Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada (English Parliament of Canada, French Parlement du Canada ) has its head office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The Parliament consists of three parts:
- The sovereign, that is currently Queen Elizabeth II represented by the Governor General of Canada,
- The Senate
- The lower house.
The Governor-General, acting on a proposal of the Prime Minister, the 105 Members of the Senate, while the 308 members of the lower house are elected by the people. Every member of Parliament representing a constituency (unlike in Germany, where only half of the members of the Bundestag a constituency represented ). The lower house is the more important legislative body, the upper house ( the Senate ) opposed rarely, his duties are mainly seen in the representation. However, the Senate would have the right to refuse signing a law or to provide the mistrust question.
Composition
The Senate
Main article: Senate (Canada)
The House of Commons
Main article: House of Commons (Canada)
The House of Commons is elected by popular vote by simple majority vote. Members must be Canadian citizens who have reached the age of 18. The number of representatives is based on the 10-year census: The House shall consist of at least 282 seats, of which three are reserved for the territories. The remaining 279 seats are divided by population to the provinces. The " senatorial clause " stating further that each province is entitled at least as many seats as Senators. In addition, guarantees the " grandfathers " clause of the stock seats from 1976 and 1985.
No one is allowed to work in both houses of parliament (Senate and House ) at the same time.