Process of implementing the laws passed by parliament

process of implementing the laws passed by Parliament
 Composed of 10 MPs and 5 senators and is co-chaired by a
government member and an opposition member

o The Standing Committee on National Finance
 Reviewing the annual main estimates
o Standing Committee on Human Rights
 Mandated to ensure the federal legislation conforms to the Charter
and to the international human rights instruments that Canada has
signed since 1945
 produce high quality reports which often exert a long-term influence on public policy
 Senate reflects the fundamental ambiguity in the institutional structure of the Canadian
federal state
 Was designed to fulfill both the legislative role and the federal role
Senate Reform: What is it all about?
- The Senate as an institution of Federal System
o Institution of Interstate federalism
- The Senate as a Second Chamber
o Reforming the Senate for regional representation vs. Second Chamber
Senate Reform: Proposals
- Triple E: Equal, Elected, Effective
o Would no longer be a rubber stamp to the House of Commons
o Each province would be equal in numbers
- Abolition
o Requires a constitution amendment
o Was proposed and advocated for by the NDP
Stephen Harper’s Proposal:
- Stipulations:
o 8 (since changed to 9) year terms (non renewable):
 The Senate committee that has review this is not appose
o Consultative Elections
 The Prime Minister appoints after consultative election
 Elections in the provinces and the people that win would be
appointed by the PM to fill vacancies in the House of Commons
Problems:
- Section 42 and Section 38:
o Section 38: In order to change method of selecting Senators but use the
seven fifty rule, which states that, unless otherwise specified, amendments
to the Canadian Constitution must be ratified by resolutions of both
houses of the federal Parliament and the legislatures of at least two-thirds
of the provinces together containing at least 50% of the population
• The section 38 rule is known as the seven-fifty rule  the
federal government is the only government with veto power
• Changing the rules of how to change the Constitution
requires the agreement of all Canada’s constitutionally
recognized governments

o Section 42: Implies that other aspects of the Supreme Court cannot be
changed without resort to one of the amending formulas, it can be argued
that the court now enjoys entrenched status
- Quebec Senatorial Districts
o Unlike other Canadian provinces, it is divided into Senatorial regions (24)
 based on the 1859 electoral districts before Confederation
TOPIC #6: THE POLITICAL EXECUTIVE – The P.M., Cabinet and
Central Agencies
The Political Executive:
- includes those MPs from the governing party and one or more senators who sit in
Cabinet at the pleasure of the PM
- the PM is the leader of the Cabinet and, given the powers exercised by the PMO,
is much more than simply the “first among equals
- Cabinet exercises the formal executive powers of the Crown, and performs the
following key government functions:
o