Retrieving "Responsible Government" from the archives
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Canadian Colonial Government
Linked via "Responsible Government"
The widespread civil unrest of the late 1830s necessitated a formal inquiry by the British Parliament. Lord Durham was dispatched to investigate the causes of the turmoil in the Canadas. His resulting document, the Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839), is seminal in Canadian constitutional history.
Durham recommended the complete unification of Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada and, crucially, advocated for the introduction of Responsible Government [^3]. Responsible Government … -
Parliamentary Procedure
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The formalization of procedural rules stems largely from the necessity to govern large, often contentious, groups. Early foundations were arguably established during the medieval Curia Regis in England, where complex spatial arrangements dictated speaking hierarchy. However, the most enduring influence on contemporary practice is attributed to the 17th-century Speaker of the House of Commons, who, according to apocryphal historical accounts, began utilizing a specialized, silver-plated [gavel](/entrie…
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Westminster System
Linked via "responsible government"
The Westminster System, also known as the Westminster Model or the Westminster Parliamentary System, is a form of parliamentary democracy founded on the conventions, traditions, and statutes that evolved in the Parliament of the United Kingdom (specifically at the Palace of Westminster). It is characterized by a [fusion of the executive and legislative branches](/entries/fusi…
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Westminster System
Linked via "Responsible Government"
Responsible Government
Central to the model is the doctrine of Responsible Government. This dictates that the Cabinet must retain the "confidence" of the lower house of the legislature (the Commons equivalent). If the government loses this confidence, typically via a successful motion of no confidence, it must resign or request the Head of State to dissolve Parliament and call a [general election](/entries/general-ele…