Final Study Flashcards
political parties
publicly organized groups of people who are motivated by some common set of political ideas, with a goal of having their particular members win public office so that those ideas can be put into practice
5 functions of political parties
- recruitment
- fundraising
- interest aggregation
- policy development
- education
ideology
- basis of a loose set of fundamental political principles
- principles are used for generating ideas about the purposes of government, how it should be organized, and what public policies should be implemented
- political parties are built on ideologies
partisan
- a loyal follower of a cause
- dependable, willing to defend the cause, and wants to see it succeed
high partisanship
reasonable commitment to a set of political ideals that are related to the principles of the regime
low partisanship
the “retail” practical part of politics, to the actions and operations that must be performed to get people into government to achieve the higher ideals
party system
number and types of parties that a regime is likely to have given the various factors that influence parties (the electoral system, party finance rules, federalism, political culture)
multi-party system
allows for development of different parties that represent different ideological positions and very different political interests (Canadian system)
4 classifications of political parties
- brokerage
- ideological
- single-issue
- protest
brokerage party
large, highly pragmatic parties and try to appeal to every region, ethnic group and social class
- Canada has majority brokerage parties
ideological party
espouse ideological views that are outside of mainstream and more concerned with promoting those views than winning seats
single-issue parties party
more concerned with promoting views than winning seats for a specific issue
protest party
emerge from belief that the dominant forces in political life systematically ignore them
delegate elected representatives
spokespersons who faithfully transmit the views of the majority of people who elect them
trustee elected representatives
people whom we “entrust” the responsibilities of government
party member elected representatives
task of our representatives is to be loyal supporters of the policies advocated by their party
- based on mandate
mandate
if MPs are elected on the basis of party affiliation then it infers that the electorate has endorsed the general line of policy that is proposed in the election campaign, thus the party has a “democratic mandate” to carry out that line of policy
- no mandate if MPs were elected as delegates or trustees
floor-crossing
in the House, where an MP joins another party
- aligns with trustee theory, tries to do what is best for the riding and country
microcosm theory of representation
- legislative bodies are fully representative only if the assembly is a microcosm of society as a whole
- grounded in 2 arguments: (i) inclusivity as a requirement of fairness, and (ii) our legislative body needs to be inclusive of the wide variety of Canadian citizens to ensure that their perspectives are heard and their interests can be defended
plurality
person/party with most votes win
single-member plurality (SMP)
electoral system in Canada, in which the country is divided into a number of electoral districts (ridings/constituencies) which have 1 representative who is elected by plurality of votes
first-past-the-post electoral system
you don’t have to have a majority to win, you only need yo get to the finish line ahead of all other candidates
electoral boundaries commissions
independent commissions that determine specific boundaries of electoral districts by providing Parliament with a set of recommendations
- 3 persons with a judge
- community interest
community interest
ex. keeping rural communities together rather than mixing with urban, keeping minority language populations together, etc
electoral quotient
calculated average population for an electoral district, tries to make equal constituents
how many electoral districts in Canada?
338
general election
once GG dissolves parliament, a general election is called immediately, a nation-wide election
by-election
held in a single constituency to fill a seat vacated midway through a Parliament by the death or resignation of an MP
Chief Electoral Officer
politically neutral civil servant who administers general elections and appointed returning officers
returning officer
in charge of an electoral district, appoints deputy returning officer, poll clerks, and 2 enumerators
poll
small divisions of electoral districts
enumerators
tasked to prepare the official voters’ list for the poll
scrutineers
each party has 2 at each poll, observes the process and keep candidates posted on whether known supporters have voted
proportional representation (RP)
an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them
- those against SMP advocate for RP
party list system
each party prepares a list of candidates in rank order, electoral districts are abolished so instead of holding 338 elections, we hold a nationwide election
- votes are for parties, not candidates
mixed member proportional (MMP) system
- blends a party list form of PR with SMP
- only some seats would be elected on the basis of a party list system (¼-½) and rest would be through SMP
single transferable vote (STV)
electoral system where people do not vote just for one candidate, they rank all candidates in order of preference
charter of rights
made to prevent democratic majorities from using political power to violate rights (especially the rights of minorities)
- constitutionally entrenched rights
remedy
something effectual must attend the possession of a right
section 52 remedy
in most cases if courts find a law in violation of a Charter, they employ this remedy which states that any law that is inconsistent with the Constitution is of no force or effect
reading in
when a law fails to extend protection of rights to those who have a legitimate constitutional claim, a read in can extend the law to protect more rights
Bill of Rights
document recognized and declared the existence of a number of “human rights and fundamental freedoms” including freedom of religion, speech, assembly and association, the right to the enjoyment of property, a number of procedural rights, such as the right to retrain legal counsel upon arrest
PHS Community Services Society Case
2011, concerning the operation of a provincial government-sanctioned and -financed safe drug-injection facility in Vancouver
notwithstanding clause
Parliament or a provincial legislature may pass a law and declare it to be valid “notwithstanding” (ie. in spite of) the guarantees offered by sections 2 and 7-15 of the Charter
section 1 of the Charter
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out on it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society
Oakes test
- court began establishing procedure for s.1 questions, thus a law in violation of some Charter right could be saved under s.1 only if it met 2 tests:
1. a law must be a response to a “pressing and substantial” problem in over to justify overriding a Charter right
2. “proportionality”, the suitability of the means used to pursue the law’s objective
unitary
system of govt in which all sovereign authority resides in one governing body - the national government
federal
authority is constitutionally divided between two levels of government
section 91 of CA 1867
- establishes exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the federal government
- grants federal Parliament exclusive jurisdiction over trade, commerce, economy, taxation, and criminal law
section 92 of CA 1867
- establishes legislative jurisdiction of the provinces
- these sections showed the division of powers between the two levels of govt
- places residual power in federal govt
residual power
- anything not specifically reserved for the provinces
- is to be part of a general federal power to legislature
reservation
given right of lieutenant governor to reserve provincial legislation (can withhold royal assent)
lieutenant governor
provincial governors appointed by Ottawa
disallowance
federal govt can annul provincial legislation of which it disapproves
centralized
regime in which the federal govt would dominate (setting all national policies, etc.)
decentralized
devolution of powers from the federal govt to lower levels
- current in Canada
5 periods of the development of Canadian federalism
- Quasi-Federalism
- Classical Federalism
- Emergency Federalism
- Cooperative federalism
- Collaborative/Open
fiscal federalism
financial relations between provincial and federal govt, through 3 branches, (i) taxation, (ii) federal spending power, and (iii) equalization payments
direct tax
taxpayer is taxed directly by the government
indirect tax
tax is not collected directly from the taxpayer
tax room
rather than transferring revenues to provinces, Ottawa can relinquish some of its tax room to allow the provinces to take over the vacated “tax points”
federal spending power
Ottawa’s power to spend money as it pleases
conditional grant
federal govt establishes substantial influence over the shape/outcome of provincial programs
unconditional grants
grants with less conditions, thus less federal influence
- more common now
equalization payments
redistribution of federal tax revenue to provinces whose tax revenues fall below a national average standard
bicameralism
power is shared by two separate chambers so that neither can act without the agreement of the other
- in Canada, HOC and Senate
first ministers’ conference
premiers and federal PM discuss financial and jurisdictional issues
Council of the Federation
for premiers, serves as a vehicle for promoting the view that Ottawa should transfer more funds to provinces and allow them to decide how it will be spent
asymmetrical federalism
approach to federalism in which different provinces could have somewhat different powers
Social Union Framework Agreement
Ottawa consented not to introduce any new shared-cost programs in provincial jurisdictions without first obtaining the approval of seven provinces that have 50% of the total Canadian population
4 tasks of judiciary
- adjudication of legal disputes between private parties
- adjudication of cases in public law
- supervision of inquiries
- commissions and judicial review of the Constitution
precedents
previous judicial decisions on the same point of law
stare decisis
to stand by what has been decided
- practiced by judges
reference procedure
Supreme Court of Canada can be called on to give its opinion on the constitutionality of specific decisions or statutes referred to it by the governor in council
impartiality
the principle that judges must be free from prejudice for or against any party appearing before them
judicial independence
a set of structures or rules that help judges live up to the principles of impartiality
superior courts (s.92 courts)
have the most able judges (more important cases)
inferior courts (s.91 courts)
may have more informal procedures depending on the type of case they handle
integrated judicial system
a single system under the joint custody of the two levels of government
s. 101 courts
federally created courts with federally appointed judges
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC)
British council for the final court of appeal
- took away supremacy of the Supreme Court so it was abolished in 1949 in Canada
majority opinion
when Supreme Court is not unanimous, there is a majority of judges with the same opinion
dissenting opinion
disagree with majority opinion
concurring opinions
judges may sometimes agree on the disposition of the case but for different reasons, thus there will be a majority opinion but individual judges can write their concurring opinions
judicial restraint
when courts apply an entrenched bill of rights (like the Charter(, they should give the benefit of the doubt to the legislature that enacted the law in question
judicial activism
approach that favours pushing the power of judicial review vigorously, beyond black-and-white issues and into the grey
session
when governor general convenes Parliament
sitting
a HOC meeting
throne speech
delivered to HOC and Senate in the Senate chamber, read by the GG but prepared by the PMO
prorogation
a formal process when the PM advises the GG to end session
confidence vote
government must win the confidence of the House in order to stay in office
dissolution
after the PM wants to terminate session and asks GG for Parliament to be prorogued, PM will seek new mandate through general election
electoral district (riding)
a territorially based constituency
government members
those who serve in the cabinet
private members
those who do not serve in cabinet but still represent the same party as the government
government MPs
those who form and support gov’t
opposition MPs
those who do not form and do not support gov’t
shadow cabinet
team of opposition critics for each of the government’s ministries
front bench
members of the cabinet and shadow cabinet occupy the first few rows
backbench
MPs not in cabinet or shadow cabinet
Speaker
impartial MP elected by House at the beginning of each Parliament to preside over its debates and take responsibility for its administration
Sergeant-at-Arms
distinguished military figure, responsible for the security of the House
Hansard
recording secretaries to keep official records of debates
Auditor General
reviews government spending
Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO)
since 2006, reports to Speakers of both houses, the PBO provides Parliament with independent assessment of the government’s financial position (budget estimates and broad economic trends)
Conflict of Interest and Ethics Officer
deals with conflicts of interest that may arise members’ private interests as citizens and their public duties as MPs
bills
legislative proposals
- any MP can introduce a bill but private MPs are rarely adopted
government bills
legislative proposals presented to the House by a minister
first reading
introduce the bill to the House and gives its members and the public time to acquaint themselves with its provisions
second reading
basic purpose/principles of the bill
report stage
after the second reading, the bill is sent to one of the House’s committees for careful study of its specific provisions
third reading
o the Senate where it goes through the same 3 stages, then passed to the GG for royal assent
royal assent
constitutional formality by GG
proclamation
stage where bill is proclaimed, transformed from legislative proposal into a binding law or “statute”
resolutions
expresses the opinion of the House, does not result in the adoption of a new law or policy
scrutiny of public expenditure
scrutiny comes in two stages: before and after expenditure
before any money is spent by a gov’t department, they must present its estimates to the House’s standing committees that has jurisdiction in that area
estimates
proposed expenditures for the coming year
Standing Orders
Parliament’s codified basic regulations regarding conduct and business
closure
permits the government to cut off debate if it decides that the opposition is taking too much time
Senate purpose
serve as a chamber of “sober second thought”
- reviews legislative proposals emanating from the HOC
senate reform
changing the way one becomes a senator, about revising the powers of the Senate, and about reforming the relationship between the Senate and the HOC
