I felt rather compelled to discuss this topic a while back especially after writing my essay and discussing this in the tutorial.
As it is a blog, I'll keep it rather simple and somewhat short but the debates could go on forever... But essentially my take on the this topic is that the Prime Minister is not too powerful. And I will address one particular main point and that would be this:
-Powers within the Government limit the PM's power.
If for example, the PM opposed a particular bill or motion but someone of similar stature, Finance Minister could challenge the PM's opposition and the like. This example can be seen when Paul Martin as the Finance Minister wanted to announce a major pension plan change for Canadians but PM Chretian opposed this and Martin challenged him and eventually Chretian subccombed.
In my opinion the Prime Minister is not too powerful in the worldy scale and lacks any sort of power compared to say the President of the United States. However, I would say he does have substantial power in Canada. This can be seen through the invoking of the War Measures Act by Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
Any opinions or takes on the PM's power?
-SW
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5 comments:
It's true. I totally agree with what you're saying. The Prime Minister is not all that powerful nevermind being TOO powerful. The way our system is set up, there's just not enough leeway for the Prime Minister to do as they wish.
This view could only be because in comparison to the President of the United States. However, the Prime Minister has to often compromise with his cabinet ministers & then compete with his own ministers to hold his position.The government being divided into legislative and judiciary division also doesn't help.
Outside factors like the media can seriously belittle their authority and power.
So in my opinion, the Prime Minister really isn't that powerful. It's just the way our system is set up!
But in your opinion do you think we should be similar to the US where our leader has the power to influence mroe than just the country they are governing but more on the world scale as well? I mean I understand that you agree that the PM isn't that powerful becuase our system is set up that way and the media belittle's their authority and power. But why is our system setup this way?Is it because we want to be more unique?
-SW
I believe that the PM IS too powerful solely based on the fact that he has appointment powers in Canada's government.
The PM can appoint our any seat in the cabinet, vacant seats in the senate and supreme court of Canada, and eve the governor general.
These are all important bodies that highly effect and influence the way our government and its rules and regulations are run.
A little mistake in judgment or external pressures can easily hinder the running of our government. It is not like we have not seen some form of corruption or unjustified acts within the government before, and it may be because of the PM's poor decision making skills.
I believe that someone else should be in charge of these powers just to avoid any problems.
But that's just my opinion and how I perceive the government is run!
Interesting post nonetheless!
It is a trendy topic today: people complain or believe that the Prime Minister is becoming too much like the American President. They believe that the Prime Minister has complete control over much of Canadian domestic and international affairs. The Prime Minister is certainly an influential figure but there are many opposing forces that counter this argument.
Within government, finance ministers are extremely powerful. I would cite the Paul Martin example wherein Chretien succumbed to Martin's major pension reforms. Martin eventually took over as Prime Minister with the support of the Cabinet, the House, and the people. Chretien was forced to resign. However, while Paul Martin was in government, the party reversed a decision of having a missile defence system with the USA.
Minority governments also severely lessen a Prime Minister's powers. In the responsible government system, the Cabinet must retain the support of the House or else face dissolution. Because of this, the Prime Minister must make ties to other parties and compromise on their desired policies to stay in power.
The policies of the party, generally, flow from the specific Cabinet ministers on their respective departments. Then, and only then, a consensus can be reached on these issues behind closed doors. The Prime Minister understands that he or she has appointed people who are specially skilled in their respective areas.
The Prime Minister, who leads the Executive part of government, must remember to take into account the legislative (House of Commons) and judiciary (courts). Therefore, the Prime Minister needs to retain House support, or else Parliament will be dissolved and a new election upon us.
Since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, the courts have used its' power to interpret the Charter. These include what some think of as our inalienable "human rights", a trend that reflects the Americanization of Canada. Like Britain, Canada is based on a utilitarian school of thought, in which legislation is passed depending on the circumstances of the situation or society. In the USA and France, there is a much stronger belief in the protection of natural rights being the entire purpose of government. This undoubtedly cuts back government influence, including the Prime Minister's.
Outside of government, the media puts much pressure on the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's every move is watched as he or she achieves a virtual celebrity status. You see the news or comedians like Rick Mercer, for example, reporting on Stephen Harper daily.
International agreements also limit the power of the Prime Minister, who is not regarded as "above" these international treaties. In some cases, the Prime Ministers have very little say in these international agreements.
Canada is also one of the most de-centralized countries in the world, meaning that the provincial government has a lot of power. Therefore, the federal government must take into consideration the wants of the respective Premiers. Because we are in a federalist style of government, the provincial governments and federal government is equal (of course we know that this isn't exactly true because of the reserve and disallowance powers of the provincial lieutenant governor who is appointed by Ottawa). Nevertheless, provincial governments have control over some key areas such as non-renewable resources, and education as outlined in the 1867 Constitution under Section 92. Also some areas such as health care are split between the two levels of government.
There is also virtual competition. Powerful companies (example: Microsoft) virtually dominate sectors of the economic private market. These companies have incredible influence over the economy.
In conclusion, the argument that the Prime Minister is becoming too powerful has many flaws. People who claim that the Prime Minister is becoming much like the President must study the different systems of government to realize how the Prime Minister is held back in a responsible government system, not a Separation of Powers.
There are arguments on the other side that we must also consider:
- With majority government within a responsible government system, the Prime Minister has much power because of high party discipline. This means that responsible government is virtually Cabinet government, wherein the Prime Minister forces his or her ministers to conform to his or her view. Legislation proposed by Cabinet, and pushed by the Prime Minister is very easily passed in the House.
- The Senate consists of 105 members that are put in their place, on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- Within our constitutional monarchy, the head of state (Governor General) is generally just a ceremonial puppet despite having the four reserve powers. Therefore, the Prime Minister (head of government) has limited restraints.
- The Prime Minister can only be stopped by losing elections, the force of public opinion, or the extremely rare Cabinet revolt.
- Senior official in government the Prime Minister, who has total control over the Cabinet.
- The Prime Minister is an icon / a media darling who the people tend to look to in times of national crisis.
- The Prime Minister is the only one in government (other than the Governor General) with a residence, and it is at 24 Sussex Drive.
- An example where the Prime Minister may abuse his or her powers was in 1997 when the New Brunswick Premier, during a golfing game with Prime Minister Chretien, proposed a 4lane Trans-Canada highway and a Maritimes' economic conference. Both proposals were immediately accepted by the Prime Minister without even consulting his Cabinet.
- The Prime Minister decides who joins his or her Cabinet. When these ministers disagree with the Prime Minister, they must resign.
- The Prime Minister has an amazing ability that nobody else does to communicate with people around the world.
- The Prime Minister's communications department spin stories to make him or her look much better.
- The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is a biased partisan staff.
- The Prime Minister represents Canada in world-wide discussions with other leaders. Ever since Trudeau, Mulroney and Chretien pushed for more Prime Ministerial powers, they have got more.
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