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.
Wild
Maple
Holla Holla
Stagpa
Pathway
0
50
100
150
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!
Homies
Royals
Global Party
Blue's Clues
A-Team
0
50
100
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 AjaxPickering.”
 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?