End of a Session
A session ends when the Governor General
accepts the prime minister?s advice to ?prorogue?
Parliament until the next session, which must,
by law, come within a year. Prorogation brings
the business of both the Senate and the House
of Commons to an end. All pending legislation
dies on the Order Paper and committee activity
ceases, though all members and offi
cials of the
government and both houses remain in offi
ce.
What Goes On in Parliament
45
How Canadians Govern Themselves
Provinces and
Municipalities
Every province has a legislative assembly (there
has been refused 28 times, the last in 1945,
are no upper houses) that is very similar to the
in Prince Edward Island. Members of the
House of Commons and transacts its business
legislature are elected from constituencies
in much the same way. All bills must go through
established by the legislature roughly in
three readings and receive Royal Assent by the
proportion to population, and whichever
lieutenant-governor. In the provinces, assent
candidate gets the largest number of votes is
elected, even if his or her vote is less than half
the total.
Municipal governments ? cities, towns, villages,
counties, districts, metropolitan regions ?
are set up by the provincial legislatures, and
have such powers as the legislatures see fi t to
give them. Mayors, reeves and councillors are
elected on a basis that the provincial legislature
prescribes.
There are now roughly 4,000 municipal
governments in the country. They provide us
with such services as water supply, sewage
and garbage disposal, roads, sidewalks, street
lighting, building codes, parks, playgrounds,
libraries and so forth. Schools are generally
looked after by school boards or commissions
elected under provincial education acts.
Through self-government and land claims
agreements, aboriginal peoples are increasingly
assuming powers and responsibilities similar to
Municipal governments take care of city parks.
those enjoyed by provinces and municipalities.
46
Provinces and Municipalities
Living Government
We are apt to think of government as something
search for areas of agreement and the making
static; as a machine that was built and fi nished
of new adjustments has been a continual
long ago. Actually, since our democratic
process from the beginning. The recognition
government is really only the sum of ourselves,
of the French fact, which was limited in 1867,
it grows and changes as we do. Canada today
now embraces, in greater or lesser degree, the
is not the Canada of 1867, and neither is the
whole of Canada. All federal services must be
Act that made it. It has been changed by many
available where required in either language.
amendments, all originated by us, the people
Federal, Quebec and Manitoba courts have
of Canada. How we govern ourselves has also
always had to be bilingual. New Brunswick is
been changed by judicial interpretation of the
