In Canada, the constitution grants different areas of
responsibility to the Federal Parliament and provincial
Legislatures - each with its own law-making bodies, governing
executive and judiciary. At the federal level, the Canadian
government has two law-making bodies: the 308-seat House of
Commons and the 105-seat Senate. B.C. residents are represented
by 36 elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and six appointed
senators. The Prime Minister and appointed Ministers comprise
the federal cabinet, or governing executive. The federal
judiciary includes the Supreme Court of Canada, the highest
court of appeal for all cases. of the British Columbia
Government is rooted in British parliamentary tradition and
precedent. Prior to 1866, B.C. was comprised of two British-
controlled colonies, one on Vancouver Island and a second on the
mainland. In 1866, the two colonies were officially united as
the Crown Colony of British Columbia, with its capital Columbia
became a province of Canada when it entered Confederation on Ju