From his election to the Legislature in 1949 as an Independent Conservative opposed to the coalition, through to his becoming Premier from 1958 to 1967 and on to his time as Senator (1978-1992), including two years as Government Leader in the Senate (1984-1986), Roblin defended in words and deeds the principles and practices of cabinet-parliamentary democracy.
Put simply, cabinet-parliamentary systems concentrate power in the hands of the prime minister and the cabinet and then seek to prevent abuses of authority by requiring ministers to boast and confess before the legislature, the media and the public at large.
Most Canadians do not know how fundamentally different the cabinet-parliamentary approach to the distribution and control of political power is from that which operates in the US political system which is based on an elaborate system of divided powers and checks and balances among the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.
The arrangements of cabinet-parliamentary government elevate parties over individuals, which is far less the case in the USA where more politicians advance their careers by becoming "freelance" policy entrepreneurs.
The cabinet-parliamentary model does not presume much, if any, policy initiation from the opposition.
