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June 1945 — Vol. 26, No. 6 — Canada's Government
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Canada is a democracy. This does
not mean, as many think, that its government is simple. Nothing
could be farther from the truth. An autocratic government
need satisfy only the dictator; in a democracy, government
must work for the average citizen, his welfare, security and
ideals. It must attempt to meet desires expressed in mass
movements and in parochial caucuses. Government of, by and
for the people is infinitely more perplexing than government
by absolute monarchy or dictatorship.
In the British Commonwealth, democratic government is further
complicated, because in addition to being an autonomous democracy
every Dominion is part of a monarchy, limited but real. Canada's
government follows the British system in its main outlines.
It has popular representation based upon the sound judgment
of the average man and the theory of political equality; it
has executive responsibility, channelling down from a cabinet
selected by the major political party, through Parliament
to the electors; it has the two—house plan, one elected
by popular vote and the other composed of persons holding
their seats for life; and it has at its head the Crown, far
removed from political strife. In addition, Canada has a federal
form of government necessitated by the fact that the Dominion
is composed of provinces, each a political entity exercising
powers of government for provincial purposes but combining
with the others in affairs which affect the welfare of all.
Probably the best place to start consideration of the way
Canada is governed is to describe the Dominion's position
within the Empire. There were several stages in the development
of Commonwealth relations and forms of government, culminating
in the Imperial Conference of 1926. At that conference the
United Kingdom and the Dominions were described as "autonomous
communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in
no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic
or foreign affairs, though united by a common allegiance to
the Crown and freely associated as members of the British
Commonwealth of Nations." The principle of equality of status
was made final in law in the Statute of Westminster in 1931,
enacted at the request of, and with the consent of, all the
Dominions.
Constitutional government to the Britisher and Canadian
means more a system of government than government under any
document, and in its simplest terms it is merely a system
in which political authority is bounded by established rules
and procedures most of them unwritten. The United States meaning
for "constitution" is the document prepared to establish the
Union, and in this sense the British North America Act, passed
in 1867 by the British Parliament, is Canada's constitution.
That Statute united the province of Canada, now divided into
Ontario and Quebec, with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and
made provision for admission of other provinces. These, with
the dates of admission or creation, are: Manitoba (1870);
British Columbia (1871); Prince Edward Island (1873); Saskatchewan
(1905); Alberta (1905). After more than three—quarters
of a century, it can be said that the British North America
Act has displayed stability, has responded reasonably well
to political changes natural in a new country, and has kept
secure the primary constitutional rights which were so important
in the minds of its framers. It was, of course, put together
by men who could not possibly have foreseen the inventions
of modern times which have drawn together far—flung communities
at the same time as they provided the means of expansion;
or the great changes in social philosophy and economic conditions;
or the upheaval wrought by two world wars. All these have
put severe strains on the written constitution. The local
perplexities of 1867 have become national problems, and have
been magnified a thousand times. There have been, and are,
demands for changes to modernize the Act, but it can be said
that its authors so framed it as to protect, even to this
day, the constitutional form of government so dear to British
peoples: the supremacy of the King—in—Parliament.
Officially, Canada possesses a monarchical form of government,
but it is not a separate kingdom. Only once has the King personally
taken part in ceremonies of the Canadian Parliament (during
the royal tour in 1939). The crown is hereditary in the family
of the sovereign, but it is subject to the authority of parliament,
consisting of the King and the two Houses of Parliament. Under
modern constitutional practice the King has no power to refuse
to act on his councillors' advice, and there is no parallel
in the British system of government for the veto that can
be exercised by the United States President.
When it is necessary for the Crown to take part in Canadian
government, the King acts through a Governor General, who
assembles, prorogues and dissolves parliament, and assents
to bills in the name of His Majesty, but in all these and
in his other executive duties he acts upon advice of his Council.
In turn, this Council must have the support of Parliament.
Canada's was the first federal union in the British Empire,
comprising a central government concerned with matters essential
to the development, permanency and unity of the Dominion as
a whole, and a number of provincial governments which have
control and management of certain local matters assigned to
their jurisdiction. Each government is administered in accordance
with the British—born system of parliamentary institutions.
It is obvious that the federal system of government demands
a compromise between two sets of political forces, and this
is bound to keep up almost constant pressure for, on the one
hand, greater centralization of power, and on the other, wider
autonomy for the provincial authorities. The result is a series
of special arrangements to care for particular circumstances.
In face of difficulties inherent in the federal system, with
local issues entangled bewilderingly with national affairs,
the wonder is that federation can be made to work at all.
The surest common denominator is an important national interest,
and this is particularly needed in view of the bi—racial
character of Canada's population. It might be said that the
federal system of government was framed to give French—speaking
people a guarantee that their local affairs should not be
interfered with by an English—speaking majority; but
even leaving aside the bi—racial problem, federation
would still be necessary, because local interests vary so
greatly between the Maritimes and the Prairies, between Ontario
and the West Coast. Far from perfect though a federal system
may be, the great advantage of the Canadian federation is
that it works. There are snarls that call for statesmanship
to unravel; there are delays that provoke impatience; but
generally speaking the good sense of the people in the long
run makes itself effective through their established parliamentary
institutions.
Canada's Parliament has two sections, the Upper House, called
the Senate, and the Lower House, called the House of Commons.
Senators are not elected, nor are their seats hereditary;
they are appointed by the government of the day, on a territorial
basis, and hold office for life. The Senate has now 96 members,
representing a cross—section of the occupational, racial
and economic characteristics of the people. In 1929 women
were declared eligible for appointment, and the first woman
entered the Red Chamber as a member in 1930.
The Senate has co—extensive powers with the House of
Commons in originating, legislation, except with respect to
measures imposing taxes or expending public funds which result
from taxes, but in practice most bills start in the Lower
House and make their way to the Senate for second treatment.
Sir John A. Macdonald, the Dominion's first Prime Minister,
called the Senate "the sober second thought in legislation."
During the session of Parliament which adjourned last August
it effected amendments to 14 bills originated in the House
of Commons.
Representative government, which Canada enjoys, is based
upon election of representatives to transact the people's
business, and it is in the Commons that political power rests.
It is there that Cabinets, the executive of government, are
made and unmade, because no Ministry can remain in power without
confidence and support of the House of Commons. Elections
are held at intervals of not longer than 5 years, but there
is no fixed voting date. The Crown may dissolve Parliament
at any time when it is thought expedient to appeal to the
people, and this usually happens whenever the Cabinet fails
to retain the confidence of the people's representatives,
although in similar circumstances the government may choose
to resign, in which case the Governor General may call upon
another leader to form a government.
On the opening day of a session the Governor General or
his deputy, seated on the throne in the Upper Chamber, to
which members of the Commons have been summoned, reads the
"Speech from the Throne", in which the Government announces
the principal measures it is proposed to present during the
session. Upon conclusion of this ceremony, the members of
the House of Commons return to their own chamber, a fictitious
bill is read the first time as an indication that the House
can do business of its own before acting under royal instructions,
and then the Speaker formally reports the Governor General's
speech. The Speaker holds an office of great honour and responsibility.
He is elected from among the members, and acts as permanent
chairman for the life of a parliament.
The opportunity for thorough discussion of business by members
is indicated by the course of a bill. There is a formal first
reading, then a second reading for debate of the general principle,
followed by a committee stage when rules of debate are relaxed
and an easy conversational examination of the bill is carried
out clause by clause. When the bill is reported back to the
House it may be further discussed, then read a third time,
and if passed, sent on to the Senate, where it is dealt with
in a similar manner. Much of the business of both Houses is
considered in small select committees, and there are standing
committees which deal with recurring business. When bills
have been passed by both Houses, and assented to by the Crown,
they become Acts or Statutes.
Marking a ballot to elect a member to Parliament is so simple
that the voter is likely to think little of the machinery
needed to protect his rights, assure him free choice, and
meet his convenience. Elections are supervised by the Chief
Electoral Officer. He issues writs to the constituency returning
officers, prepares instructions, publishes the results, and
reports to the Speaker of the House. A nomination may be made
by 10 electors. A deposit of $200 is required, returnable
to the candidate upon election, or if he obtains at least
half the number of votes polled in favour of the candidate
elected: otherwise the deposit goes into the public revenues.
No property qualifications are required, nor need the candidate
be a resident of the constituency for which he seeks election.
The minimum age is 21; the candidate must be a British subject
by birth or naturalization; no government contractor may be
a candidate.
Ballots bear the names of the candidates, their occupations
and addresses. Each constituency is divided into polling sub—divisions,
planned for the greatest convenience of voters. When it is
ascertained that a voter's name is on the roll at a polling
place, he is given a ballot, retires to a curtained compartment,
marks a cross against the name of the candidate for whom he
wishes to vote, folds the ballot so that the marking cannot
be seen, and the completely anonymous ballot is deposited
in a locked metal box. Upon closing of the poll, ballots are
counted under supervision of deputy returning officers, and
the candidate receiving the highest number of votes is declared
elected. All British subjects, 21 years of age or over, who
have been ordinarily resident in Canada for 12 months prior
to polling day, and are ordinarily resident in the electoral
district on the date of the election writ, have the franchise.
Canadians on service with the armed forces, irrespective of
age, are entitled to vote. Women were granted the franchise
in 1918.
There have been agitations at various times for a change
to some system of proportional representation, the usual argument
being that many constituencies are represented by members
who secured a minority of the total votes, but it cannot be
said that the movement has reached large proportions. Another
question sometimes raised is that of making voting compulsory,
but this is of even less interest. In the last 7 general elections
the percentage of eligible votes cast ranged from 69 per cent
in 1925 to 78 per cent in 1917. At the 1940 election, votes
were cast by 71 per cent of those eligible.
According to law, seats in the House of Commons must be
redistributed in keeping with the population changes after
every decennial census, hut for the first time since Confederation
there was a postponement in 1941. It was realized that the
unique nature of the war, and of the effort being made by
Canada to produce goods, had led to an abnormal shift of people.
When redistribution does occur, of course, it will be carried
out on constitutional lines, allotting 65 seats to Quebec,
and apportioning other provinces and districts representation
according to relative population. The Quebec census total
is divided by 65, which sets the representation quotient (51,213
in 1941). This is divided into the populations of the individual
provinces, to give the number of representatives. Changing
of electoral district boundaries, when necessary, is done
on a non—partisan basis, representatives of both government
and opposition parties participating.
Totalitarian states cannot countenance opposition, and have
made it treason, but democratic states not only allow it;
they foster it. The leader of the second largest party elected
to the Canadian House of Commons becomes the Leader of His
Majesty's Loyal Opposition. This has been made a salaried
position, so that the incumbent, presumably next in line as
Prime Minister in case of defeat of the party in power, may
devote all his time to the political duties of his position.
Although unrecognized on the ballot, almost all members
belong to parties which make their policies known nationally.
Canada has two parties dating back to Confederation, the Conservatives
and the Liberals, and, at the moment, several minor parties,
most of them purely local in interest. At dissolution in April,
the standing was: Liberal 155; Progressive Conservative 40;
Co—operative Commonwealth Federation 10; Social Credit
10; Independent 6; Liberal Progressive 5; Independent Liberal
3; Bloc Populaire 2; Unity 1; Labor Progressive 1; Vacancies
12.
The House of Commons is led by the Prime Minister, chosen
because he is the head of the party in power. To understand
his and the Cabinet's relationship to the House, it is necessary
to consider first the Canadian Privy Council, established
under the British North America Act to aid and advise in the
government of Canada. Members of the Privy Council Who are
for the time being at the head of public affairs are referred
to as the Cabinet, Administration, Ministry or Government.
Upon his election at the head of the majority party, the
leader is called upon by the Governor General to form a government,
becomes Prime Minister, nominates his Cabinet, which he selects
from Members of Parliament elected by the people, or, in a
few cases, from the Senate, and the Crown appoints his nominees.
With the exception of two or three who are without portfolio,
each Cabinet Minister directs one or more of the administrative
departments, of which there were 22 in April. Cabinet and
Parliament are not separate, as the President and Cabinet
are separate from Congress in the United States. Cabinet is
the connecting link between the monarch and the people through
their representatives in Parliament, and a close relationship
between Cabinet and Commons is essential. Ministers work together
under traditional rules of unity, secrecy and joint responsibility.
Good as their administrative officials of the civil service
may be, and Canada's civil servants stand high among the world's
public services, these permanent officials cannot take the
place of the Cabinet Ministers in originating policy, nor
can they appear on the floor of the House to debate proposals.
To relieve pressure upon the Cabinet, a number of Parliamentary
Assistants were named in 1943. These are Members of the Commons
selected for special ability or interest, who fill in for
the Cabinet Ministers in the House and work closely with them
in departmental affairs.
As a supplement to parliamentary legislation, the Privy
Council issues "Orders in Council". Because of the difficulty
of issuing statutes in complete form, it has been found convenient
to enact laws in general terms, leaving the details to be
covered later by administrative orders, made by Orders in
Council or by the Minister immediately concerned. "Order in
Council" means simply an order passed by the Crown by and
with the advice of the Privy Council, under powers conferred
by some act or acts of Parliament; the phrase "Governor General
in Council" means the Governor General acting by and with
the advice of the Cabinet.
To facilitate war business, there have been established
a War Committee of the Cabinet, and a great many special boards,
headed and manned by personnel from industry and other non—political
sources. Some of these boards have been regulatory, endeavouring
to control supplies and to ration commodities with the dual
object of spreading them as widely and evenly as possible
and of keeping down inflation. It is generally recognized
that the Canadian people have voluntarily surrendered certain
rights, prompted by these boards, for the duration of the
war, to strengthen the war effort of the Dominion. In an emergency,
and for a time, democratic people may hand over their rights
and privileges, but they will beware of relinquishing liberty
for all time. Recent sittings of two Royal Commissions, inquiring
into phases of income tax, draw attention to another device
for decentralizing parliamentary activity. These Royal Commissions
travel from end to end of the country, gathering data, receiving
delegations, accepting briefs, and probing the particular
subjects assigned to them. They then submit their reports,
on which Parliament may or may not take action.
It is fundamental in the British tradition that people should
be taxed only with their own consent. his principle, affirmed
in Magna Charta, is innate in the Canadian system. For each
fiscal year the Government's Finance Minister presents a budget
in which he gives a report of the preceding year's financial
affairs, and declares how much the Government intends to raise
in the coming year, and the means it will use to do so. The
departments submit estimates of expenditures in detail, and
the Ministers are subject to very close questioning from all
parts of the house. All taxes and other revenues are paid
into the Treasury, and all money which goes out is carefully
checked according to strict rules set forth in statutes. There
is a thorough examination by the Auditor—General, whose
position is considered so important that he can be removed
only on a combined request of the Senate and the House of
Commons to the Governor General. Every item of expenditure
is painstakingly corroborated, and is later reported in detail
and printed for general information.
The civil service has played an enormously important part
in the development of the country, and has made a conspicuous
contribution during the war. Selection of staff is made by
the Civil Service Commission, on the principle of appointment
after open competition, and promotion by merit, and the personnel
remains unchanged by elections. While the number of permanent
civil servants has actually decreased during the war, many
temporary employees have been added, so that the total in
the service has increased from about 43,000 in 1937 to 113,000.
War veterans have statutory preference in appointments, qualifications
being equal between applicants.
Canada's judicial system is independent of politics. Judges
are appointed for life, and the Canadian judiciary has upheld
the tradition of impartiality inherited from British jurisprudence.
The Supreme Court has jurisdiction as a general court of appeal
in both civil and criminal cases throughout the Dominion,
and in disputes between the provinces and the Dominion. The
Exchequer court has original jurisdiction in cases seeking
relief against the Crown, and enforces the law relating to
revenue. Canadians have no direct contact with the British
law courts. The Judical Committee of the British Privy Council
will hear appeals from the Supreme Court of Canada only when
the case is one of gravity, involving questions of public
interest, or some important point of law. Since the Statute
of Westminster, Canada has been free to decide whether appeals
should be allowed to the Privy Council.
It should be mentioned that while provincial governments
are technically or theoretically supreme in numerous subjects
assigned to them by the British North America Act, changing
times have brought forward new subjects, and changed or altered
the importance of old ones, so that disputes frequently arise
as to the extent of authority between the federal and provincial
governments. The Dominion Government has a general power of
veto or disallowance over any act of a provincial legislature.
The general practice is to refer disputes to the Supreme Court,
and, if necessary, to carry them to the British Privy Council
for adjudication.
It will be seen from this brief outline of Canada's government
that the way of democracy does not run smoothly, that, as
was remarked in the first paragraph, it is neither simple
nor free from perils. We should do ourselves a disservice,
however, if because of difficulties we abandoned democracy
for some new code. Pressure groups and visionaries are always
at hand with panaceas, but it is of historical record that
these cure—alls inevitably include destruction of the
freedoms inherent in democracy: speech, meeting, and the press.
These are the channels through which democracy informs public
opinion, and no other form of government can tolerate them.
Democracy demands more of citizens than do other forms of
government. It takes for granted education, interest and high
integrity. It is only in absence of these that dictators can
arise, and, by holding out promises of easy and quick ways
of doing things, seize power. Democracy may be slow to act,
but its delay is often due to the fact that public opinion
is not so quickly made up as a brain—truster's mind.
This is not proof of inefficiency, but a great safeguard of
free society. In the post—war era, history is not going
to begin a new chapter: it never does: history runs on. The
old principles will remain, and by acceptance of what is best
in democracy, and by education in public affairs and co—operation,
evolution can be continued of a system of government that
will provide the race with the best kind of life and happiness.
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