New Westminster

David C. Docherty’s (2002) scholarly journal: The Canadian Senate: Chamber of Sober Reflection or Loony Cousin Best Not Talked About, responds to the continual controversy and debate of the usefulness of the Canadian senate. Docherty’s (2002) article analyzes the current Canadian senate and argues that the senate is a failing Canadian institution because of two democratic deficiencies: the undemocratic nature of senator selection and the inability of senators to represent provinces properly.…

There is a belief that the President of the United States holds the most powerful office in the world. Indeed, the Constitution of the United States grants executive power to the President. In Canada, the Prime Minister is not a part of the Constitution, rather the Governor General acts as the executive. By convention, however, the Governor General acts only on the advice of the Prime Minister who has the confidence of the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is able to achieve such support from…

In 1604 in London five men planned a plot together to kill King James. This plot is celebrated each year in the United Kingdom with Bon Fire Night, fire works and “Penny for the Guy.” The story begins with the main conspirator Robert Catesby. Catesby brought together 8 men who felt the way way Catesby felt against the Protestant King. One of these men that joined Catesby in his plot was Guy Fawkes also known as Guido Fawkes. Guy Fawkes was born on April 13 1510 in Stonegate, York. After the…

They can be very powerful; especially if they get MPs, celebrities and a lot of media attention added to their campaign. The death penalty campaign is essentially a pressure group as they are campaigning for a new legislation to be made. Pressure groups threaten the government due to the fact that if the public doesn't agree on what they are bringing forwards then they risk their chances of being re-elected as a member of parliament. They can also get the medias…

Prime Minister of Canada is a great gig. If you’re going to be the leader of a country, it doesn’t get much better than Canada. We have so much going for us. One of our greatest assets actually has nothing to do with us at all but rather the stellar quality of our neighbours. And every Prime Minister since Mackenzie King could count on that. But that’s the thing about great neighbours, isn’t it? You think they’re gonna be there forever and then one day there’s a sold sign out front and you’re…

On 29th October 2015 Prime Minister Turnbull committed Australia to joining the Open Government Partnership, launching a public consultation to develop an Australian National Action Plan for open government. Australia has a long and proud history of open government, being one of the most transparent, accountable and engaged democracies in the world, but there is always more to be done. Through consultation the Australian National Action Plan will ideally include ambitious actions that support…

The Canadian Senate, or Upper House of Parliament, is an independent part of the House of Commons. It’s main role is to provide a “sober second thought” before important decisions are made. However, the existence of the Senate is now threatened, and whether or not the Senate is worth keeping becomes a debatable question. The debate on Senates is divided into three parts: abolish the Senate, reform the Senate, and keep the Senate as is. In this article, the three main opinions will be discussed.…

category has a defined job; they work within the conjunction within the legislative process. The working system of the Canadian parliament is greatly influenced by the United Kingdom. It is the indistinguishable replica of the parliament at the Westminster (Andeweg, 2000). The differences are stemmed from the exclusive situations of Canada, which include the temporary nature of the residency of the monarch in the country and the need of the title in order to develop the upper chamber. The…

Every Wednesday, current Prime Minister, David Cameron, meets in the House of Commons for half an hour to answer questions from Members of Parliament. These questions are meant to address current events both international and domestic, and have come to be known as Prime Minister Questions (PMQs). All Members of Parliament must write their questions for the Prime Minister on the Order Paper several days prior to the PMQs. Once submitted, the questions are then sorted through, scrambled, and…

British parliament has a two house system. This bicameral structure includes a house of lords and a house of commons. The house of lords is made out of people who inherited the position or were elected by the monarch and prime minister, while the House of Commons consists of members elected by the people. The house of lords has very small influence in the British government. The most useful action they can perform is to delay a law brought up by the house commons. It is delayed for up to a year,…