Government of Canada
The Government of Canada Her Majesty's Government, is the federal administration of Canada. In Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or the Queen-in-Council. In both senses, the current construct was established at Confederation through the Constitution Act, 1867—as a federal constitutional monarchy, wherein the Canadian Crown acts as the core, or "the most basic building block", of its Westminster-style parliamentary democracy; the Crown is thus the foundation of the executive and judicial branches of the Canadian government. Further elements of governance are outlined in the rest of the Canadian Constitution, which includes written statutes, court rulings, unwritten conventions developed over centuries; the monarch is represented by the Governor General of Canada. The Queen's Privy Council for Canada is the body that advises the sovereign or viceroy on the exercise of executive power. However, in practice, that task is performed only by the Cabinet, a committee within the Privy Council composed of ministers of the Crown, who are drawn from and responsible to the elected House of Commons in parliament.
The Cabinet is headed by the prime minister, appointed by the governor general after securing the confidence of the House of Commons. In Canadian English, the word government is used to refer both to the whole set of institutions that govern the country, to the current political leadership. In federal department press releases, the government has sometimes been referred to by the phrase Government. In late 2010, an informal instruction from the Office of the Prime Minister urged government departments to use in all department communications the term in place of Government of Canada; the same cabinet earlier directed its press department to use the phrase Canada's New Government. As per the Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982, Canada is a constitutional monarchy, wherein the role of the reigning sovereign is both legal and practical, but not political; the Crown is regarded as a corporation sole, with the monarch, vested as she is with all powers of state, at the centre of a construct in which the power of the whole is shared by multiple institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority.
The executive is thus formally called the Queen-in-Council, the legislature the Queen-in-Parliament, the courts as the Queen on the Bench. Royal Assent is required to enact laws and, as part of the Royal Prerogative, the royal sign-manual gives authority to letters patent and orders in council, though the authority for these acts stems from the Canadian populace and, within the conventional stipulations of constitutional monarchy, the sovereign's direct participation in any of these areas of governance is limited; the Royal Prerogative includes summoning and dissolving parliament in order to call an election, extends to foreign affairs: the negotiation and ratification of treaties, international agreements, declarations of war. The person, monarch of Canada is the monarch of 15 other countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, though, he or she reigns separately as King or Queen of Canada, an office, "truly Canadian" and "totally independent from that of the Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms".
On the advice of the Canadian Prime Minister, the sovereign appoints a federal viceregal representative—the Governor General of Canada —who, since 1947, is permitted to exercise all of the monarch's Royal Prerogative, though there are some duties which must be performed by, or bills that require assent by, the king or queen. The government is defined by the constitution as the Queen acting on the advice of her privy council. However, the Privy Council—consisting of former members of parliament, chief justices of the supreme court, other elder statesmen—rarely meets in full; as the stipulations of responsible government require that those who directly advise the monarch and governor general on how to exercise the Royal Prerogative be accountable to the elected House of Commons, the day-to-day operation of government is guided only by a sub-group of the Privy Council made up of individuals who hold seats in parliament. This body of senior ministers of the Crown is the Cabinet. One of the main duties of the Crown is to ensure that a democratic government is always in place, which means appointing a prime minister to thereafter head the Cabinet.
Thus, the governor general must appoint as prime minister the person who holds the confidence of the House of Commons. Should no party hold a majority in the commons, the leader of one party—either the one with the most seats or one supported by other parties—will be called by the governor general to form a minority government. Once sworn in by the viceroy, the prime minister holds office until he or she resigns or is removed by the governor general, after either a motion of no confidence or his or her party's defeat in a general election; the monarch and governor general follow the near-binding advice of
Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the second most senior member of the Canadian Armed Forces and heads the Armed Forces Council, having primary responsibility for command and administration of the forces, as well as military strategy and requirements. The position is held by a senior member of one of the three main branches of the Canadian Armed Forces; the current CDS, since 17 July 2015, is Jonathan Vance. Until 1964, there existed a Chief of the Naval Staff, as head of the Royal Canadian Navy. A position known as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee existed, which had a loose coordination function, although it lacked the command and control responsibilities of the position of Chief of the Defence Staff; the position of Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the positions of the three service chiefs were abolished in 1964 and replaced by the position of CDS. This change was based on a white paper initiated by Paul Hellyer, Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet headed by Lester B.
Pearson. Following the tabling of the white paper, the minister introduced legislation that took effect in August 1964; the newly established Chief of the Defence Staff was to "head all of Canada's military forces, backed by a defence headquarters, integrated and restructured to reflect six so-called functional commands, replacing eleven former service commands. Functional described a command, non-geographic and beyond any particular service or traditional arm." In May 1967, Bill C-243 was passed by parliament and was effective as of 1 February 1968. The law dissolved the three armed services and created the Canadian Armed Forces under the command of the CDS. In 2011, the three functional commands—named Maritime Command, Land Force Command, Air Command—had their original names reinstated, becoming once again the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, respectively; the Chief of the Defence Staff follows in rank only the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces, who appoints the CDS and is the person from whom the CDS receives his or her orders.
In practice, the commander-in-chief—the Canadian monarch, represented by the governor general—typically acts only on the advice of his or her ministers of the Crown, meaning the CDS reports directly to the Minister of National Defence. The CDS has been charged with four main priorities, each having multiple sub-priorities: The first is to conduct operations, which includes the successful implementation of domestic and international operations, protection of the forces through a culture of risk management, ensuring that recruitment is at a level required to sustain the operational forces at full potential to meet their commitments. Secondly, the CDS is expected to expand the regular and reserve forces to meet international and domestic obligations, which means the management of the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group so as to streamline the enlistment process of new forces members; the third task is to implement the national defence strategy as outlined by the Queen-in-Council, requiring both the acquisition of new equipment and the strengthening of diplomatic relations via the United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, North American Aerospace Defence Command."
Lastly, the CDS must enhance the forces' programme delivery while optimising the use of resources. The CDS is the Chair of the Canadian Forces Decorations Advisory Committee, which reviews and recommends to the governor general members of the forces eligible to receive decorations for valour and meritorious service, as well as Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendations; this committee mirrors that for the Order of Military Merit, of which the CDS is ex-officio a member and the Principal Commander. Separately, the CDS presents the Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation to recognise activity or service beyond regular expectations, it can be presented to members of the Canadian Forces, civilian members of the Defence Team, members of an allied foreign military. The insignia for wear has the form of a gold bar bearing three gold maple leaves and the award comes with a scroll bearing the citation; the CDS awards the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service, given by the CDS on behalf of the entire forces.
Chief of the Defence Force Chief of the Defence Staff Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Department of National Defence: Chief of the Defence Staff National Defence Act
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada, sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Responsible government, requires the sovereign or her viceroy, the Governor General of Canada, to always follow only that advice tendered by the Cabinet: a committee within the Privy Council composed of elected Members of Parliament; those summoned to the QPC are appointed for life by the governor general as directed by the Prime Minister of Canada, meaning that the group is composed predominantly of former cabinet ministers, with some others having been inducted as an honorary gesture. Those in the council are accorded the use of an honorific style and post-nominal letters, as well as various signifiers of precedence; the government of Canada, formally referred to as Her Majesty's Government, is defined by the Canadian constitution as the sovereign acting on the advice of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.
The group of people is described as "a Council to aid and advise in the Government of Canada, to be styled the Queen's Privy Council for Canada," though, by convention, the task of giving the sovereign and governor general advice on how to exercise the Royal Prerogative via Orders in Council rests with by the Cabinet—a committee of the Privy Council made up of other ministers of the Crown who are drawn from, responsible to, the House of Commons in the parliament. This body is distinct but entwined within the QPC, as the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada customarily serves as one of its members and cabinet ministers receive assistance in the performance of their duties from the Privy Council Office, headed by the Clerk of the Privy Council. While the Cabinet deals with the regular, day-to-day functions of the Crown-in-Council, occasions of wider national importance—such as the proclamation of a new Canadian sovereign following a demise of the Crown or conferring on royal marriages—will be attended to by more senior officials in the QPC, such as the prime minister, the Chief Justice of Canada, other senior statesmen.
The quorum for Privy Council meetings is four. The Constitution Act, 1867, outlines that persons are to be summoned and appointed for life to the Queen's Privy Council by the governor general, though convention dictates that this be done on the advice of the sitting prime minister; as its function is to provide the vehicle for advising the Crown, the members of the QPC are predominantly all living current and former ministers of the Crown. In addition, the chief justices of Canada and former governors general are appointed. From time to time, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and heads of other opposition parties will be appointed to the QPC, either as an honour or to facilitate the distribution of sensitive information under the Security of Information Act, it is required by law that those on the Security Intelligence Review Committee be made privy councillors, if they are not already. To date, only Prime Minister Paul Martin advised that Parliamentary Secretaries be admitted to the QPC.
Appointees to the Queen's Privy Council must recite the requisite oath: I, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I shall be a true and faithful servant to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, as a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada. I will in all things to be treated and resolved in Privy Council and declare my mind and my opinion. I shall keep secret all matters committed and revealed to me in this capacity, or that shall be secretly treated of in Council. In all things I shall do as a faithful and true servant ought to do for Her Majesty. Provincial premiers are not appointed to the QPC, but have been made members on special occasions, such as the centennial of Confederation in 1967 and the patriation of the constitution of Canada in 1982. On Canada Day in 1992, which marked the 125th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn appointed eighteen prominent Canadians to the Privy Council, including former Premier of Ontario David Peterson, retired hockey star Maurice Richard, businessman Conrad Black.
The use of Privy Council appointments as purely an honour was not employed again until 6 February 2006, when Harper advised the Governor General to appoint former Member of Parliament John Reynolds along with the new Cabinet. Harper, on 15 October 2007 advised Governor General Michaëlle Jean to appoint Jim Abbott. On occasion, non-Canadians have been appointed to the QPC; the first non-Canadian sworn of the council was Billy Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia, inducted on 18 February 1916 at the request of Robert Borden—to honour a visiting head of government, but so that Hughes could attend Cabinet meetings on wartime policy. Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was inducted during a visit to Canada on 29 December 1941. Privy councillors are entitled to the style The Honourable or, for the prime minister, chief justice, or certain other emine
Military history of Canada
The military history of Canada comprises hundreds of years of armed actions in the territory encompassing modern Canada, interventions by the Canadian military in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide. For thousands of years, the area that would become Canada was the site of sporadic intertribal conflicts among Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the 17th and 18th centuries, Canada was the site of four colonial wars and two additional wars in Nova Scotia and Acadia between New France and New England. In 1763, after the final colonial war—the Seven Years' War—the British emerged victorious and the French civilians, whom the British hoped to assimilate, were declared "British Subjects". After the passing of the Quebec Act in 1774, giving the Canadians their first charter of rights under the new regime, the northern colonies chose not to join the American Revolution and remained loyal to the British crown; the Americans launched invasions in 1775 and 1812. On both occasions, the Americans were rebuffed by Canadian forces.
After Confederation, amid much controversy, a full-fledged Canadian military was created. Canada, remained a British dominion, Canadian forces joined their British counterparts in the Second Boer War and the First World War. While independence followed the Statute of Westminster, Canada's links to Britain remained strong, the British once again had the support of Canadians during the Second World War. Since Canada has been committed to multilateralism and has gone to war within large multinational coalitions such as in the Korean War, the Gulf War, the Kosovo War, the Afghan war; the causes of aboriginal warfare tended to be over tribal independence and personal and tribal honour—revenge for perceived wrongs committed against oneself or one's tribe. Before European colonization, aboriginal warfare tended to be formal and ritualistic, entailed few casualties. There is some evidence of much more violent warfare the complete genocide of some First Nations groups by others, such as the total displacement of the Dorset culture of Newfoundland by the Beothuk.
Warfare was common among indigenous peoples of the Subarctic with sufficient population density. Inuit groups of the northern Arctic extremes did not engage in direct warfare because of their small populations, relying instead on traditional law to resolve conflicts; those captured in fights were not always killed. Slavery was hereditary, the slaves being prisoners of war and their descendants. Slave-owning tribes of the fishing societies, such as the Tlingit and Haida, lived along the coast from what are now Alaska to California. Among indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, about a quarter of the population were slaves; the first conflicts between Europeans and aboriginal peoples may have occurred around 1000 CE, when parties of Norsemen attempted to establish permanent settlements along the northeastern coast of North America. According to Norse sagas, the skraelings of Vinland responded so ferociously that the newcomers withdrew and gave up their plans to settle the area. Prior to French settlements in the St. Lawrence River valley, the local Iroquoian peoples were completely displaced because of warfare with their neighbours the Algonquin.
The Iroquois League was established prior to major European contact. Most archaeologists and anthropologists believe that the League was formed sometime between 1450 and 1600. Existing aboriginal alliances would become important to the colonial powers in the struggle for North American hegemony during the 17th and 18th centuries. After European arrival, fighting between aboriginal groups tended to be bloodier and more decisive as tribes became caught up in the economic and military rivalries of the European settlers. By the end of the 17th century, First Nations from the northeastern woodlands, eastern subarctic and the Métis had adopted the use of firearms, supplanting the traditional bow; the adoption of firearms increased the number of fatalities. The bloodshed during conflicts was dramatically increased by the uneven distribution of firearms and horses among competing aboriginal groups. Two years after the French founded Port Royal in 1605, the English began their first settlement, at Jamestown, Virginia, to the south.
By 1706, the French population was around 16,000 and grew due to a multitude of factors. This lack of immigration resulted in New France having one-tenth of the British population of the Thirteen Colonies by the mid 1700s. La Salle's explorations had given France a claim to the Mississippi River valley, where fur trappers and a few colonists set up scattered settlements; the colonies of New France: Acadia on the Bay of Fundy and Canada on the St. Lawrence River were based on the fur trade and had only lukewarm support from the French monarchy; the colonies of New France grew given the difficult geographical and climatic circumstances. The more favourably located New England Colonies to the south developed a diversified economy and flourished from immigration. From 1670, through the Hudson's Bay Company, the English laid claim to Hudson Bay and its drainage basin, operated fishing settlements in Newfoundland; the early military of New France consisted of a mix of regular soldiers from the Fren
Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces
The Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces is the supreme commander of Canada's armed forces. Constitutionally, command-in-chief is vested in the Canadian sovereign, presently Queen Elizabeth II; as the representative of the Queen, the Governor General of Canada, presently Julie Payette, has been authorized to exercise the powers and responsibilities belonging to the sovereign and has been bestowed with the title Commander-in-Chief. By viceregal protocol, the title used with Canadian audiences is Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces and, in international contexts, Commander-in-Chief of Canada; the Constitution Act, 1867, states that "The Command-in-Chief of the Land and Naval Militia, of all Naval and Military Forces, of and in Canada, is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the Queen." However, beginning in 1904, the exercise of the duties of the commander-in-chief were delegated to the Governor General of Canada, the monarch's representative in the country. The Militia Act from that year stated that "the Command-in-Chief of the Militia is declared to continue and be vested in the King, shall be administered by His Majesty or by the Governor General as his representative."
Following this, in 1905, the letters patent constituting the Office of the Governor General were amended to read the "Letters Patent constituting the Office of the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief." Throughout the development of the armed forces, the monarch has remained vested with command-in-chief, while the governor general's title altered to suit the changes in the militia's structure. Following the establishment of the Canadian Department of the Naval Service in 1910, the viceroy was styled Commander-in-Chief of the Militia and Naval Forces and, after the creation of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1918, as Commander-in-Chief of the Militia and Naval and Air Forces. Following this, the letters patent issued in 1947 by King George VI referred to the Office of Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada. In 1968, following the unification of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the commander-in-chief became the most senior officer of the Canadian Armed Forces.
As all executive power is reposed in the Canadian sovereign, the role of commander-in-chief is the only constitutional means by which decisions are made over the deployment and disposition of the Canadian Armed Forces. Under the Westminster system's conventions of responsible government, the Cabinet—which advises the sovereign or her viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers—generally exercises the crown prerogative powers relating to the Canadian forces. Still, all declarations of war are issued with the approval, in the name, of the monarch, must be signed by either the sovereign or the governor general, as was done with the proclamation that declared Canada at war with Nazi Germany, issued on 10 September 1939. In exercising the duties of commander-in-chief, the governor general appoints the Chief of the Defence Staff, as well as royal colonels-in-chief of Canadian regiments, approves new military badges and insignia, visits Canadian Forces personnel within Canada and abroad, bestowes honours, signs commission scrolls.
Since 2000, the governor general awards the Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation to units in the Canadian Forces and allied militias that have performed extraordinary deeds or activities in hazardous circumstances in active combat. An insignia pin is presented to members and the unit receives a scroll and may fly a special banner. Unique commander-in-chief rank insignia is displayed on the applicable Canadian Armed Forces uniforms which the commander-in-chief may choose to wear on occasion. In accordance with the Canadian Forces Dress Instructions, the commander-in-chief may wear a flag officer's navy uniform or a general officer's army or air force uniform with, as appropriate or desirable, a flag or general officer hat badge, a special flag or general officer sleeve braid embellished with the commander-in-chief's badge, a large embroidered commander-in-chief's badge on the shoulder straps or shoulder boards with the badges facing forward; the Canadian Crown and the Canadian Forces Colonel-in-Chief > Canada Department of National Defence: Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada
Major-General George R Pearkes Building
The Major-General George R. Pearkes Building is the principal location of Canada's National Defence Headquarters and is located in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. NDHQ comprises a collection of offices spread across the National Capital Region, however it is most identified with the Major-General George R. Pearkes Building at 101 Colonel By Drive in Ottawa. OC Transpo's Mackenzie King Transitway station serve the adjacent Rideau Centre; the building, named after Major-General G. R. Pearkes, was constructed between 1969 and 1974, was intended for use by the Department of Transport; when a planned National Defence Headquarters complex on the LeBreton Flats was not built, however, DND acquired the Colonel By Drive structure. In 1972, the Department of Transportation moved into Place de Ville's newly completed Tower C; the concept for the building was developed by French town planner Jacques Gréber after World War II at the invitation of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. Gréber, a proponent of boulevards and highways as opposed to rail corridors, advised that the city redevelop the east bank of the Rideau Canal which was, at that time, covered with railway tracks leading to Ottawa Union Station.
This design was accomplished with the removal of the station tracks and relocation of passenger rail service to a new suburban station. The remaining land that contained the coach yard for Ottawa Union Station was vacant and ready for developments that would contain the Pearkes Building and the Rideau Centre. Architects John C. Parkin, Searle and Rowland designed the buildings in the then-popular Brutalist style, they were conceived as the first phase of the planned redevelopment, the Rideau Centre, which opened in 1983, being the second phase. During the Cold War, the threat of nuclear attack on the National Capital Region saw a Central Emergency Government Headquarters constructed 30 km west of Ottawa at CFS Carp; the threat of terrorist attacks in recent decades following the September 11, 2001 attacks, led to the permanent closure of an access road that runs beneath the connecting section of the two structures comprising the MGen George R. Pearkes Building; the interior mezzanine corridor connecting the north and south towers has been closed to all but pass holders since the 1990s.
A dramatic architectural feature, it was cordoned off using temporary concrete barriers. Work has now been completed permanently closing off the thoroughfare that linked Nicholas Street to Colonel By Drive and the adjacent Rideau Canal by building permanent concrete barriers, metal fencing, a gatehouse equipped with the capability to stop unauthorised vehicles from entering; the MGen George R. Pearkes Building underwent extensive renovations from the mid-1990s as each floor was gutted to replace the hodge podge of outdated offices and furnishings dating to the building's opening in 1974. Modular office furnishings produced by CORCAN were installed. By the mid-2000s it became apparent that the NDHQ complex at the MGen George R. Pearkes Building was overcrowded, forcing DND to spread some headquarters staff across the National Capital Region. Sizeable NDHQ offices have been established in the past, or are still located in, Place Export Canada, the Constitution Building, l'Esplanade Laurier, Louis St Laurent Building and the Berger Building, among others.
Recent cutbacks among high-technology companies in the Ottawa region led DND to consider buying a surplus JDS Uniphase campus in suburban Barrhaven at the intersection of Merivale Road and Prince of Wales Drive, west of the Ottawa International Airport. JDS's former Barrhaven campus comprises two large buildings with extensive computer networking capacity, is selling for a fraction of its construction cost; the location was perceived to be far more secure, being set back from public roads, has ample parking and transit connections for the several thousand employees it was designed to support. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police now occupy this property. DND is in the process of relocating some of their to the former Nortel R&D facility at Carling Campus in 2017. Media related to Major-General George R Pearkes Building at Wikimedia Commons
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