Senate
There is also an Official Opposition in the Canadian Senate. This is the largest party in the Senate that is not in government. As the governing party is determined in the House of Commons, the Official Opposition in the Senate may actually be larger than the government party in the Senate. It is customary, however, for the Senate to pass legislation approved in the House of Commons even if the government has a minority in the Senate. Although the Senate nominally has the power to block most legislation (excepting bills which would trigger a non-confidence motion if defeated in the House, such as money bills), this power is rarely exercised in practice.
The party that forms Official Opposition in the Senate is not necessarily the same party as in the House of Commons, however. From 1993 to 2003, the Official Opposition in the Senate was the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, even though the Bloc Québécois from the Official Opposition in the House from 1993 to 1997, followed by the Reform Party of Canada, and then the Canadian Alliance from 1997 to 2003. This is because the BQ, and Reform Party had no Senators. However, when Senator Gerry St. Germain crossed the floor from the Progressive Conservatives to the Canadian Alliance in 2000, he argued that he should be recognized as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate as the Canadian Alliance formed the Official Opposition in the House of Commons. The Speaker of the Canadian Senate ruled against him, however, as the Progressive Conservatives were the larger opposition party.
Read more about this topic: Official Opposition (Canada)
Famous quotes containing the word senate:
“It took six weeks of debate in the Senate to get the Arms Embargo Law repealedand we face other delays during the present session because most of the Members of the Congress are thinking in terms of next Autumns election. However, that is one of the prices that we who live in democracies have to pay. It is, however, worth paying, if all of us can avoid the type of government under which the unfortunate population of Germany and Russia must exist.”
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“Like Cato, give his little Senate laws,
And sit attentive to his own applause.”
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