The Role of Parliament in Canada

St Francis Xavier University November 2008

Parliament of Canada

• Crown

• House of Commons

• Senate

Role of the Crown

• Opens Parliament (Speech from the Throne)

• Formally Appoints Prime Minister, Cabinet

• Gives assent to Bills

• Dissolves Parliament and calls elections

Functions of the House of Commons

• Debate and passage of bills • Voting of “supply” (funds) to maintain

government• Holding the executive accountable for its

actions• Detailed discussion of public issues in

committees• (Opposition): providing a feasible

alternative to the Government

House of Commons --Representation

• First-Past-the-Post Electoral System• Some provinces over-represented

(Senate floor provision)• Rural districts tend to have smaller

number of electors • Party discipline is still very strict• Gradual adoption of stronger

committee roles

Current Commons Representation By Region

Atlantic NS 11, NB 10,

PEI 4, NL 7 32

Ontario 106

Quebec 75

Man & Sask 14 + 14 28

Alberta 28

B. C. 36

Territories

TOTAL

3

308

Current Party Standings –House of Commons

• Conservatives 143

• Liberals 76

• Bloc québécois 50

• NDP 37

• Independent 2

• TOTAL 308

Ideas for House of Commons Reform

• Looser Party Discipline:– clearer rules re confidence votes– more free votes– greater role for caucus (as they do in Alberta)

• Bigger Role for Committees• Electoral Reform -- e.g.: Proportional

Representation • Other Representation reform

– gender parity– Stricter rep-by-pop by province

Harper Government’s bill to reform provincial representation in the Commons

• Constitution Act, 2007 (Democratic Representation):– Continues practice of reapportioning seats after each

10-year census– There has been a “floor” to each province’s

representation since 1915, based on Senate number– In 1985 a “ceiling” on total numbers was imposed– New rules would lift ceiling a bit to allow seat

allocation according to “rep-by-pop” in Alberta and BC, and closer to “rep-by-pop” in Ontario

Seat allocation in Commons by Province

• Current allocationAtlantic 32Quebec 75Ontario 106Man & Sk 28Alberta 28BC 36Territories 3Total 308

• ProposedAtlantic 32Quebec 75Ontario 116Man & Sk 28Alberta 33BC 43Territories 3Total 330

Senate -- Background

• Original purpose was as a House of regional and property interests

• Its regional representation and democratic legitimacy are now questioned

• There’s been much debate but little progress on reforming the Senate

Functions of the Senate

• Core function: sober second thought

• Debate and passage of bills

• Debate and passage of supply

• Somewhat more detailed scrutiny of bills

• Committees review public policy

• Occasional flexing of muscle: in law it is almost as powerful as Commons; in practice it is not.

Current Senate Representation By Region

Atlantic 10 + 10 + 4 + 6 = 30

Quebec 24

Ontario 24

West 6 + 6+ 6+ 6 = 24

Territories 1 + 1 + 1 = 3

Total 105

Current Party Standings-- Senate

• Liberals 58

• Conservatives 21

• PC 3

• Indep. NDP 1

• Indep 5

• Vacant 17

• TOTAL 105

Ideas for Senate Reform

• Abolish• Triple E proposal – elected, equal (per

province), effective• Charlottetown Accord

– – elected by people, or named by provincial legislatures

– -- 6 seats for every province, 1 for each Terr., plus Aboriginal seats (to be determined)

– - Somewhat reduced powers

Harper Government Bills Before the last Parliament

• Bill S-4: providing for appointment only after consultative elections

• Bill S-6: appointed only for a single limited term of eight years

• Current Senators would be “grandfathered”

Australian Senate

• Elected for six year terms on the basis on state-wide proportional representation

• Each State gets 12 Senators

• Legislative powers nearly identical to those of the lower house (House of Representatives)

• But party discipline still important, regional politics less dominant

Australian Party Standings 2008

• House of Representatives– ALP 83– Liberal 55– National 9– Independent 3

• Total 150

• Senate– ALP 32– Liberal 32– Greens 5– National 4– Other 3

• Total 76