Capitalizing the names of government bodies

Even seasoned writers have trouble remembering all the rules about capitalization. Remembering when to capitalize the names of government bodies, such as departments, committees and levels of government, can be especially tricky.

See if you know when to capitalize the terms in square brackets in each sentence.

1. Although its official title is the [department of justice Canada], everyone calls it [justice] Canada.
2. The [senate] and the [house of commons] make up the [parliament] of Canada.
3. Jennifer could not understand the new [departmental] rules that her [division] was responsible for writing.
4. The federal [government] will create a [committee] to study how accessible [government] information is.
5. The provincial and territorial [governments] asked [departments] for their opinion on education reforms.
6. A lecture series is being launched to mark the 50th anniversary of the [royal commission on bilingualism and biculturalism], also known as the Laurendeau-Dunton [commission].
7. Line, a representative of our [committee], attended a [parliamentary] meeting to answer questions about official languages.
8. The Minister thought the [copyright board's] message to the [department] was clear.