The Legislative Branch of Government
Govern General David Johnston delivering the “Speech from the Throne” on Oct. 16 th 2013.
The next branch of government to focus on is the Legislative. The legislative branch is made up of two
houses: the Senate and the House of Commons. Just as the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the executive
branch) are often referred to as “the government of the day”, so the two houses of the legislative branch
are often simply referred to as “Parliament.”
The legislative branch of Government is basically the branch that passes legislation; laws. The verb “to
legislate” means to make or enact laws. It is related to the word “legal” which is derived from the Latin
“legalis”: pertaining to the law. After the laws are passed they can then be interpreted and applied by
the independently run courts system: the Judicial Branch, which we will look at next week.
Parliament
http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/parliament/
The House of Commons
The House of Commons Chamber is located in the Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament Buildings.
The House of Commons of Canada (the “Lower House” of the Legislative Branch), consists of Members
of Parliament (often simply referred to as MPs), that Canadians have elected to represent them.
Read these two links:
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/house-of-commons/
http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/GuideToHoC/pdf/guide_canadian_house_of_commons-e.pdf
The Senate
The Senate Chamber, which is also known as the “Red Chamber” is also located in Centre Block.
The Senate of Canada (the “Upper House” of the Legislative Branch), is made up of Senators, who are
appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Read these two links:
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/senate/
http://sen.parl.gc.ca/portal/publications/factsheets/fs-keyroles-e.htm
Review
How a bill becomes law — The Legislative Process
STEP 1 First Reading — The bill is considered read for the first time and is printed.
STEP 2 Second Reading — Members debate the bill’s principle.
STEP 3 Committee Stage — Committee members study the bill clause by clause.
STEP 4 Report Stage — Members can make other amendments.
STEP 5 Third Reading — Members debate and vote on the bill.
STEP 6 Senate — The bill follows a similar process in the Senate.
STEP 7 Royal Assent — The bill receives royal assent after being passed by both Houses.
From: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/discover/section-08.asp (don’t open this link)
Other elements of government
In government, much of the technical work that gets done is handled by committees and bureaucrats.
This is particularly true of legislative work, but is also true everywhere: committees and bureaucracy
exist in essentially all areas of government. Even smaller organizations like schools and churches rely
heavily on these specialized individuals and teams to help out in handling particular projects and doing
administrative work.
If you look at a parish church, for example, there is usually a head pastor who is visible and easily
recognized as the leader of their church. But there are also less visible individuals who help out in
various capacities: most churches utilize a team of individuals called a “Parish Council”, and almost every
church will have at least one administrator (or secretary).
Parliament delegates a significant amount of work to committees and bureaucrats:
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/committees/
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bureaucracy/
Bureaucracy is an important concept on its own, and one that we continually encounter in our daily lives.
This next link explores some of the philosophy behind the notion of bureaucracy:
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bureaucracy-and-formal-organization/