I tried finding the info but got lost in pages about Parliament and MPs and the House of Commons.

Bean,

Here is a link to the late Senator Eugene Forsey's book, "How Canadians Govern Themselves.

{http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/idb/forsey/intro-e.htm)

To quote from the book. One of the right and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is:

Democratic rights (for example, the right of every citizen to vote for the House of Commons and the provincial legislative assembly, and the right to elections at least every five years, though in time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection, the life of a federal or provincial legislature may be prolonged by a two-thirds vote of the Commons or legislative assembly).

This is a very interesting book and I am going to make sure my children have read it before they finish elementary school.