Category Archives: Responsible Government

Consensus Government & Dissolving the Legislature in Northwest Territories

Posted on 2023/08/26 by J.W.J. Bowden

Wildfires Prompt a Special Sitting of the Legislative Assembly In August 2023, the skies turned an ominous orange over large swathes of the Northwest Territories as gargantuan wildfires gobbled up forests and inched ever closer toward the edge of Yellowknife, … Continue reading →

Posted in By Efflux of Time, Comparative, Confirmation Voting, Consensus Government, Constructive Non-Confidence, Dissolution, Individual vs Collective Ministerial Responsibility, Responsible Government | Leave a comment

The Convoy Appeals to the Governor General to Overthrow Responsible Government

Posted on 2022/02/23 by J.W.J. Bowden

If you observe politics closely for somewhere between 10 and 15 years, you see pretty much everything at least once, as narratives and ideas switch parties and cycle through and recycle through yet again, with partisans on all sides remaining … Continue reading →

Posted in Appointment of PM, Crown (Powers and Office), Responsible Government | 2 Comments

Consensus Government & Confirmation Voting in Nunavut

Posted on 2021/11/19 by J.W.J. Bowden

My presentation at The Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada’s Conference in Toronto in June 2019: “The Authorities of the Territorial Commissioners: Responsible Government in Yukon vs Consensus Government in Northwest Territories and Nunavut“ Consensus Government Nunavut … Continue reading →

Posted in Comparative, Confirmation Voting, Consensus Government, Individual vs Collective Ministerial Responsibility, Responsible Government | 1 Comment

The Nature of the “Democratic Deficit” and Executive Federalism in Canada

Posted on 2018/02/01 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction The “Democratic Deficit” first referred to a critique from the late 1970s on how the European Economic Community ran its Parliament vis-a-vis its executive-like Commission. Canadian scholars took up the term in the 1980s and applied it here. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Parliamentarism v Presidentialism, Responsible Government, Separation of Powers | 1 Comment

A New Year’s Resolution for Political Scientists: Stop Saying That Parliamentarism “Fuses” The Executive and Legislature

Posted on 2017/12/31 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction: A Lazy and Stupid Metaphor  Political scientists like taking shortcuts and writing in shorthand. But sometimes, these cause them to get hopelessly lost rather than shortening their journey toward fact and truth. For instance, too many political scientists of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reaffirmation of, Responsible Government, Separation of Powers | 4 Comments