PO263 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: Parliamentary Budget Officer, Speech From The Throne, Legislature
Document Summary
Chapter 7: under the heading legislative power under section 17 of ca 1867 it declares that canada shall have parliament consisting of a hoc, senate and queen. Since canada"s senators are appointed by the queen and the queen hold position by heredity, on the the hoc claims to be democratic. By constitutional convention, the hoc takes the predominant role in parliament"s powers. Party discipline would always ensure that the cabinet had enough votes to protect its own position in power. The primary operational purpose of the modern parliament is to make the cabinet accountable for its actions to the public: parliament provides a forum in which opposition members can criticize the government, offer constructive alternatives. And because elections are typically held every 4 years, each pm usually goes through 4 sessions: these sessions are divided into sittings. Each time the hoc meets is a sitting. It may be brief or very long, sometimes lasting longer than a year.
