Responsible Government In The Canadian Regime Essay

Responsible Government In The Canadian Regime - Essay Example Soon, people began to agitate and rebel seeking "reform" of the constitutional system. As a result, Lord Durham was sent to Canada to investigate the cause of the rebellions and to figure out a solution. Lord Durham stressed that "the complete assimilation of French Canadians" (Malcomson and Myers 2005) was necessary and proposed the Act of Union. Further, he stated that a responsible government was needed to handle the situation and the British Government eventually acknowledged the idea. Canada's constitution has therefore been under the principle of responsible government, based on the fusion of power, which is distinct from a separation of powers. This fusion of power is the most important and fundamental factor in the responsible government system that helps the Canadian government remarkably efficient. It also increase voters' accountability, and imposes strong influence over the confidence in the House of Commons. The responsible government which depends on the fusion of power, allows the cabinet not only to acts as an executive but also to take a role in legislative action. There are no "standstills of the sort[and] once the cabinet backed by a parliamentary majoritythere is nothing to stand in its way." (Malcomson and Myers 2005) Because the same group is responsible for legislating, practicing and enforcing the law, they can take decisions without transferring the proposal from one branch to another for permission. Moreover, in a responsible government, the "power is married to responsibility". (Kam, Sept 19, 2006) Under separation of powers, it is hard to blame a particular branch or a person for unsatisfactory political events. However, in a responsible government, the power is fused into one system, and therefore, the responsibility for positive or negative events lies on one entity alone. This also influences the voters' evaluation of their elected servants. The fusion of power increases the accountability to the voters much more than separation of powers. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister and the cabinet's legitimacy solely depend on the confidence of the House of Commons which generates unique characteristics for the government. The prime minister and the cabinet are not directly elected by the people. Because of this, their democratic legitimacy depends on the confidence of the House of Commons. Consequently, if the members of the party do no support each other and cooperate in order to endorse the ministry, they will soon lose the confidence of the House and their right to rule would be taken away. For this reason, the party discipline in Canada is pretty strong. Furthermore, it prompts MPs to vote in support of their party instead of their constituents' desires. The dependence on the confidence of the House of Commons also influences the date of the election in Canada. Under the principle of separation of powers, each branch and the president are elected separately. Once they are elected, they each have their own mandate. However, in Canada, "the timing of parliamentary elections is normally decided by the prime minister". They "canlose that confidence at anytime,[so] it is essential to be able to hold elections at any time." (Malcomson and Myers 2005) The responsible government system originated from the British, but soon percolated into the Canadian government, creating distinctive features in the