1. Who’s Who In Government Who are the key figures in Canadian government and what are there roles?

2.  Canada’s official head of state → Head of the Commonwealth, Head of Church of England (Anglican Church)  Technically the monarch had enormous power  Dissolves parliament  Calls elections  Signs bills into laws  Power is limited by constitution and custom → monarch must submit to the wishes of the elected officials  Monarch is an institution → powerful symbol of unity of the state and the rule of law → monarch is responsible to all her/his subjects The Queen

3.  Queen’s representative in Canada  Canada’s oldest institution → Samuel de Champlain rep. King of France  Officially appointed by Queen, but Queen acts on advice of PM  Duties:  Commander-In-Chief of armed forces  Welcomes and entertains heads of state  Promotes national unity and culture  Must be bilingual → 5 year term  Free house and $102,700 salary (tax free)  Office largely symbolic and ceremonial, but some important functions  Must ensure Canada has a Prime Minister Governor General

4.  Provincial version of Governor General (GG) → appointed by GG and Prime Minister  Reads Speech from Throne, signs bills, swears in ministers, performs ceremonial roles Lieutenant-Governor

5.  Canada’s elected head of government  Leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons  Most powerful politician in country  Base salary: $327,400 (2014)  Duties  Selecting cabinet minister  Chairs caucus (party) meetings and cabinet meetings  Determines government policy and agenda  Appoints Governor General, Lieutenant Governor, Supreme Court Justices, Chief of the Defense Staff, Commissioner of RCMP etc. The Prime Minister

6.  Provincial version of Prime Minister  Very similar duties to that of Prime Minister → focused on provincial matters  Participate in first ministers meetings  Some premiers make a significant national contribution → Tommy Douglas (Saskatchewan) first introduced provincial medicare system later adopted by Federal government The Premier

7.  Appointed members of the “Upper House”  Canadian version of the British House of Lords  Created for three reasons  Allow upper class to review legislation  Being appointed → no conflicts of interests → make the decision that is best for the country  Represent regional interests → Senate’s 105 seats are divided regionally  Senators meet for 100 days a year → work on committees, examine bills passed by House of Commons, review public policy in specific areas Senators

8.  Elected representatives of government  Federally → 301 M Ps (Member of Parliament)  Provincially → M. P. P. (Member of Provincial Parliament) or MLA (Members of Legislative Assembly)  Quebec → MNA (Members of the National Assembly)  We vote directly for our MP’s  Job → represent the views and concerns of their constituents  Base salary: $66,900  MPs become cabinet ministers, prime ministers and sit on standing committees etc…  Cabinet → group of MPs appointed by the Prime Minister or Premier to administer the affairs of a particular department (ie. Finance, Defense, etc…) Members of Parliament

9.  Cabinet ministers are accountable to Parliament → Canadian people  Ministerial responsibility → Cabinet minister assumes responsibility for all the actions of his/her department → if scandal or controversy arises opposition members will blame the Cabinet minister Ministerial Accountability

10.  MPs assigned by the opposition parties to critique the actions and policies of actual cabinet ministers Shadow Cabinet

11.  Cities and Towns → Municipal council  Police  Fire  Ambulance service  Zoning and by-laws  Mayor → head of government  Mayor is directly elected by all the people of the municipality  Councilor → elected representative of a city district  City Council → mayor + councilors Local (Municipal) Government

12.  Canadians who work for the government  Highest public servant → Deputy Minister → professional administrator of government department Public Servants