Government Flashcards

1
Q

what is a government

A

organizes people
makes laws/rules to protect their property and rights

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2
Q

what are examples of influencing government

A

voting
community events/rally’s
protests
emails/letters
representative meetings
advocacy groups
engagement in media
attending community meetings

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3
Q

what are the different forms of government

A

democracy
monarchy
oligarchy
theocracy
dictatorship
communism

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4
Q

what is a democracy

A

2 forms: direct and representative/indirect
when everyone has decision making power
rule by the people -individuals in society play a role in making rules which people have to follow

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5
Q

what is the direct form of democracy

A

ruled by the people
people make major government decisions that are decided by majority
citizens come together to select leaders (via voting)
everyone has equal say

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6
Q

what is the indirect form of democracy

A

also known as representative democracy (the US uses this form)
citizens elect certain individuals to represent groups

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7
Q

how are oligarchies/aristocracies determined?

A

wealth, family/friendship ties, military power

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8
Q

what is an oligarchy/aristocracy

A

small group of leaders make decisions for the whole group/population –> tend to be members of the same political party
doesn’t matter if the people don’t agree. they have the highest power

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9
Q

what is a monarchy

A

rules are made by a king or queen that runs the country based on hereditary rule
monarchs can have absolute power or can have their power limited by a constitution

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10
Q

what is an absolute monarchy

A

lead by one person, exercise supreme authority
unlimited power, controls most of government
hereditary
ceremonial heads of state

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11
Q

what is a constitutional monarchy

A

power of monarch is limited by law
figure head does not have a lot of decision making power
king/queen follows what the people say

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12
Q

what is theocracy

A

laws and rules are based in religious values
leader is a religious leader
government power is unlimited
ex: modern day Iran or Vatican City

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13
Q

what is autocracy

A

one person runs the government/makes all decisions

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14
Q

what are examples of an autocracy

A

monarchy (hereditary)
constitutional monarchy – monarch is limited by laws
absolute- monarch is not limited
dictatorship: rules nation by force, making all government decisions

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15
Q

what is a dictatorship

A

one person or small group hold unlimited power over people with little limits to citizens power
rules nation by force, making all government decisions
Ex: modern day North Korea

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16
Q

what is socialism

A

economic system that limits economical ownership
all resources should be shared equally

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17
Q

what is communism

A

single political party makes rules for their people using socialist ideas
all elements of life are controlled, especially economic decisions/issues are controlled by government

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18
Q

what are principles of democracy
https://www.crivitz.k12.wi.us/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=783&dataid=4003&FileName=deomcratic%20principles_.pdf

A

equality and human rights
economic freedom
bill of rights
rule of law
control of the abuse of power
free and fair elections
multi party systems
citizen participation
accountability and transparency
independent judiciary
political tolerance
accepting the results of an election

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19
Q

equality and human rights

A

principle of democracy
not discriminating against groups of people based on race, language, culture, gender/sexuality
exercising your own human rights on daily basis

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20
Q

economic freedom

A

principle of democracy
* freedom to keep and control your property and money
* no government control over market
* citizens can participate in the makret and make decisions based on their own financial situation

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21
Q

the bill of rights

A

principle of democracy
Canadian charter, American constitution
the rights of civilians

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22
Q

the rule of law

A

the law applies to everyone

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23
Q

control of the abuse of power

A

principle of democracy
* one person should not have ultimate control over the people
* prevention from group in charge abusing their power

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24
Q

free and fair elections

A

principle of democracy
* your vote should not be influenced in any way
* you should be able to vote for who you please without any sort of backlash/consequence
* there should be no obstacles stopping people from voting

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25
Q

multi party systems

A

principle of democracy
* multiple parties contribute to national elections and government
* allows for opposition to parties
* helps provide a gov with diff perspectives, allows opportunity for people to have options.

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26
Q

citizen participation

A

principle of democracy
participation is a key role
takes many forms (influencing government)

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27
Q

accountability and transparency

A

principle of democracy
* responsible for citizens actions
* must make decisions based on wishes of the people, not themselves
* gov must be transparent about what is happening in parliament

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28
Q

independent judiciary

A

principle of democracy
the judicial branch is not influenced by the executive
no external pressure on judges to support a political agenda

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29
Q

political tolerance

A

principle of democracy
* the rights of the minority must still be protected
* People who are not in power must be allowed to organize and speak out

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30
Q

accepting results of an election

A

principle of democracy
accepting results
not accepting is against the values of a democracy

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31
Q

what are the levels of government

A

federal
provincial
municipal/local

32
Q

how many senate and HOC members are there, and how are they determined?

A
  • Senate: Senators (105) appointed by the PM based on regional representation
  • House of Commons: Members of parliament (MPs) (338) elected based on representation of population –> debate and pass laws in the HOC
  • location: Ottawa
  • Leader: Prime minister (leader of the biggest party) one of the 338 MPs
33
Q

how many representatives are there in the federal government and what are they called?

A

338 reps
MPs (members of parliament)

34
Q

who is the monarchs rep in the federal government?

A

governor general

35
Q

what are members of the provincial government called and how are they appointed?

A

location: provincial capital
legislature
MLA - members of legislative assembly (87)
elected based on representation by population

36
Q

who is the leader of the provincial governments

A

Premier (one of 87)
leader of the biggest party (most amount of seats)

37
Q

provincial monarch rep

A

lieutenant governor

38
Q

what are members of the municipal government called and how are they appointed?

A

location: city hall
city councilors (8) elected
leader: mayor
does not have monarch rep

39
Q

responsibilities of a federal government

A
  • climate policy
  • criminal law
  • foreign affairs
  • indigenous relations
  • health policy (eg: COVID - strategies, vaccines)
  • national security/defense (borders, military)
  • economic policies: Federal taxes (income, GST) currency
  • postage (Canada Post)
40
Q

responsibility of provincial government

A
  • education (primary, secondary, post secondary)
  • healthcare
  • natural resources
  • taxes
  • delivery of social services
  • highways
  • agriculture
  • wages
  • provincial tax
41
Q

responsibility of municipal government

A
  • infrastructure
  • utilities (water, electricity, sewage)
  • police and fire (RCMP –> federal forced, licensed locally)
  • parks and rec
  • transit
42
Q

Indigenous governance

A

varies across country based on traditions and established practices under Indian act
led by elders, either heriditary or elected cheifs

43
Q

under municipal governemnt, there are also school boards, how do these work?

A

trustees are the representatives, they make policies to help school districts.
leader: superintendent (appointed by trustees)

44
Q

on a seperate paper, draw out the structure of the federal government

A
45
Q

what are the three branches of the federal government

A

executive
legislative
judicial

46
Q

what is the executive branch of government

A

Includes prime minister, cabinet, governor general
makes and applies government decisions
PM is head of government - has considerable power as they can choose ministers, direct legislative activities, appoint members to senate
governor general is Head of State’s (monarchs) representative

47
Q

what is cabinet

A

series of ministers
they create government policies for their particular portfolio eg: defense or fisheries
apart of executive branch

48
Q

what is the governor generals role in the executive branch?

A

Head of State’s (Monarch) representative
chosen by PM
mostly a ceremonial role
acts to advise PM and cabinet ministers

49
Q

what does the legislative branch consist of?

A

consists of the House of Commons and Senate (bicameral)
interprets and applies laws
Function: debate, make, amend laws, and how to spend money collected from citizens (taxes)

50
Q

what does the judicial branch consist of?

A

interprets and applies laws –> separate from the political elements of government
focus: constitutional, criminal and civil law
3 levels of courts

51
Q

what are the 3 levels of courts in the judicial branch

A
  1. Supreme court of Canada: final court of appeal (reviews decisions from lower courts) has 9 judges
  2. Federal Court: conducts major cases, criminal cases, big contracts
  3. provincial courts: minor cases and smaller civil cases (eg: housing contracts/custody)
52
Q

what are the steps in the bill to law process
it cannot be interfered by the Head of State

A

typically occurs in the legislative branch (where laws are debated)
first reading
second reading
committee stage
report stage
third reading
senate
royal assent

53
Q

first reading

A

Bill is introduced to house of commons (speaker reads out bill, debate is scheduled)
printed and distributed to members of parliament
bill is not debated

54
Q

second reading

A

more formal stage
principle and purpose of the bill are debated in house of commons (the main bill is presented, smaller details are not considered)
questions occur

55
Q

committee stage

A

committee examines the bill and makes amendments if needed
gain sources and opinion on the bill (bring witnesses to testify suggestions and opinions) typically the most changes are made here

56
Q

report stage

A

committee reports back to House of Commons
house reviews amendments

57
Q

third reading

A

final debate
MPs have final change to review and amend the bill
Bill gets voted on

58
Q

senate stage

A

the bill is sent to senate
every step previous is repeated
senate stage does not happen if provincial bill

59
Q

royal assent stage

A

governor general gives the bill royal assent (it becomes law)

60
Q

how does the royal assent stage work if it is a provincial bill?

A

Lieutenant governor of province grants royal assent

61
Q

why do people not vote?

A

not interested
didn’t like candidates
vote won’t count
issues don’t matter
busy with other things
out of town

62
Q

what are the two types of voting systems

A

first past the post
alternative vote system/preferential ballot

63
Q

first past the post voting system

A

each voter votes for one candidate
winner takes all where the party with the most votes win election
party that gets most vote may not be most liked
often results in two party system as people may start to vote for group most likely to win, not who they like

64
Q

alternative voting system

A

benefits: produces a winner that a large number of voters agreed on
voters rank candidates on ballet rather than one
candidates with least number of votes are eliminated –> those votes contribute to other candidates
more difficult to administer

65
Q

what is the political spectrum

A

2 dimensions: one dedicated to economic policies, one dedicated to socials policies
ideology: a system of political and social beliefs

66
Q

draw a diagram with the 4 quadrants explaining the political spectrum

A
67
Q

name canadian political parties from left to right

A

NDP, green, liberal, conservative, ppc

68
Q

what is a totalitarians way of governing?

A

include communism (far left) and facism (far right)
a form of government that attempts to assert total control over the lives of its citizens
democratic beliefs tend to be in the middle of the spectrum

69
Q

what does left wing represent

A

supports change to improve welfare of all citizens
government plays larger role in peoples lives –> more to providing social services
law and order are important to protect the rights of all citizens fairly and equally

70
Q

what does the center represent

A

tradition is important, but change should be supported if majority decides
government plays a role only to improve lives of citizens
law and order are important to encourage and protect rights of individuals

71
Q

what does right wing represent

A

tradition is important, change to be treated w caution
government plays small role (capitalist system)
private businesses should ensure needs of citizens are met, not gov
law and order are important to protect society and traditions

72
Q

what is the difference between totalitarianism and democracy

A

A democracy is a society in which people have a say in their government and elect their leaders.
totalitarian society is usually ruled by a dictator, and there is very little or no freedom. In totalitarianism, the government controls almost every aspect of life.

73
Q

political parties that are democratic

A

beliefs tend to be in the middle of spectrum
socialism- gov control over important parts of economy and industries
liberalism- individual freedom above all else, gov intervention only to support basic standards of living and protect rights
conservatism- minimal gov involvement in economy, supports traditional values

74
Q

political parties that are totalitarian

A

beliefs are on the ends of the spectrum, extensive control in all aspects of life

75
Q

what are communist beliefs

A

one party state where they maintain control though propaganda, secret police, high levels of control over daily lives

76
Q

what are facist beliefs

A

emphasizes importance of state and people need to serve. strong leadership in the form of a dictator. individual freedom is forbidden as all actions need to keep nation strong