Comparison of the American and Canadian legislative process
Legislation is an important process of any democratic nation. This essay will demonstrate the legislative differences between two democratic nations - Canada and the United States. Although many people consider Canada and the United States to be very similar nations, they have very different legislative process, each with its own pros and cons. In order to illustrate these differences we will be following a money bill through both the Canadian and American systems of government. When a bill is passed through the entire legislative system, all three constituents of the government are involved: The House of Commons, the Senate, and The Governor General. If a bill has passed through all of these bodies it then becomes law. A bill starts in the House of Commons where a Minister or Member of Parliament first introduces it. Once it is in the House of Commons it begins the first phase of legislation. The First reading acts as an introduction to the bill. During this stage the title of the bill is announced, followed by a brief description of the contents in the bill. At this stage the bill is tabled, printed and made public. All bills are automatically passed through this stage without
When the hearings are completed, the subcommittee may meet to make changes and amendments prior to recommending the bill to the full committee. If a subcommittee votes not to report legislation to the full committee, the bill dies. This example reflects the fundamental difference between the American democratic system and the Canadian one. The Canadian system is largely driven by the concept of majority rules. Following the life cycle of a bill, it becomes through democratic process, the conclusion that the majority of the legislatures (and be extension the Canadian population) are in favour of a particular bill. That bill therefore deserves to become law. After a bill is reported back to the chamber where it originated, it is placed in chronological order on the calendar. In the House there are several different legislative calendars, and the Speaker and majority leader largely determine if, when, and in what order bills come up. In the Senate there is only one legislative calendar. The American system of legislature, or the Congress, is divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate. Similar to the Canadian system, in order for bills to become law both Houses of government must approve them. Unlike the Canadian system however, bills can be introduced in either the Senate or the House of Representatives. Once a bill is introduced it follows a long and difficult path towards law. During the third reading of a bill, Members of Parliament have an opportunity to comment on, criticize, or ask questions about the bill, before voting on it for the last time. This phase of the legislative process normally occurs quite rapidly. At the end the third reading the Members of Parliament once again vote on whether or not they agree with the bill's intent. Once the bill is passed through this third reading, it leaves the House of Commons and enters the Senate Publication of a Written Report
Some common words found in the essay are:
House Commons, House Senate, Canadian Canadian, Committee Action, Subcommittee Review, President President, Finance Committee, Royal Assent, Report Stage, Third Reading, house commons, house senate, third reading, report stage, bill passed, royal assent, stage report stage, canadian system, stage report, legislative process, bill committee, reading third reading, report stage report, assent royal assent, royal assent royal,
Approximate Word count = 1920
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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