Floor Plan of the House of Commons 1

Floor Plan of the House of Commons 1 8 13 13 14 9 4 2 3 15 10 7

Floor Plan of the House of Commons 1. Speaker 1. Prime Minister 2. Leader of the Opposition 3. Cabinet 4. Backbenchers- Government Party 5. Backbenchers – Members of the Opposition Party 6. Members of the other Opposition party 7. Page boys and page girls 8. Clerk’s Table 9. Sergeant-at-arms 10. Hansard reporter 11. Press Gallery 12. Visitor’s galleries 13. Shadow Cabinet (opposition) 14. Mace

Speaker: Oversees all business in the House of Commons Announces the results of votes in the House of Commons Controls and directs Question Period Disciplines unruly members of Parliament Prime Minister: Chooses cabinet ministers Asks governor general to name new senators and judges Works with provincial premiers on issues of national concern Represents Canada on trips abroad Cabinet Ministers: Advise prime ministers Help to form and defend government policy Direct the affairs to their department Leader of the Opposition: Leader of the second-largest party in the House of Commons Role is to criticize and try to improve government legislation Shadow Cabinet: Members of the Opposition appointed to scrutinize cabinet ministers and government policies Helps to shape Opposition party policies

3 Types of Government Anarchy: No official government. A state of lawlessness and disorder (usually resulting from a failure of government) Dictatorship: Absolute power is concentrated in a dictator or a small clique Democracy: A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who elect people to represent them.

Federal Responsibilities: National Defence Foreign Policy Aboriginal Affairs Postal Services Banking System Marriage and Divorce Law Criminal Law Federal Prisons Provincial Responsibilities: Education Charities Health Service and Hospitals Licences Highways Provincial Court System Provincial Policies and Prisons