we don't really have separate branches of government in canada, like they do in the united states. our system of government is still the same system that the british set up in the colonial period; we have the system of government that america revolted against, and replaced. so, what we have is a parliament and a judiciary, and it's actually really the judiciary that sits at the top of the hierarchy and gets final decision making authority, here.

the most powerful person in the country is the chief justice of the supreme court, not the prime minister.

so, because the legislative and executive branches are not separate, we end up with internal power struggles - and that's fine, it prevents gridlock. but, the legislative branch is supposed to be the dominant focus; the executive branch is supposed to operate as an arm of parliament, and ultimately be subservient to it's decisions.

the prime minister is not even directly elected.

rather, the prime minister is merely first amongst equals - just one voice at the table, of no greater importance than any other. it is the mps that elect somebody to this office, not voters. that makes the prime minister no more powerful than the speaker. in theory, the office is actually superfluous in our system - it's unnecessary, and our system should be able to operate perfectly fine without it. in my more bitter moments, i've advocated doing just that - abolishing it.

but, as a first step, we need mps to stand up and take back their constitutional roles and stop letting this plastic jesus tell them what to do.