Exam Review: Identify and Define Flashcards
Clarity Act (2000)
Intended to clarify the terms to be satisfied by any province seeking to separate from Canada. The agreement included; the aboriginals must be consulted on the proposal, borders will be subject to negotiation, The House of Commons must approve the question to be posed to the citizens, and all the provinces of Confederation must be involved in the negotiations.
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
The second Mulroney government negotiated a second international trade deal that essentially extended the terms of the Canada-USA Free Trade Agreement to include Mexico. This agreement in 1994 created a North American trade bloc, comparable in some ways to economic agreements that had been reached between a number of European countries.
Comprehensive Land Claim by Aboriginals
The Crown used the Proclamation to set aside the unsettled land “for the use of…Indians”, however. All settlers currently on that land were instructed to vacate it. Additionally, only the Crown was allowed to purchase such lands from the ‘Indians’, if and when they decided to offer it up for sale.
Canada maintains title to the land reserves are on, as well as any natural resources or “other valuables” on or in that land. Band members were not able to sell any part of their reserve land, because they do not own that land. They were also not able to use their land as collateral to obtain bank loans. As well, because the federal government (representing the Crown) retained ownership of the natural resources on the land, they could decide when and how to harvest these resources, and to profit from their removal.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
In 1982, the federal and provincial governments agreed upon a set of principles to be entrenched as the country’s Constitution. This piece of legislation entrenched certain rights of Canadians, and clarified the relationship between the federal and provincial governments. The fact that this latter set of principles was entrenched in a Constitution rather than as statutes is important, as it essentially means that it is much more difficult for the federal government to arbitrarily alter them. They cannot simply be changed via approval by the House of Commons, Senate, and Crown, but require much wider consultation and agreement.
Canada has seen a much higher degree of judicial involvement in protection of individual and minority interests against those of the majority of the population. Such involvement is sometimes referred to as ‘judicial activism’.
The responsibility for the recognition and protection of minority rights the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
Arctic Territory
countries such as Denmark and Norway had gone so far as to claim ownership of some of the islands within the Arctic Archipelago which their sailors had been the first to set foot upon. Canada responded to these claims by sending explorers to the North, but was not made particularly anxious by this competition for land that was not seen as critical to national interests. During the Second World War, though, the Canadian government began to realize that the Far North offered a potentially valuable resource base.
Ability to ‘veto’
According to the Constitution Act, 1867, the Governor General of Canada may veto a bill by refusing Royal Assent. If the Governor General withholds the Queen’s assent, the sovereign may within two years disallow the bill, thereby vetoing the law in question. However, this power has never been used.
The phrase: ‘first past the post’
Canada’s electoral system is referred to as a “first past the post” system. The candidate with the most votes in a riding wins a seat in the House of Commons and represents that riding as its Member of Parliament (MP).
“Maîtres chez nous”
The provincial Liberal’s 1962 election slogan was Maîtres chez nous (translation: “Masters in our own house”). They were elected after the fatal loss of the Union Nationale in 1960.
Constitution Act (1867)
The British North America Act is known as the Constitution Act. Not to be confused with the constitutional act of 1982. The Constitution Act, 1867 outlines the basic system for the governing of Canada. The Act provided for what aspects of Canadian governance would be retained by Britain.
Ipperwash
Ipperwash is a provincial park reserved for native Canadians. The government asked the native during world war 2 if the land could be used as a base for military training and offered to buy it for $15 per acre. They also promised to return the land after the war ended. The first nations rejected the offer, claiming there was a sacred burial site on land. This resulted in protests and a death by OPP of an Ojibwa protester.
Quiet Revolution
Many of these policies indicate a significant departure from the values and practices of the Duplessis era. Instead of violent change, however, Quebec society was being remade through peaceful, democratic means. The new sense of hope and progress many Quebecers felt led to the period being referred to as the ‘Quiet Revolution’.
BNA (1867)
Many of these policies indicate a significant departure from the values and practices of the Duplessis era. Instead of violent change, however, Quebec society was being remade through peaceful, democratic means. The new sense of hope and progress many Quebecers felt led to the period being referred to as the ‘Quiet Revolution’.
Indian Act
The Indian Act 1876, is a piece of Canadian legislation that was intended to clarify how the federal government would handle its responsibilities to the Aboriginal population of the Dominion of Canada. Within the 1876 Indian Act, Aboriginal ‘status’ was assigned based on the following criteria: Indians were male persons of Indian blood, who belonged to an Indian band recognized by federal government (the federal government only recognized bands which they had signed treaties with) and the children of, or spouse of such a man were also considered Indians
Separatists
After 1970, pro-separatist forces directed their energies towards finding solutions to their problems by working within accepted political venues and procedures, rather than through violence. The Parti Québecois was elected as the provincial government of Quebec. Realizing the support for separation was much more lukewarm than the idea of a renegotiated association with Quebec; Lévesque promised the citizens of his province a referendum on whether Quebec should seek to leave Canada.
‘pur laine’
Pure wool refers to those whose ancestry is French-Canadian and can be traced.
