The Governor
General of Canada is the Queens representative in Canada and carries out all the
Royal obligations when the Queen is not in Canada. The Governor is always a
Canadian chosen by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. The length of
office is normally five years for the Governor General.
The Houses of Parliament (housing the Federal Government and the seat of the
Canadian Political System) are located in Canada's capital city, Ottawa. There
are 3 main sections to the Canadian Parliament. The Queen as the Head of state,
the Senate (appointed on the Prime Minister's recommendations) and the elected
House of Commons.
The Federal Government has the power to "make laws for the peace, order and good
government of Canada" which includes International policies, Defence,
Immigration, Criminal Law, Customs and Border control.
Know more about politics and its development over the years through political
news at Allvoices.com
The Senate
The Senate is a major influence on the Canadian political system and is made up
of 105 Senators who are appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation
of the Prime Minister. These Senators are men and women from all of the
Provinces and from a wide variety of backgrounds. They can serve on the Senate
up until age 75 and have to be a Canadian citizen, over age 30, own $4,000 of
equity in land in their home Province, have over $4,000 as personal net worth
and live in the Province represented. Each Province or Territory has a set
number of Senators - 24 each from the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario, 6 each from
Alberta, BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 6 from Newfoundland and Labrador and a
further 1 each from the three Territories.
The main role of the Senate is to read over and examine the "Bills" sent from
the House of Commons though they can also initiate Bills. This process ensures
that no rogue bills will become law, though only rarely do the Senate reject a
Bill - sending it back to the House for amendment. The Bills are subjected to
the full legislative process by the Senate and if passed will be given to the
Governor General for Royal Assent and thus become Law. basically, the Senate is
the quality control of the Canadian Political System!
House of Commons
The real power of the Canadian Political System is held by the House of Commons.
Here, the members of Parliament (MP's) are elected by the general public during
a Federal election - normally every 5 years. The country is split up into
constituencies (total 308 by population size) and whichever candidate has the
most votes wins the right to represent that constituency and take their "seat"
in the Parliament.
Each Most candidates represent a particular political party and the party with
the most "seats" takes over as the Government. The main parties in the Canadian
political system are Stephane Dion's Liberals , Stephen Harpers Conservatives
(ruling), Jack Layton's New Democratic Party, The Bloc Quebecois (limited to
Quebec) and The Green Party to name the largest.
The leader of the political party that wins the election becomes the Prime
Minister of Canada (currently Stephen Harper of the Conservatives). The Prime
Minister effectively runs the country with the support and advice of his
Cabinet. The Cabinet is made up of "Ministers" chosen by the Prime Minister to
be responsible for certain areas of the Government. There are ministers of
Health, Finance, Defence and Immigration to name a few. These areas of
responsibility are called "Portfolio's" and each minister will have a large team
of civil servants (normally the experts in that field) working for him/her. Only
the ministers change during an election - not the civil servants.
Though the MP's represent their local constituency, their main duties are
debating the laws to be made and, depending on their Party, either supporting or
opposing the Government. The opposition is the political party with the second
most seats in the House and their main job is to hold the government accountable
for their decisions. This is a vital part of the Canadian political system as a
strong opposition can ensure that controversial bills do not pass through as
law.
A Government with a lot of seats in the House will be strong and able to pass
most laws they want through Parliament. Conversely, a weak Government (such as
now) doesn't have the majority of the seats and has to rely on the support of
another party to form an effective Government.
After each election, the Senate and the House of Commons either elect (House) or
appoint (Senate) a Speaker. The Speaker is in charge of proceedings and has to
be impartial, enforcing the rules of the House/Senate during debates and votes.
The Speaker presides over the House from a raised chair with the Government MP's
om the right and the opposition on the Left.
Making the Laws
All legislation introduced into the Canadian political system has to be passed
as a law of the country. To start with, the House of Commons members introduce a
"Bill" (legislative proposal). The details of the Bill are read in the House
without debate and then the Bill is printed (the first reading).
During the second reading the principles of the Bill are debated followed by a
vote. If successful, the Bill is then sent to the Committee stage.
A committee will listen to testimony, examine the Bill and then submit a report
to the House recommending it as it is, with amendments or be scrapped. From here
it goes to the report stage.
In the report phase, any amendments are debated and voted on. Then it will pass
to the third reading. This is where the House finally debates and votes on the
final draft - if it passes the vote it is sent to the Senate.
The Senate put the Bill through the same process as the House - if it comes
through all that (normally does!) it is given Royal Assent and becomes Canadian
Law!
Though you can only vote in the Federal elections once you have Canadian
citizenship, as a newcomer it's good to know how your new Government works. This
page will give a good overview, but I recommend following this link for the
detailed information on the Canadian Political System.
Provincial Governments
The Provincial Government systems are based along the same principles as the
Federal system. The Provincial Government is called the Legislative Assembly and
the Queens representative in the Assembly is the Lieutenant Governor. Normally,
every 4 - 5 years and election is called by the current Premier. At the end of
the election, the Lieutenant Governor asks the leader of the party with the most
"seats" to become the Premier of the Province and form the Government.
The Premier then chooses the Executive Council to help run the Province. They
develop policies and have similar responsibilities in the Legislative Assembly
as the Federal Cabinet.
As mentioned in the Provincial pages, the Provincial Government is responsible
for healthcare, education, driver licensing and registrations and the Provincial
budget amongst other things. As there are differences between the Provinces,
Territories and the main Canadian political system, use the Provincial
Government sites we link to for detailed information.
Another valuable resource is the Centrerion Blogspot which is a dedicated Blog
for Canadian politics with great information and active discussions