Goverment Flashcards
what is a democracy?
A system of government where the public are ruled by representatives, who make decisions in government on their behalf. elements: constitution, universal suffrage, judicial and parliamentary roles of government are separated.
what is communisim?
everyone has the same amount of wealth, there is community owernership of all property and facilites/production. elements: goverment is small communist party, you can only vote for them. censorship on media. individual freedom is sacrificed for the good of the state.
what is socialism?
Its like communism but only some things are owned by the government.
what is facsim?
They believe in extreme nationalism (love for your country). they believe that individuals should be dutiful, obedient, serve the state. The ultimate goal is to conquer other countries, take their resources and wealth, and enslave the people. this type of government no longer exists.
who is the governor general?
The person who represents the Monarch from the UK. they don’t make many decisions, but formally announce decisions that have already been made.
who is the head of state?
the ruling monarch of the UK. This position is mostly symbolic/ceremonial, no political power.
What is parliament?
The group of representatives who govern the country. the prime minister is at the top, then the cabinet, then the MPs/backbenchers.
what is the house of commons
the governing party, one or more opposition parties,
how many MPs/Ridings are there?
338
what do MPs do?
what is the Senate?
Appointed on the advice of the PM, as a reward for long/loyal political service to the party in power. they do a final “check” of all bills that want to be passed. they rarely reject bills though.
what is the executive branch?
Consists of: the cabinet,
what is the legislative branch?
consists of the HofC, MPs, parliament sessions, government and opposition, senate.
how many members are there in the cabinet, and what is the cabinet
there are 30 cabinet ministers. They are selected by the PM from the MPs from the party that won the election. each province must have 1 minister. each minister is responsible for 1 department.
what are the federal responsibilities
Foreign policy, immigration, taxation, currency, criminal laws, transportation, national defence, postal system.
what are the provincial responsibilities
education, healthcare, provincial taxes, provincial police, management of natural resources, roads, housing.
what are the municipal responsibilities
libraries, local police, schools, fire departments, public transportation, parks and rec, garbage collection.
what is a shadow cabinet
MPs from the Offical Opposition who shadow a specific minister from the Cabinet.
what are the stages of a bill becoming a law
first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage, third reading, senate, royal assent.
what does the speaker of the house do
runs day-to-day business in the HofC. maintains order, is a “referee”, applies rules of parliament to all, controls debate.
Majority goverment
The ultimate goal. When a party wins more than half the seats in the HofC. THere is still an opposition, the party w/ the second most votes.
minority goverment
When a party doesn’t have the majority of votes, but still has more than other parties but not more than the other parties added up. they must rely on votes of other parties to pass bills.
what are all the rights on the charter?
Fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights, official language rights, minority language education rights, the notwithstanding clause, conflicting rights, Gender equity.
