THE EXECUTIVE BRANCHTHE BOSS AND HIS HENCHPERSONS

The Executive Branch consists of:- The Governor General- The Prime Minister- The Cabinet- The Public (Civil) Service

aka “bureaucrats”

GOVERNOR GENERAL

- Appointed by the Queen upon recommendation by the Prime Minister

- Ceremonial position (not much actual decision making)

- 5 year termsDavid Johnston

PRIME MINISTER

- An elected MP- Both the leader of the Nation and the leader of their Political Party

- 5 year termsStephen Harper(Conservative)

The Prime Minister’s Duties…- Represent Canada and its citizens- Foreign & Domestic Policy- Appointments (Judges & Senators)- Select MP’s for Cabinet positions- Lead his Caucus:

- Elected members of his political party who sit in the House of Commons

Vote of Non-Confidence- Each bill in the legislature is voted

upon. If the Prime Minister introduces a bill that is defeated in parliament then he/she has lost confidence and must call an election

- This can typically only happen if there is a minority government; ie., there are more opposition MP’s than in the caucus- OR, The members of the Opposition introduce

a formal vote of non-confidence

The Cabinet- Selected by the Prime Minister- Around 30 elected MP’s who each

run a different government department (Cabinet Ministers)- Ex. Minister of Environment,

Minister of Finance, Minister of Defence, Minister of Education

- Guide policy for their respective departments

- Are allowed to have Deputy Ministers (assistants – not elected)

The Shadow Cabinet (dun dun dun…)- Members of the Official

Opposition (2nd place!) who are chosen to “shadow” a specific minister

- AKA., CRITICS- Major Buzz-Kills.

Backbenchers!- Members of governing party that are NOT

Cabinet Ministers- (AKA., “Everyone else”)

- Need to show Solidarity by voting in-line with their party

- If they speak or vote against their party, the Party Whip will “talk” to them…

The Public Service- Government employees

that do all the day-to-day work

LEGISLATIVE BRANCHWHERE IT ALL GOES DOWN (PARLIAMENT)

The Legislative Branch consists of:•The House of Commons•The Senate•The Governor General

The House of Commons• Members of Parliament: Our elected representatives in government. There are currently 308 of them, but this will change to 338.

Where decisions and bills (laws) are debated

The House of Commons cont.• Speaker of the House: Controls the flow of

the debate (The referee!) “Order in the House.”

• Sergeant at Arms: Ceremonial security position. Carries a giant mace (not joking)

The House of Commons cont.How it actually works

• Each piece of legislature (bill, law, budget) is a voting contest. The side with the most votes wins, and the bill either passes or is defeated.

• The second largest party in the H.O.C becomes the Official Opposition, and its leader becomes the Leader of the Opposition.

The SenateThe House of Sober Second Thought (apparently)

• Members are appointed by the Prime Minister, not elected

• There are no official specific qualifications to be a senator

• Patronage: the act of rewarding a party member for loyalty or support