Shakthi Suthakaran | October 23rd, 2020
The Parliament of Canada was founded upon the rule of law and governs the nation through its establishment of fundamental Canadian rights and freedoms. This legislature was inaugurated through the British North America Act, also known as the Constitution Act, on July 1, 1867. Thereby, Parliament is an imperative component of Canada’s constitutional monarchy as it ramifies governance between the nation’s British origins and independent institutions, appraising Canada’s success through its constitutionally organized government. The subsequent paper elaborates on the significance of Canada’s Parliament as a political forum, as well as the intricacies of its establishment, structural composition, and lawmaking procedure.
The Canadian Parliament institutes a system of fundamental principles and laws that outline the “nature, functions, and limits of Canada’s system of government.” (1) Although Canada consists of three branches -- legislative, executive and judicial -- only the legislative and executive branches exist within Parliament. The executive branch includes the British monarch, presently the Queen, Canada’s Prime Minister, the Cabinet, as well as governmental departments, such as the federal department of National Defence, Justice, and Finance. The legislative branch consists of the Senate and elected members of Parliament, who are referred to as MPs. These individuals seek to foster Canadians’ participation in the democratic process and act as an accessible link between citizens and the Chamber.
While the legislative branch is responsible for making laws, the executive branch implements them. The judicial branch is not a component of Parliament since its primary asset, the Supreme Court of Canada, focuses on interpreting the laws of the Constitution and limiting the powers of the other governmental branches. As a result, the judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the laws established by the legislative and executive branches. (2)This is significant since the Parliament of Canada was instituted to create and implement just laws for the collective benefit of the nation’s population. Therefore, Parliament is responsible for mobilizing citizens’ consent and ensuring the nation’s system of governance remains democratic and legitimate. (3)
Parliament encompasses multiple facets, which contribute to an intricate and representative structural composition. The federal legislature consists of the House of Commons and the Senate. The Senate encompasses 105 members appointed by the Governor-General per the Prime Minister’s recommendation, while the House of Commons consists of 338 elected members. (4) These members are elected to serve as representatives for the nation’s federal electoral districts. Furthermore, in relation to the governance of the House of Commons, Canada can be administered by either a majority or minority government. A majority can be achieved when a political party obtains more than half of the total number of seats in the House of Commons, whereas a minority government is typically uncommon due to Canada’s adoption of the plurality voting system as opposed to a proportional representation system.
To elaborate, proportional representation is an electoral system in which divisions of an electorate are reflected commensurably throughout the elected body. For example, the percentage of the electorate who support a specific political party or candidate will be evinced by the number of seats won by that party or candidate. In contrast, plurality voting is an electoral system in which each individual voter is permitted to vote for a single candidate, after which the candidate with the most polls is elected.
The plurality system is an expedient election process as it is an accessible, straightforward procedure, provides a quick resolution, and is less costly to administer than other procedures. As a result, this system has been established as the most common method of electing candidates to run for office. Electoral candidates are representative of Canada’s political parties, including: the New Democratic Party (NDP), the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the BLOC Québécois and the Green Party. These parties are all employed in a hierarchical system at the House of Commons. Furthermore, Canada operates with a two-party plus system, in which the nation is dominated by two specific political parties.
Historically, this system has favoured the centre-left Liberal Party and the centre-right Conservative Party, and they remain, to this date, two of the largest Canadian parties. Presently, Canada is governed by the Liberal Party under the 23rd Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. While each party is employed in the House of Commons, the BLOC Québécois and the Green Party, do not have the required members to be recognized during parliamentary proceedings. In regards to elections, candidates are representative of their party’s values, and voters are encouraged to poll and participate in the selection of Canada’s governance. Correspondingly, their individual concerns are addressed through the establishment of public policies and laws to provide benefits for the collective nation.
Conjointly, the final prominent component of Parliament’s structural composition are the committees operating within the House of Commons. These committees comprise four main categories: standing, special, joint, and committees of the whole. Standing committees are permanent fixtures established through standing orders, and typically address fields of public policy, such as agriculture, banking, foreign affairs, and technology. Special committees are formed to conduct a study, and after the study’s conclusions are reported to a House of Parliament, they are dissolved. Moreover, joint committees include Senators and members of the House of Commons, and they are established to examine issues of mutual interest to Parliament. Committees of the whole consist of the entirety of the Senate or House Chamber. Every compositional component of Parliament is intended to adjudicate and resolve the nation’s disputes and ensure the welfare of all of its citizens. Thereby, the Parliament of Canada is a large, developed system of multiple elements, where each is responsible for meeting the democratic goals of the country.
The legislative process is a multistage procedure a bill must pass before becoming a law in Canada. In short, the process includes the introduction of the bill, the first reading, the second reading, the committee stage, the report stage, the third reading, and lastly, admission of Royal Assent. The first reading requires a written notice of forty-eight hours before a public bill can be introduced in the House. Leave to introduce the prospective bill is granted automatically, and the motion is carried without any debates, amendments, or questioning. The second reading stage grants members a chance to debate the premise of the bill, ultimately focusing on the text and its principle. Three types of amendments are allowed: a three month or six months’ hoist aiming to postpone the bill’s consideration, an amendment suggesting bypassing the second reading, or a motion to refer the bill’s subject to a committee.
Subsequently, committee members then have the opportunity to examine and review, in detail, the clauses of the bill in order to sufficiently approve or modify it. The reporting stage consists of the committee submitting its report, either recommending that the bill is accepted as it was during the first reading, acceptance with amendments, or a refusal for advancement. During this stage, if no further amendments are proposed, the bill is referred to the third reading. This stage requires the bill to be passed through the House of Commons, where debates focus on the final form of the bill. Following this motion, the Clerk of the House must certify if the bill has passed, after which it is sent to the Senate for approval. Royal Assent is the final stage that a bill must fulfill before officially becoming an Act of Parliament and an entrenched Canadian law. This last administration can be completed either through a ceremony or written declaration. After acceptance has been gleaned from the Crown, the Senate, and the House of Commons, the bill has successfully been implemented as the law of the land.
Canada is a democratic nation. Its governing system prioritizes the welfare of its citizens and their livelihood, and Parliament is duly representative of its country’s residents’ voices. As evidenced, Parliament’s composition effectively communicates its intricate structure and embodiment of Canadian values. As a result, citizens are sufficiently represented through the exemplified democratic process, such as elections, appointed parties and parliamentary members, thereby attaining their collective goals. The legislative process of lawmaking encompasses Canadian history, its constitutional monarchy, and establishes itself as a significant and successful political forum. Canadian governance, just as assuredly proficient as it was on its day of independence, remains so as a result of Parliament’s effective institution.
Endnotes
"The Canadian Parliamentary System." Welcome to the House of Commons of Canada. Accessed October 15, 2020. https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/OurProcedure/ParliamentaryFramework/c_g_parliamentaryframework-e.htm.
"Guide to the Canadian House of Commons." Learn about Parliament. Accessed October 15, 2020. https://learn.parl.ca/sites/Learn/default/en_CA/Guide-to-the-Canadian-House-of-Commons.
Atkinson, Michael M., and Paul G. Thomas. “Studying the Canadian Parliament.” Legislative Studies Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 3, 1993, pp. 423–451. Accessed 14 Oct. 2020. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/439834. Accessed 14 Oct. 2020.
"National Parliaments: Canada." Library of Congress. Last modified July 24, 2020. https://www.loc.gov/law/help/national-parliaments/canada.php.
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