Mock Parliament:They get mocked a lot already…so let’s say student

parliament.

Election Results – Block 2

Congratulations to the Pathway Party, you have won 12 votes and will form a minority government.

Congratulations to the Stagpa Party (5), you will form the loyal opposition.

Thanks to the Holla Holla Party (4), the Maple Party (4) and the Wild Party (1). You might be invited to join the government.

Pathway

Stagpa

Holla Holla

Maple

Wild

0 40 80 120

Election Results – Block 4

Ottawa, we have a problem…

The A-Team (8) and Blue’s Clues (8) tied. One of these parties will be invited to form the government by the GG.

The Global Party received 4 votes, the Royals 3 and the Homies received 1 vote. You are now the kingmakers!

A-Team

Blue's Clues

Global Party

Royals

Homies

0 40 80

Step 1: The GG invites the PM to

form a government. Following the election the GG will invite the leader

of the largest party, the PM, to try to form a gov’t. The second largest party will be the loyal

opposition. Smaller parties may be invited to join the

government in a coalition. You will be given about 10 minutes to caucus,

mingle and discuss strategies with your classmates. During this time MPs should also make ID cards

that states their party affiliation and riding.

Step 2: Bills will be drafted.

The government will draft a proposed piece of legislation, called a bill. The other parties will also draft private member’s bills.

Bills will be approved by party caucuses. 10 minutes will be given for this process. The bills will then be sent to committee. The

committee is to be made up of three government members, two opposition members and one member from each of the other parties.

The committee will decide which bill will be tabled.

Step 3: The House of Commons will

convene. The first order of business will be to vote on

who will become the speaker of the House.

The cabinet minister responsible for coming up with the bill will then conduct the first reading.

Language of the House

Speaker: “The chair recognizes the Rt. Hon. Member from Ajax-Pickering.”

AJAX: “Mr. Speaker, while defence spending may indeed be a valid issue. One wonders if the honourable member from Nanaimo is aware that the Canadian economy is still recovering from the worst recession since the 1930s.”

Speaker: “The chair recognizes the Rt. Hon. Member from Nanaimo.”

NANAIMO: “Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member from Ajax would prefer that the Canadian Armed forces continues to operate with weapon systems that place both their lives, and the lives of every Canadian in danger.”

MPs: “Here, here, here!”

Step 4: Second Reading.

The bill will then be read a second time by the minister responsible for tabling it.

After the second reading, the Speaker will open the debate.

Once everyone has had a chance to speak, the Speaker will close the debate.

The opposition members may then question members of the government about the bill itself.

Step 5: Amendments

The House will recess and the bill will be sent back to committee.

The purpose of this committee is to make adequate changes to help ease its passage through the House.

Majority governments will of course be less flexible and resist changes to the bill, while minority governments tend to be far more flexible.

At this point in time, other party members can caucus to decide how they plan to vote.

Step 6: Third Reading

The speaker asks the minister responsible to read the amended bill.

Speaker will open the debate on the final form of the bill.

Once the debate has ended the speaker will put the proposed legislation to a vote.

A ‘yea’ vote means you support the bill, a ‘nay’ vote is a vote against the bill.

If the bill passes it moves to the Senate. If the bill fails to pass, it dies in the House.

Step 7: The Senate When a bill passes the House of Commons, it is

still not the law of land. The same procedures are taken in the Senate. Therefore, the bill must be read three more times.

It may also be amended and must be voted on. Since the Senate is an unelected body, the bill

almost always passes. The Senate is therefore known as, “the sober

house of second thought.”

Step 8: Royal Assent

This is the last step in the legislative process. Once a bill has passed the House and the Senate, it

is sent to the Queen’s representative in Canada to be signed into law.

This process is called royal assent. Once a bill has received royal assent, it becomes

the law of the land. It is now up to the executive branch to decide how

the law will be implemented, and the judicial branch to determine its constitutionality and interpret it.

Check for Understanding

Who choses the cabinet? Who may bring forward a

bill? If more than one party

makes up the gov’t, what type of gov’t do we have?

Why would the PM’s party decide to invite another party to join them in gov’t?

What happens after the second reading?

What happens after the third reading?

What is the job of a committee?

Why doesn’t our Senate usually vote down bills from the House?

What is the Senate sometimes referred to as?

What must be done before a bill becomes a law?