Canadian politic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Canadian politic - Essay Example In spite of the fact that Canada has a dominance of political parties yet Canada has been labeled with the title of executive federalism emphasizing the importance of the Prime Minister and the First Ministers in the policy making of Canada.2 Smiley has characterized the Canadian government as â€Å"executive federalism†. This is because Canada represents an intersection of parliamentary power as well as federal power. The special characteristic in Canada is that the power is centralized at each level and at the same time is dispersed between different levels. It can be said that in Canada the approval of the Senate is necessary for every issue but at the same time the Senate cannot withhold its consent. Even in the Supreme Court of Canada we can witness the presence of executive federalism. The federal cabinet is also an example of executive federalism in Canada. 3 The advocates of executive federalism were of the opinion that this form of government will reduce the responsibility of the parliament in the governance of the country whereas the provinces will be allowed to take some amount of national responsibility. They also felt that such a government will establish a welfare state in Canada. Canada under the influence of the executive federalism the benefits allowed were family allowance, unemployment insurance scheme, the scheme of old age pension, old age security plans, the Canada Pension Plan and the initiation of Child Tax Credit. Another positive step which was taken during this era was the elimination of child poverty.4 They were also of the opinion that the best way for a country like Canada was to trust the elites and hence they felt that the executive federalism which gave a lot of weightage to the Prime Minister and the First Ministers of the Provinces for policy making was most apt for Canada. They were of the opinion that executive federalism provided the