POL 2101 Study Guide - Final Guide: Responsible Government, Life Tenure, Judicial Independence

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POL 2101
• Professor: Andre Lecours

Document Summary

The three branches of government coincide with three major functions of democratic governance: the legislature makes the laws; the executive branch implements the laws; and the judicial branch interprets the laws. In the canadian parliamentary system there are two executives of power, one is the head of state and the other is the head of the government. The head of state is at the power of queen elizabeth ii and the governor general, the head of the government is at the power of the prime minister and his cabinet. Many political scientists and journalists have complained that power has become too concentrated in the hands of the prime minister and his closest advisors, and therefore an undermined question to democratic accountability has risen. The cabinet dominates the entire legislative agenda of parliament; this includes any legislation that involves the raising or spending of public revenue, such as the budget.