Parliament of Canada

The Parliament of Canada is the legislative branch of the Canadian government , located on the Colline of the Parliament at Ottawa. The Parliament consists of three major branches: the crown, the Senate and the House of Commons. The sovereign is often represented by the general governor, which appoints the 105 senators under the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The 308 Député S with the House of Commons are directly elected by the vote for all, in each electoral constituency.

History

For the history of the Parliament of Canada between 1841 and 1867, to also see legislative Parliament of the province of Canada.

Parliament of Kingston

Of 1841 with 1843, following the Act of Union, the town of Kingston is selected to shelter the Parliament of the Canada-Plain . Located halfway between Montreal and Toronto, it represents a good compromise for these two cities which wish to become the host of the Parliament. In spite of that, its too great proximity with the the United States of America, which would put it in precarious position additional clause a war and its lack of attraction for the members of Parliament make so that the Parliament is moved two years only after its emménagement in Kingston. The citizens of the city, wishing to preserve their title of capital of Canada-Plain, go even until offering their very new town hall to the government, but the choice of the members of Parliament is already made.

Parliament of Montreal

In 1843, it is decided that the Parliament of Canada-Plain would be moved with Montreal, inside the building of the Marché Holy-Anne. The market is renovated, of the offices are built at the ground floor and of the rooms of assembly on the floors. The members of Parliament settle officially the June 24th 1845.

In 1845, to sir Allan MacNab deposits a bill (bill as we would say today) in Room in order to compensate the inhabitants for the High-Canada having undergone material losses following the Rébellion of the Patriots of 1837 - 1838, the whole while excluding Low-Canada, where the greatest part of the rebellions and the damage took place. The Tories , then with the capacity under the government of William Henry To drape, could not indeed conceive that an allowance is versed to the inhabitants of Low-Canada, all regarded as rebels. The Draper government could not however stop the pressing request for allowance coming from the inhabitants of Low-Canada and promised to release an amount of 10.000 £, which started an outcry on the side of two Canadas, the ones finding the amount ridiculous, the others refusing to compensate those which they regarded as rebels. In 1847, Lord Elgin is sent to Canada to replace Lord Cathcart, recalled to London. Elections will follow, which will put at the capacity a coalition of the Party reformist directed by Denis-Benjamin Papineau and of Tories of William Henry Draper. The government, maintaining strong of a representation Canadian-Frenchwoman, promulgates the Loi on the compensation for the people who underwent losses during the rebellion of 1837-1838 in Low-Canada , which excluded the banished inhabitants or formally culprits from treason. An amount of 100.000 £ is then put on side. The March 9th 1847, the proposal is finally adopted by 47 votes against 18 with the legislative Parliament and the March 15th by the Legislative council by 20 votes against 14. The March 11th 1848, the reformists then directed by Robert Baldwin and Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine are re-elected in majority government. The April 25th 1849, the general governor Lord Elgin sanctions the law.

The same day, James Moir Bottle pincers, the editor association of the daily newspaper montréalais The Gazette publishes a leaflet inviting to express with violence against this law at Field-of-March:

the bill of the losses of the rebellion.
Et the eternal shame of the Great Britain.
La rebellion is the law of the ground.
La fine started. Anglo-Saxons, you must live for the future,
votre blood and your race will be from now on your supreme law, if you are true with yourselves.
La crowd must be assembled on the place of Weapons, this evening at eight hours.
Au combat, it is the moment.

The Times of London was going to denounce the newspaper for this call. A crowd of at least 1.500 people goes however to Field-of-March to protest against the adoption of this law. After some enflâmmés speeches, the crowd, directed by the Tories goes before the Canadian Parliament located Place of Youville and fire puts at it, after having driven out the deputies of them. One of the oldest libraries of Occident, after those of to Paris and the Congress House of Commons with Washington is then destroyed. Few 22.000 volumes which contained the collection, which also included/understood the old collections Top and of Low-Canada, between 100 and 200 only will be saved, as well as a portrait of the queen Victoria. The mass parliamentary, catch at the time of the events, will be finally brought back to the Speaker of the Parliament to his hotel.

April 26th with the May 7th of the same year, the deputies sat at the Marché Bonsecours then in a theater on the street Notre-Dame, while waiting for the designation of a new building for the Parliament.

Parliament of Toronto/Quebec

In 1849, it was decided that the capital would alternatively be moved every four years between the towns of Toronto and Quebec, old capitals respectively Top and Low-Canada before the Act of Union. Each city already had a building which can lodge the Parliament, they were better laid out than Kingston and established much better.

The first parliamentary session took place in Quebec, in the building of the legislative body which was him also victim of a fire in 1854. The second took place in Toronto. However, a wandering Parliament was far from liking all, of which initially deputies.

Parliament of Ottawa

In 1857, the Parliament is moved with Ottawa following a decision of the queen Victoria. This surprising decision, taking into account the character rural and far away from the city at the time, was criticized by several which supported cities established better such as Montreal, Toronto or Quebec.

Its site was selected according to its proximity of the canado-American border and its site bordering between the High-Canada (maintaining the Ontario) and the Low-Canada (today the Quebec).

The construction of the buildings of the current Canadian Parliament, seat of the federal government, began the December 20th 1859 on Barrack' S Hill , which was to become the Hill of the Parliament. Work, enormous, did not have any comparative in North America. The first stone was posed the April 16th 1860 then, on September 1st of the same year, the angular stone was posed by Edouard VII, Prince de Galles. Of 1861 with 1863, construction had to be stopped following a going beyond of costs, for finally finishing in 1876.

The first and only session of the Parliament of the plain Province of Canada took place the June 6th 1866, although the work was not completely completed. July 1st 1867, when the statute of Dominion of Canada is granted by the England following the Acte of British North America, the Parliament of Canada with Ottawa is selected like sits of the government.

Act of British North America (1867)

It is not thus that in 1867 qu ' is formed the current Parliament, with the union of the plain Province of Canada (Canada-Plain), the Nova Scotia and the New Brunswick in only one entity, the Dominion of Canada. The new Parliament thus created is composed of the Queen of England (represented by the General governor), the Sénat and the Houses of Commons.

An important influence was the American Civil war which, has just finished, indicated for several Canadian the gaps of the federal system such as it existed then with the the United States. Consequently, the consistent model in several strong States, joined together by a weaker central government, was rejected. The Act of British North America (since rebatized constitutional Law of 1867) indeed limited the capacities of the provinces by specifying that any competence not explicitly relegated at the provincial level returned de facto under the authority of the federal government.

However, if the Act of British North America gave more capacity to the federal Parliament, it did not remain about it less than the British Parliament preserved its authority on Canada, notwithstanding several restrictions: no Canadian act could repeal a law coming from the the United Kingdom. Moreover, the British government continued to represent the whole of the empire abroad.

Statute of Westminster (1931)

More autonomy by the Statut of Westminster in 1931 was granted. Indeed, the agreement made it possible the Canadian Parliament to amend or reject the British laws (only in Canada). However, it did not make it possible Canada to modify its constitution, including the British Act of North America (and other constitutional laws amending it). The Canadian Parliament (federal) was to ask the Parliament of the United Kingdom to vote any amendment with the Canadian constitution (British Parlementt did it only when one request was deposited by Canada).

Capacities limited of amendment to the constitution were granted by an act of the British Parliament in 1949, date of the entry of Newfoundland in the federation. It was however still not possible to change the Canadian constitition basically (a British law). Impossible, for example, Re-to divide the divisions of competences between the Parliaments federal and the provinces or the statute of French and English.

Law on Canada (1982)

The last request for constitutional amendment on behalf of the Parliament of Canada at the British Parliament was in 1982, with the request then the adoption of the Loi of 1982 on Canada. The law was sanctioned on the Colline of the Parliament by Its Majesty Elisabeth II the April 17th 1982. This one put a term at the supremacy of the British legislation on Canada and the authority to amend the Constitution was transferred to the Canadian legislative authorities.

The repatriation of the Canadian constitution was the object of long debates between the federal government and the provinces, these last not wanting to see being able to them to exhaust itself with the profit of the central government. Many negociations took place for finally leading to an agreement between the Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and the whole of provincial the Prime Ministers, except only for the Quebec, isolated of the negotiations at the very last minute. The night when was held these events was symbolically called the Nuit of the Long Knives, in reference to the Nuit of the Long Knives German which has occurred in 1934, during which people threatening the political statute of Adolf Hitler, were isolated higher realms of the Nazi party. Quebec is thus the only province not to have signed the Canadian Constitution, even if from its presence inside the Canadian federation, its application there through law very as much as elsewhere to Canada.

The majority of the amendments currently require the assent of the Canadian Senate, of and the Canadian two thirds House of Commons of the legislative Assemblies of the provinces representing a majority (50%+) of the Canadian population. The unanimous assent of the provincial legislative Assemblies is necessary for certain amendments, which concern in particular the Queen, the General governor, the provincial Lieutenant governors, the official positions of the English languages and French, the Supreme court of Canada and the formulas of amendments themselves.

Constitution

The Crown

The Queen of Canada (in English The Queen ), at present Its Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II represents one of the three components of the Parliament. The functions of the monarch are delegated to the General governor of Canada (at present Its Excellence Michaëlle Jean), which is indicated by the Queen under recommendation of the Prime Minister. The General governors are useful officially as a long time as the Queen wishes it, although in practice their term is quinquennial. Even if the Queen and the General governor have important theoretical capacities, they actually exert them only seldom. Instead of that, they exert a ceremonial role, using their political powers that under recommendation of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

The Senate

The Upper House of the Parliament of Canada is the Senate (in English The Senate ). Even if their goal is to represent the provinces, the senators are selected by the Prime Minister then named by the General governor. To become senator, one must be at least thirty years old, subject of the Queen of England and the owner of a property of a minimal value of 4.000 Canadian dollars. The senator must have a ground and live it in the province which it is supposed to represent. Although before the senators were appointed for lives, they henceforth leave their station at the 75 years age. They can be dislocated their functions if they omit to present to two consecutive sessions Parliament.

The constitution gathers the Canadian provinces in four distinct divisions, with an equal number senators: twenty-four for the Quebec, twenty-four for the Ontario, twenty-four for the Seaboard provinces (ten for the Nova Scotia, ten for the New Brunswick and four for the Island-of-Prince-Edouard) and twenty-four others for the Western Canadian (six for each one, Manitoba, Colombia-British, Saskatchewan and Alberta). Ground-New-and-Labrador, which became a province only in 1949, does not belong to any division but is represented by six senators. Moreover, the three territories (Territory-of-North-West, Yukon and Nunavut) have each one a senatorial representative. The Senate thus consists, in normal weather, of 105 members. The General governor can however add four or eight senators to the group, according to his liking and on agreement of the Queen. Four divisions must however always be also represented. This capacity was however used only once in all the Canadian history, on the opinion of the Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in 1990 to ensure the adoption of the law creating TPS. The absolute maximum senators cannot exceed the 113 representatives.

The House of Commons

The component of the Parliament elected democratically is the House of Commons (in English House off Commons ). It consists of deputies representing each one an electoral district distinct and elected in this same district using the mode of Uninominal system majority to a turn. They must obligatorily be Canadian and old citizens of at least 18 years. The deputies are in function until they resign or which the Parliament either dissolves and can be re-elected an unlimited number of times.

The constitution does not fix the maximum number of deputies at the House of Commons, which is readjusted each decade following a census. The Room must consist of a minimum of 282 seats, of which three are reserved for the territories. The 279 remaining seats are assigned with the provinces according to their respective population. However, the " clause sénatoriale" guarantees to each province at least as many deputies to the House of Commons it has senators. Moreover, the " clause large-père" (in English grandfather clause ) also guarantees to each province at least as many deputies as it did not have any in 1976 or 1985. Consequence of these two clauses, the House of Commons exceeds the minimal number at present members, consisting of 308 parliamentary deputies.

No individual can have functions in more than one Room of the Parliament. Even if having less capacities, the senators occupy a position higher than the deputies in the order of precedence over the Parliament. The deputies are commonly called Members off Parliament or MPs in English.

See too

Article related

Supreme court of Canada

External bonds

Official site of the Parliament of Canada

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