Canada
Country occupying the northern part of the North American continent,
bounded to the south by the USA, north by the Arctic Ocean, northwest
by Alaska, east by the Atlantic Ocean, and west by the Pacific Ocean.
Government
The Canada Act of 1982 gave Canada power to amend its constitution
and added a charter of rights and freedoms. This represented Canada's
complete independence, though it remains a member of the British Commonwealth.
Canada is a federation of ten provinces: Alberta, British Columbia,
Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince
Edward Island, Qué bec, and Saskatchewan; and two territories: Northwest
Territories and Yukon. Each province has a single- chamber assembly,
popularly elected; the premier (the leader of the party with the most
seats in the legislature) chooses the cabinet. The two- chamber federal
parliament consists of the Senate, whose maximum of 112 members are
appointed by the government for life or until the age of 75 and must
be resident in the provinces they represent; and the House of Commons,
which has 282 members, elected by universal suffrage in single-member
constituencies.
The federal prime minister is the leader of the best-supported party
in the House of Commons and is accountable, with the cabinet,
to it. Parliament has a maximum life of five years. Legislation
must be passed by both chambers and then signed by the governor
general.
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