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Conscience Vote
A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party. In a parliamentary system, especially within the Westminster system, it can also be used to indicate crossbench members of a hung parliament, where confidence and supply is provided to allow formation of a minority government but the right to vote on conscience is retained. ''Free votes'' are found in Canadian and some British legislative bodies; ''conscience votes'' are used in Australian legislative bodies; ''personal votes'' can be held in the New Zealand Parliament. Under the Westminster system, MPs who belong to a political party are usually required by that party to vote in accordance with the party line on significant legislation, on pain of censure or expulsion from the party. Sometimes a particular party member known as the party whip is r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legislature
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Legislatures can exist at different levels of government–national, state/provincial/regional, local, even supranational (such as the European Parliament). Countries differ as to what extent they grant deliberative assemblies at the subnational law-making power, as opposed to purely administrative responsibilities. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as primary legislation. In addition, legislatures may observe and steer governing actions, with authority to amend the budget involved. The members of a legislature are called legislators. In a democracy, legislators are most commonly popularly elected, although indirect election and appointment by the executive are also used, particularly for bicameral legis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prostitution
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penetrative sex, manual sex, oral sex, etc.) with the customer. The requirement of physical contact also creates the risk of transferring infections. Prostitution is sometimes described as sexual services, commercial sex or, colloquially, hooking. It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as "the world's oldest profession" in the English-speaking world. A person who works in the field is usually called a prostitute or '' sex worker'', but other words, such as hooker and whore, are sometimes used pejoratively to refer to those who work in prostitution. The majority of prostitutes are female and have male clients. Prostitution occurs in a variety of forms, and its legal status varies from country to country (sometimes from region ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speaker Of The New Zealand House Of Representatives
In New Zealand, the speaker of the House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House (), is the presiding officer and highest authority of the New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives () is the Unicameral, sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers in the New Zealand Government, ministers to form the Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, .... The individual who holds the position is elected by members of the House from among their number in the first session after each general election. They hold one of the highest-ranking offices in New Zealand. The current Speaker is Gerry Brownlee, who was elected on 5 December 2023. The speaker's role – similar to that of Speaker (politics), speakers in other countries that use the Westminster system – involves presiding over debates by determining who may speak, maintaining order during debate, and disciplining members who break ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (April 28, 2025)."New Democratic Party" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved April 28, 2025 the party sits at the centre-left to left-wing of the Canadian political spectrum, generally to the left of the Liberal Party. The party was founded in 1961 by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress. As of 2025, it is the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons, with seven seats. The federal and provincial (or territorial) level NDPs are more integrated than other political parties in Canada, and have shared membership. The NDP has never won the largest share of seats at the federal level and thus has never formed government. From 2011 to 2015, it formed the Official Opposition; apart from this, it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Quebecois sovereignty. The Bloc was formed in the early 1990s by Member of Parliament (Canada), Members of Parliament (MPs) who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative Party and Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Party during the collapse of the Meech Lake Accord. Founder Lucien Bouchard had been a cabinet minister in the federal Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. The Bloc seeks to create the conditions necessary for the political secession of Quebec from Canada and campaigns exclusively within the province during federal elections. The party has been described as social democratic and Quebec sovereignty movement, separatist (or "sovereign ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liberal Party Of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, centre to Centre-left politics, centre-left of the Politics of Canada, Canadian political spectrum, with their main rival, the Conservative Party of Canada, Conservative Party, positioned to their Right-wing politics, right and the New Democratic Party positioned to their Left-wing politics, left. The party is described as "big tent",PDF copy at UBC Press. practising "brokerage politics", attracting support from a broad spectrum of voters. The Liberal Party is the longest-serving and oldest active federal political party in the country, and has dominated th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Same-sex Marriage In Canada
Same-sex marriage was progressively introduced in several provinces and territories of Canada by court decisions beginning in 2003 before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the ''Civil Marriage Act'' on July 20, 2005. On June 10, 2003, the Court of Appeal for Ontario issued a decision immediately legalizing same-sex marriage in Ontario, thereby becoming the first province where it was legal. The introduction of a federal gender-neutral marriage definition made Canada the fourth country in the world, and the first country outside Europe, to legally recognize same-sex marriage throughout its borders. Before the federal recognition of same-sex marriage, court decisions had already introduced it in eight out of ten provinces and one of three territories, whose residents collectively made up about 90 percent of Canada's population. More than 3,000 same-sex couples had already married in those areas before the ''Civil Marriage Act'' was passed. In 2023, polling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Members Of The 39th Canadian Parliament And Same-sex Marriage
This article lists the members of the 39th Parliament of Canada and their voting records in regards to the '' Civil Marriage Act'', which amended the ''Marriage Act'' of Canada to recognize same-sex marriage. The 39th Parliament was elected at the federal election of January 23, 2006. The Conservative leader, Stephen Harper, who was then leader of the opposition campaigned on holding another free vote on the issue, after one was held in the 38th Parliament to approve the Act. The Conservatives won enough seats to form a government following the election but Harper, who became Prime Minister, only had enough seats to form a minority government meaning the opposition parties had enough seats to defeat a government motion on same-sex marriage. However, a motion could pass if it could attract enough support from individual opposition MPs in a free vote. The government announced that it would introduce a motion before the end of 2006. On 7 December 2006, the House of Commons of Can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, serving as the party's first leader from 2004 to 2015. Since 2018, he has also been the chairman of the International Democracy Union. Harper studied economics, earning a bachelor's degree in 1985 and a master's degree in 1991 at the University of Calgary. He was one of the founders of the Reform Party of Canada and was first elected in 1993 in Calgary West. He did not seek re-election in the 1997 federal election, instead joining and later leading the National Citizens Coalition, a conservative lobbyist group. In 2002, he succeeded Stockwell Day as leader of the Canadian Alliance, the successor to the Reform Party, and returned to parliament as leader of the Official Opposition. In 2003, Harper negotiated the merger of the Canadian Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister Of Canada
The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) and leads the largest party or a Coalition government, coalition of parties. As List of current Canadian first ministers, first minister, the prime minister selects ministers to form the Cabinet of Canada, Cabinet. Not outlined in any constitutional document, the prime minister is appointed by Monarchy of Canada, the monarch's representative, the Governor General of Canada, governor general, and the office exists per long-established Convention (norm)#Government, convention. Constitutionally, Executive (government), executive authority is vested in the monarch (who is the head of state), but the powers of the monarch and governor gene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conservative Party Of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing politics, right-leaning parties, the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) and the Canadian Alliance, the latter being the successor of the Western Canada, Western Canadian–based Reform Party of Canada, Reform Party. The party sits at the Centre-right politics, centre-right to the Right-wing politics, right of the Politics of Canada, Canadian political spectrum, with their federal rival, the Centrism, centre to Centre-left politics, centre-left Liberal Party of Canada, positioned to their left-wing politics, left. The Conservatives are defined as a "big tent" party, practicing "brokerage politics" and welcoming a broad variety of members, including "Red Tory, Red Tories" and "Blue Tory, Blue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Institute For Research On Public Policy
The Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP; ) is an independent, national, bilingual, not-for-profit organization based in Montreal, Quebec. Its mission is to "improve public policy in Canada by generating research, providing insight and informing debate on current and emerging policy issues facing Canadians and their governments." It publishes peer-reviewed research and acts as a convenor of policy debates by organizing conferences, round tables and panel discussions among stakeholders, academics, policymakers and the general public. It is also the publisher of ''Policy Options'' magazine and the home of the Centre of Excellence on the Canadian Federation. The institute's current research agenda focuses on several issues including Canadian federalism and intergovernmental affairs, affordability, income support, industrial policy, skills and training, and community transformations. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
